Oprah’s Green show

By mudlark • April 23rd, 2007

Oprah had a great show on Friday about making environmentally-friendly choices. The goal of the show was to show viewers small things they can be doing in their every day lives to help the environment. A few highlights -

Paper or plastic? Neither! Bring your own reusable bags when you shop. The plastic bags take eons to biodegrade, and paper bags use a staggering amount of trees every year. So, BYOB! Bring your own Bag!
Water – one liter of bottled water takes 5 liters of water to produce. Use tap water – filter it if you feel the need, and buy a reusable aluminum bottle.
“Fake” Clean: Clean doesn’t smell like pine or lemon. Clean doesn’t smell! The chemicals in regular cleaners aren’t healthy for people, animals, or the earth. Use natural cleaners and a natural cleaning company (need we say, like Broom Huggers!)
Did you know that appliances and electronics still use 40% of their power when they’re not in use? Your toaster, lamps, tv – they all use 40% of their power as long as they’re plugged in, on “standby.” The solution? Use a Smart Power Strip. Turn of the power strip and it’ll keep those appliances from sucking energy. Also, it groups your electronics in ‘clusters,’ so that when you turn off your TV, it also turns off your DVD player and surround sound too. Clever!

There are some awesome resources at Oprah’s website, along with some video feed. Check it out!

Comments(3) Being Green, Cleaning products, Health, News, Shopping, Water

Comments

By Edgar Xie on January 9th, 2008 at 9:28 pm

Hi,

I was wondering where you obtained the value of “40%” for the appliances using power when plugged in and not in use. I find that value to be somewhat believable for appliances with displays and waiting for remote signals (like TVs, DVD players). However, that value sounds entirely too high for appliances such as lamps and toasters that “should” contain a switch inside their circuit and thus not draw any current from the power outlet.

Thanks,
Edgar Xie

By mudlark on January 10th, 2008 at 9:29 am

Edgar, you’d have to ask Oprah and her guests where they got the numbers. Mine are just a summary of what was said on the show. I assume a lot of it depends on the technology in use in the appliance, as you mentioned. From what I understood from the show, and from further research I’ve done since, is that while items waiting for a remote signal do continue to use more power than I’d like, other appliances like the toaster, the lamps, food processor, etc., also use more power than I thought they did when they’re turned off and plugged in. The moral of the story, regardless of the numbers I summarized from Oprah’s show, is that either unplugging things entirely or using a Smart Power Strip will not just save energy costs in the home, but it will also save the amount of energy consumption, thereby helping your community to preserve the environment.

Thanks for your thoughtful comment – keep ‘em coming!

By Francis on May 3rd, 2009 at 1:16 pm

I would also question that 40% number they threw out there. According to the EnergyStar website. After a complete energy audit and through several, and sometimes more, upgrades a person can expect a 30% reduction in energy bills. If a power strip could do this I doubt EnergyStar would even both with other angles.