Star Herald Going Green

April 20, 2011

Going

GREEN

a Star-Herald Publication Photo by Katie Bradshaw

At the Earth Day Celebration at Panhandle Coop on April 16, Alexander Griffitts, 7, picked out a tree to plant in his grandmother’s yard, courtesy of the North Platte Natural Resources District.

Going Green

2 APRIL 22, 2011

Star-Herald

NPPD encourages customers to use electricity efficiently NPPD tips for saving energy and increasing efficiency during the summer n Raise thermostat to a higher setting and turn on fans n Close drapes on windows that face the sun n Grill supper outdoors. Use a microwave instead of the stove top or oven n Unplug appliances and shut off lights that are not in use n Delay dishwashing and laundry until after 8 p.m. n Do any baking early in the morning before it gets hot outside n Shower early in the morning or later in the evening Year-round energy saving tips n Unplug appliances or chargers when they are not in use, since many items continue to draw power even when they are turned off n Use a programmable thermostat to reduce home heating or cooling when you are sleeping or away from home n Make sure your home is properly insulated to reduce energy loss during heating and cooling seasons

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By KATIE BRADSHAW Staff Reporter

Nebraska Public Power District is in the business of selling electricity, yet NPPD offers incentives to its customers to conserve energy. In many industries, that business model would not make sense.

From an electrical generation standpoint, encouraging customers to use less energy by using it more efficiently makes perfect sense, said NPPD Energy Efficiency Manager Chad Podolak.

Podolak said that in a recent strategy planning session, NPPD came up with three key reasons why efficient use of electricity is important.

Energy efficiency is “our least-cost, supply-side option” for meeting electrical demand, he said. Essentially, NPPD has two choices when faced with electrical demand that increases to the point that it risks outstripping capacity. NPPD could spend the money to build a new power plant, or it could convince its customers to cut back on use by reducing waste. It costs far less to save a kilowatt-hour than it does to generate one.

By increasing efficiency of electricity use and forestalling construction of a new power plant, NPPD can more efficiently

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use its existing facilities over the long term, Podolak explained.

Then, he added, “there’s a whole sustainability part of it as it relates to the environment. … Wasting energy isn’t good.”

Podolak said the energy efficiency programs are designed to “reduce energy that’s used that’s not providing value to the customer.” Ultimately, customers save money when they save energy.

For example, by running an air conditioner that has not been properly maintained, a customer is using more energy to operate an appliance that does not work as well as it should. Thus, NPPD offers a $30 EnergyWise Cooling System Tune-Up incentive to qualified customers to help pay a share of the tune-up cost every three years.

While NPPD does not provide an incentive for refrigerator maintenance, Podolak said that homeowners can preserve the efficiency of their refrigerators by regularly cleaning the cooling coils.

For installing a high efficiency heat pump, certain customers can receive up to a $400 cash incentive or a low-interest loan through a partnership with the Nebraska Energy Office.

The fact that NPPD is a public utility “allows us to have very neat partnerships”

with agencies like the NEO, Podolak said.

Another cash incentive program offers NPPD customers $30 when they install an EnergyStar rated window air conditioner unit. Such a unit uses at least 10 percent less energy than conventional models.

Podolak said there are a lot of inefficient window air conditioners out there. According to a 2008 report, just 17 percent of window air conditioners sold in Nebraska were EnergyStar rated.

Older refrigerators are another appliance NPPD seeks to remove from customers’ homes, with a $35 cash incentive.

The first-come, first-served Refrigerator Recycling Program targets large secondary refrigerators or freezers, such as those that people use in their garage or basement.

The program has another benefit beyond the energy savings from removing an, old inefficient appliance from the electrical grid. The refrigerator is recycled rather than placed in a landfill. Nearly 95 percent of each refrigerator – the metals, plastic, oils, and foam insulation – is recycled.

More information about NPPD’s energy efficiency programs may be found on their website www.nppd.com under the “save energy” tab.

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Going Green

Star-Herald

APRIL 22, 2011 3

Opportunities to recycle cell phones abound

By KATIE BRADSHAW Staff Reporter

According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, more than 100 million cell phones are removed from service every year. Perhaps a few of those obsolete cell phones are sitting around your house right now.

There’s no reason to let those phones continue to gather dust. There are numerous opportunities in the Panhandle to direct those unused phones for reuse or recycling.

Just make sure to clear the date from your phone before recycling it. See the sidebar for more information.

One agency that is happy to accept old cell phones is the DOVES program, which serves victims of domestic, dating and sexual violence, and stalking.

Lisa Peden, DOVES commu-

nity and supportive services coordinator, said that DOVES benefits anytime someone donates a cell phone – working or not.

The phones that are still functioning can be given to people who may be able to use them in domestic violence situations.

“Any phone that does not have a contract will still dial 911,” Peden pointed out.

She said the phones could be an extra safety net for DOVES clients. Sometimes an abusive partner may take away or damage a regular cell phone or land line. The 911only phone could be a lifeline in those instances.

Even the phones that aren’t working can benefit DOVES. The nonfunctional phones are sent for refurbishing, and DOVES receives a donation credit for them.

Peden said donations of cell phone batteries and chargers

It eliminates the need for liquid chemical treatments, which are disruptive to homes and landscaping.

are also welcome.

To find the closest cell phone donation location in the ninecounty DOVES service area in the Panhandle, call 866-95DOVES (866-953-6837).

Many companies in the Panhandle accept cell phones for recycling or reuse, too, including Staples, Verizon and Viaero. Details of the program are available inside the stores.

Verizon is also among the companies offering a free mail-in recycling option.

According to the USEPA, if all the cell phones that become obsolete each year were recycled, the amount of energy saved would power 185,000 homes for a year. Recycling cell phones also keeps usable materials out of the landfill – precious metals, copper and plastics that require energy to mine and manufacture. Recycling conserves these materials so they can be turned into new products.

How to prepare your cell phone for recycling n Terminate your service n Clear the phone’s memory of stored information: conduct a factory hard reset by following instructions from your wireless carrier or the product manual, or use data erasing tools available online. n Remove your SIM card, if applicable.

For more information, contact your network provider, cell phone manufacturer, or the recycling program you plan to use.

Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

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4 APRIL 22, 2011

Going Green

Star-Herald

SHS FFA helps rural residents monitor environment via well water testing

By KATIE BRADSHAW Staff Reporter

Rural residents often need to be more aware of the environment around them than city dwellers do.

Drinking water is one example of such a situation. In rural areas, people must take care to monitor the quality of the water they are drinking. When water comes from a private well, environmental conditions can affect the safety of the drinking water.

As Paige Steinle, a Scottbluff High School senior and FFA Sentinel explained, in a rural area, “well water isn’t taken care of by the city.” Rural residents have the responsibility to test water quality themselves.

Since 2003, the SHS FFA chapter has provided free well water nitrate testing to the community at the KNEB Farm and Ranch Expo as part of the “living to serve” portion of the

FFA motto. This year for the first time, the students also provided nitrate testing services during the Earth Day Celebration at Panhandle Coop Plaza Foods.

Steinle and Ashley Pike, an SHS junior and FFA treasurer, explained the importance of regularly screening drinking water wells for nitrates. The students said that nitrates are a naturally occurring contaminant that can get into well water from nonpoint sources. High levels of nitrates can sicken or even kill young children by “blue baby syndrome” – a lack of oxygen in the blood. High nitrate consumption is a cancer risk as well.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nitrates can get into wells from sources such as fertilizers, septic systems, animal feedlots, industrial waste and food processing waste, especially if there is a flaw in the well or the well has been exposed to flooding.

Steinle and Pike said chemical testing is necessary because people cannot tell if their drinking water has nitrates in it. Nitrates are colorless, odorless and tasteless. Steinle said that one “clean” test is no guarantee that future water tests will also test under the action threshold of 10 milligrams per liter.

According to University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension, private water supplies should be tested annually for nitrate contamination or if a pregnant woman or infant under 6 months old begins using the water.

Steinle and Pike said if they test a private well water sample that has nitrate levels above that 10 mg/L threshold, they recommend that the water be tested by a certified water testing service. If the contamination is confirmed, water treatment, such as through a reverse osmosis system, may be required.

The SHS FFA chapter was able to

provide the additional water testing service during the Earth Day Celebration this year because they now own their own colorimeter equipment.

The purchase of a colorimeter and a supply of test reagent was made possible through Nebraska Investment Finance Authority Governor’s Agricultural Excellence Award grant.

Steinle and Pike said their chapter pursued the grant out of a spirit of competition. They decided at the state competition last year that their large chapter should be bringing in more awards. They “wanted to be on stage” this year. They sent 37 students to the state FFA competition this year and achieved their goal, receiving numerous awards as well as kudos for their speed in putting their Governor ’s Agricultural Excellence Award grant to work.

“Some chapters bought iPods and See SHS FFA, page 5

Going Green

Star-Herald

APRIL 22, 2011 5

SHS FFA: Well water testing Continued from page 4 laptops” with their grant money, Steinle said and pointed to the colorimeter. “We bought this.”

Agriculture education instructor Bob Pedulla said in previous years, the chapter used equipment borrowed from UNL Extension in Lancaster County. The chapter could provide nitrate testing only when the equipment was available, and they had to pay $40-50 for shipping each time they wanted to use it. If someone forgot to bring their water sample to the Expo, they were out of luck. Now, people can request nitrate water testing at any time.

The water test the students perform is simple and takes just minutes.

They ask people to bring in about a baby-food-jar-sized sample of water

Not a

that was collected after running the tap for a few minutes. They recommend not touching the collecting container to the faucet.

Steinle and Pike expertly demonstrated how to perform a test. Steinle snapped off the top of a reagent-containing glass ampoule, and the change in air pressure drew up just the right amount of water into the ampoule. Pike set the timer on the colorimeter while Steinle mixed the sample. After allowing the sample to develop for a specified period of time, Pike placed the sample into the colorimeter and got a reading. The darker the color, the more nitrate is in the sample.

To request a nitrate screening on a well water sample, contact the SHS FFA at 308-635-6215.

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Photo by Katie Bradshaw

Scottsbluff High School FFA members Paige Steinle, left, and Ashley Pike use a colorimeter to test the level of nitrates in a water sample.

6 APRIL 22, 2011

Going Green

Star-Herald

Tree pruning solves stunted growth mystery There’s a saying that goes, “You spray, which traps moisture around have to recognize your problem before the cut site and makes it more susyou can fix it.” That saying proved ceptible to disease. true during the April 7 annuAnd third, “Don’t remove al tree pruning workshop more than 25 percent of the hosted by the North Platte food factory at one time,” he Natural Resources District in said. “Make a pile of your cut Scottsbluff. branches and when you’ve District Forester Doak taken about a fourth of the toNickerson provided practical tal canopy, stop. You’re done.” tips and hands-on demonB u t i t w a s N i c k e r s o n ’s strations for proper pruning sharp, tree-trained eye that of landscape trees. His first provided for the most interrule of thumb – make every esting lesson of the day. cut count, make every cut While conducting the workKAY GROTE have a purpose. shop at the NRD grounds, he NPNRD “Pruning is a vital part of detected trouble.

Education tree health and functionality, “For some reason this oak is Coordinator but you don’t want to overdo suffering. He’s only put on it,” Nickerson said. “Plan to about an inch of growth a spend only five minutes per tree each year. Oaks are fast growing when spring for pruning, preferably in planted properly and this one should March or April when you can get a be performing better,” he told the augood look at the tree’s shape, branch- dience. “Let’s find out.” es and its food factory is still dorGuessing that the tree had been immant.” properly planted by the property’s Second rule of thumb, “Don’t cut a previous owners, Nickerson began to branch off that is more than two inch- dig around the base of the tree lookes in diameter. If it’s any bigger, ing for the flare of the trunk and the you’re too late and the tree will have first root nodule, the optimum tree to spend too much energy healing planting depth. He dug two inches, over the cut wound.” Nickerson also three inches, four inches. Nothing. advised against using any kind of wound dressing such as paint or See PRUNING, page 7

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Going Green

APRIL 22, 2011 7

PRUNING: A vital part of tree health Continued from page 6 Then a half-inch further he found a root that he determined did not belong to the oak.

“Aha! Here’s the culprit,” Nickerson pointed out a three-inch sucker root from a neighboring cottonwood tree that had wrapped itself around the base of the oak. To make the oak’s life even more miserable were two nearby hoses from a discarded drip system installed for the surrounding landscaping.

With pruning saw and hand axe in hand, Nickerson set to remedying the situation, removing the feral root and obstructive drip lines.

Mystery solved, disaster diverted.

“Good lesson today,” Nickerson said. “You can determine a lot by knowing your trees. Sometimes what we think is

Courtesy photo

District Forester Doak Nickerson demonstrates proper tree pruning technique during a workshop hosted by the North Platte Natural Resources District April 7 in Scottsbluff.

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At Plaza Foods, 400 cloth shopping bags were given away, 800 trees were given away by the NRD, Water Samples were taken by Scottsbluff FFA Chapter-43 & 1000 lbs. of cardboard were collected.

At Mr. Tire, 26 auto batteries, 300 tires, 12 propane tanks, 25 gallons of antifreeze, 126 gallons of oil & 35 license plates were collected.

At Platte Valley Bank, Plaza Branch, 11,500 lbs. of paper were shredded.

At Panhandle Coop Plaza & Environmental Services, over 50,000 lbs. of electronics were collected.

Lincoln Elementary displayed 245 pieces of art.

Thank you to our partners, Keep Scottsbluff Gering Beautiful, Platte Valley Bank, City of Scottsbluff Environmental Services, City of Gering Environmental Services, Girl Scouts, Midwest Theater, Scottsbluff FFA, WNCC Athletic Dept, North Platte NRD, KNEB FM, Docu-Shred & Pepsi for helping make the Earth Day Celebration event successful.

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