Posts Tagged ‘need a loan’

Cash For Caulkers - 168,000 Jobs, $ 9.2 Billion In Energy Savings

Thursday, June 10th, 2010

Cash for Caulkers 2010, also known as the Home Star bill, offers homeowners rebates from $ 3,000 to $ 8,000 for energy-efficient improvements to their homes. The Cash for Caulkers 2010 bill, which was passed by the House, will dole out $ 5.7 billion over two years for a program aimed to stimulate the construction industry, which has been gutted severely by the recession. Republicans, as usual, were nearly united in opposition to the Cash for Caulkers bill, which still needs Senate approval before President Obama can sign it.

Cash for Caulkers and details

Because of Cash for Caulkers 2010, Homeowners won’t need a loan to make energy saving home improvements. The bill is very much inspired by the Cash for Clunkers 2009 bill that encouraged car buyers to get rid of their gas hogs. CBS News reports that Cash for Caulkers details include two programs: There is the Silver Star program that provides upfront rebates of up to $ 3,000 for specific energy-efficient improvements in homes, such as installing energy-efficient appliances or duct sealing, insulation or new windows or doors. A Gold Star program would entitle people to up to $ 8,000 when they conduct comprehensive energy audits and implement measures that reduce energy use throughout their homes by more than 20 percent.

Cash for Caulkers and rules

To stop fraud, Cash for Caulkers is requiring a certain amount of projects to be inspected and requires licensing for all contractors. The Silver Star program provides upfront rebates for renovations such as insulation, improved windows and doors and water heaters at the time of purchase. The credit can be used for up to $ 1500 per improvement and is capped at $ 3,000 or at least fifty percent of the total cost. Following an energy audit, the Gold Star program will provide $ 3,000 for energy savings of at least 20 percent, with an additional $ 1,000 for every additional 5 percent energy savings. This will be capped at $ 8,000 or fifty percent of the project.

Cash for Caulkers home energy audit

Found on the web will be Cash for Caulkers details and requirements for the Gold Star home energy program. A home energy auditor will help you decide if you can save money and how you can do that more efficiently. Five minutes and the your last 12 months of utility bills are all it takes for a do-it-yourself home energy audit using energystar.gov. More energy savings will be delivered by a professional home energy auditor. A professional home energy auditor uses a whole bunch of different equipment such as blower doors, which measure the rate heating or cooling escapes the home, and infrared cameras, which reveal hard-to-detect areas of air infiltration and missing insulation.

Economic Impact of Cash for Caulkers

Now that it has passed the House, Cash for Caulkers 2010 moves to the Senate. CBS News reports that the Senate will likely attach Cash for Caulkers to the next jobs bill. Advocates for the bill argue it will create 168,000 jobs. They also estimate that 3 million households could take advantage of its programs, saving $ 9.2 billion in home energy costs over 10-years. They said it would create 168,000 jobs. The Cash for Caulkers bill would approve $ 600 million over two years for grants to states for replacing older mobile homes with newer, more energy efficient models.

Article Resources

CBS News reports

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/05/06/politics/main6467175.shtml

energy audit

http://www.energysavers.gov/your_home/energy_audits/index.cfm/mytopic=11160

energystar.gov

http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=home_improvement.hm_improvement_audits

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In video, meteor in Wisconsin streaks across the sky

Sunday, May 23rd, 2010

A meteor in Wisconsin was seen streaking across the sky from west to east about 10 p.m. Wednesday. Those who witnessed the occasion overwhelmed emergency response phone lines, reporting a yellow/blue fireball swiftly tracking from northwest to southeast. A meteorologist with the National Weather Service said the meteor exploded over Iowa County in southwest Wisconsin at about 24,000 feet, showering meteorites to the ground, which started some forest fires. A window rattling sonic boom was reported by witnesses.

Wisconsin meteor data wanted

If you had the opportunity to see the meteor in Wisconsin, the International Meteor Organization would like to hear from you. This Information with some precision about where the meteor in Wisconsin landed is a big pay day for The International Meteor Organization for helping scientists find any possible meteorites. Information about its trajectory also helps scientists track the orbit of the meteor in Wisconsin to possibly link it to asteroids or comets.

The video recording the meteor in Wisconsin

A natural object that originated in space is what they are calling the meteor in Wisconsin. When it entered the atmosphere, friction caused it to superheat into a brightly glowing fireball captured on video. Those pieces of the meteor in Wisconsin that actually hit the Earth will now be called “meteorites.” In February 2010, about 1,086 meteorites were found after being reported as meteors. Over 38,000 meteorites have been found. Apollo astronauts also found meteorites on the moon.

Is the meteor from Wisconsin now a meteorite?

The meteor in Wisconsin wasn’t unique although it was bigger and more spectacular than most. The American Meteor Society Fireball Sightings Log: 2010 shows almost daily reports of meteor sightings around the country. Meteorite discoveries, however, are very rare. On Jan. 22, 2010, a meteorite struck the office building belonging to Dr. Frank Ciampi in Lorton, VA. The meteorite put a hole in the roof and ripped up the floor 10 feet from where Ciampi was working. Fragments of meteor about the size of a tennis ball were strewn about the room. Damage was light, and he probably doesn’t need a loan to fix it.

Unlikely for meteor in Wisconsin

According to astronomer Alan Harris on wikianswers.com, the chances of being killed by a meteorite in any person’s lifetime are about the same as Bill Gates needing a pay day loan: 1 in 700,000.” As a comparison,” he said, “you’re more likely to die in a fireworks accident; But what’s funny is, this is a slightly higher chance than being killed by a terrorist!” The last recorded impact on a human was in 1954, when Elaine Hodges of Sylacauga, Ala., was struck in the hip as she was napping on her couch. There is a famous picture in Life magazine of her showing the image.

Wisconsin meteor not the first

This wasn’t first fireball to have an impact on Wisconsin. Space.com reports that scientists, years ago saw something different about rocks around Wavery, Wis., and concluded an ancient catastrophic event occurred. They believe a 650- to 700-foot meteorite crashed into the earth at speeds up to 67,500 mph. The impact 450 million years ago released more than 1,000 megatons of explosive energy, blasting a massive hole in a 4-mile area called Rock Elm about 70 miles east of Minneapolis, three scientists said in an article published in the Geological Society of America Bulletin. Over a long time, dirt, shale, and sediment filled the hole. Wisconsin had a shallow sea covering it at the time, blunting the impact. In the world, there are around 200 meteorite impact sites known. The US only has a couple dozen of them. Scientists estimate they occur every few hundred thousand years, and only a couple dozen in the United States. It is believed by many to only occur every few hundred years.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfKrd2NrnHk

Sources for the article

National Weather Service

The American Meteor Society

wikianswers.com

Space.com

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Earth Hour: Because change is hard

Friday, April 23rd, 2010

The second annual Earth Hour will be observed Saturday, March 27, 2010, at 8:30 p.m. local time. According to the official website for earth hour, as people all around the world turn off their lights during a scheduled hour, a blackout “will once again cascade around the globe, from New Zealand to Hawaii” The Los Angeles Times calls Earth Hour “the world’s largest global climate change initiative.” Earth Hour, says the Times, is a “global call to action . . . a call to stand up and take responsibility.”

Earth Hour is easy for all

In the most basic sense, Earth hour’s call to action is the least we can do. Being a part of Earth Hour doesn’t mean we need to change our lives by actually being responsible for the environment. All we need to do is turn off the lights for an hour.

Shop, donate, borrow money

It will not cost you anything to participate; however, Earth Hour sells gear on their official website to anyone who believes this might help stop climate change. Also, if you think it will help the environment, you may donate on their website money directly to Earth Hour. At the time of this writing, Earth Hour Gear was not yet available, but donations can be made now, so it’s not too early to fill out a personal loan application if you need a loan to do your part for Earth Hour.

Climate Change in a basic form

The Earth Hour website suggests that effects of climate change are shown in all of the US. Alaska has warmed two times as fast as the rest of the United States. Spring snowmelt is earlier, sea ice is reduced, glaciers are retreating and permafrost is thawing. In the Northwest, Water supplies are being strained while erosion is increasing because winters are wetter while summers are dryer. In the Southwest, droughts are becoming more of a concern because water supplies are more scarce.

In the Midwest, lake ice is reduced while downpours are twice as frequent as they were 100 years ago. In the Northeast there is less snow and more rain. In the Southeast there are more hurricanes, higher winds, more storm surges, increased air temperatures, and greater rainfall. On the islands and coastlines, where there are more sensitive impacts of climate change, wetlands are drowning, the man-made environment is threatened, shorelines are eroding, and sea levels are rising.

Taking a real stance doesn’t have to be hard

It makes sense to take a stance about global climate change, but taking responsibility for the problem requires more than an annual hour-long blackout ritual. It also doesn’t mean you have to live in a teepee without electricity of running water.

A person might ride a bike on occasion instead of driving a car, purchase fewer wasteful and unnecessary products, or choose foods that require less fossil fuel energy to produce.There’s nothing to stop people from switching off the lights for Earth Hour while making real changes, too; except, of course, that change is hard and flipping a switch is easy.

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