From healthy Homes to healthy Schools (continued): Part 2 | GreenandSave.com | Green News, Tips, and Services for saving money, energy and the planet.

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GREEN HOME SHOW #31: From healthy Homes to healthy Schools (continued): Part 2 Skit and Audience Going Green Questions

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The following content is from THE GREAT GREEN HOME SHOW #31.

The content of the GGHS is solely the responsibility of the ECF and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of WILM, its sponsors or Clear Channel Radio. Any rebroadcast, reproduction or use of the Great Green Home Show or its contents without written permission from the Green Fox, Paul Hughes, Doug Hunt, Aunt Jean, Brenna Wallace, Brooke Chase, the Watson Brothers, The Snap and the Sin City Band is strictly prohibited.

Overall Segment #2 – 12:00

ECSI - 6:00 Sponsored by: Suntrust Mortgage

Doug: (deep voice)

And now, the pilot episode of Environmental Crime Scene Investigation

FOX: It was just another lazy fall afternoon. The sun hadn't quite set yet, but the edges of the clouds were beginning to change to pink. I was sitting back in my easy chair, the aroma of my organic, fair trade, non-fat, soy, no-foam, triple mocha latte wafting in the hazy twilight, and remembering some of our most amazing environmental crime scene investigations… Imagining that I was working with Kate Beckinsale when woooooo (noise of falling over)

The phone starts to ring (Brook makes ringing noises BBBRRIINGG, BBRRRINNNGGG)
FOX: Where was I? Oh right… I was looking out my office window at the beautiful landscape. You see our office is on an Organic Farm, and yes it looks out over a Valley with nothing but streams, fields and ponds with ducks.... lots and lots of Ducks. I love ducks... and I hate the phone... you see, first.... well, I guess I’d better explain who I am. My first name, is… well, unimportant. The last name’s Fox, F-O-X… that's all you need to know. They call me the Green Fox or GF or G-Fox or Foxy or the Big Fox or …………

Brenda: (from a distance) Hey! Don’t you guys hear the phone?!!!
Fox: (Ignoring her) By the way... That guy over there is our E.T. assistant, John Trumpawitz. He's the best environmental tech I know. We were just betting on which duck would get to the other side of the pond first… see them swimming down there? My money’s on the little green one... Ok… Yes... Things have been a little slow here lately....

Brenda: (Up close and annoyed) Hey Fox, couldn't you hear the phone ringing? I mean, I could hear it all away outside!!! I’m out there weeding in the garden, just waiting for one of you guys to pick up the phone… but no! I mean, am I like a secretary or something? I have like 5 PHDs in stuff you guys can't even spell!!! I mean really… wouldn’t it be nice to make a few bucks for a change? It’s been super slow lately and I really don’t think we can afford to ignore the phone when it’s probably someone needing the only service we provide.

FOX: It was our boss, Brenda Wallace. She's like the smartest animal psychologist on the planet… I mean it's like she can talk to animals and plants or something, which is why we call her “Doolittle”. Well at least that’s what we call her when she’s not around. She hates to be called “Doolittle”.

Brenda: Can someone please acknowledge that I’m speaking. Hey!!! Who pays the bills around here?!!!....
Fox and John: unh well, uh well I uh, HUH, mumble, mumble, mumble

Fox: “Well… yeah we heard the phone, but we were discussing something really important and, and, and, well...... who was it anyway? Wow look at my duck go (Quacking)... you’re gonna owe me lunch again John...”
Brenda: A client, you know why we’re in business... what happened over here on the floor?... did you fall off the chair again?

Fox: “Uh no, no, I didn't... I think Trumpawitz did though... spilled some coffee and he fell... so tell me again… who was on the phone?”
Brenda: A client in need.... yep, we just got us a case so we’d better get moving. You guys need to take all your stuff... I mean, you know… that stuff you call equipment. We’ve got a drive up to Brandywine Creek... there was a guy fishing and he’s claiming that some of the fish were floating and they didn’t look so good… their eyes were rolling around in their heads and they were gasping...

FOX: (Incredulous) “They were gasping?”
Brenda: Yeah, they were gasping!

FOX: “How exactly does a fish gasp?”
Brenda: (demonstrating) kthwthchkthw

FOX: “Ok, ok, ok”
Brenda: Anyway, I’m afraid there may be something in the water... no time to waste...

FOX: She loved saying that… “no time to waste”
John: Okay boss, let’s go... your duck can’t swim anyway Fox, he’s on the wrong side of the pond. You’re buyin’ lunch. I’ll get the test equipment… you get the SLEEV warmed up.

FOX: SLEEV is an acronym for our retro-fitted VW Micro-bus. It stands for Super Low-emission Energy Efficient Vehicle.
Brenda: I'm way ahead of you guys. The SLEEV is all ready to go. All you have to do is jump in and buckle your seat-belts… I don’t need you falling out of your seats on the way over there. And leave the ducks...

FOX: Once we arrived at the scene, we were all a little concerned
John: Oh boss, this don't look too good. Take a look at the clues over there...

Brenda: Fox, take some pictures and samples of the water. John, head up-stream and see what other clues you can find. I’m going to talk to… I mean “examine” the fish.

Fox: Okay, let me see what we have here. The water looks fine... uh oh… wait a minute. Seems to be some sort of slimy substance just below the surface... let me see if I can get some samples... alright I got.... wooooooooh! (splash) I have the grace of a Gazelle! Wait a minute! What's this on the bottom that feels so oily and greasy? Better take some samples of that too. I wonder what kind of luck Brenda is having?
Brenda: Hmmmmm, lets see if I walk down here along the bank everything looks fine and then, Snickers Bar wrapper... oh yeah, here's a little pool off to the side of the creek and there are some fish floating in it... lets see... wow!... they look sick... lets see... their eyes are red and they look lifeless... but there mouths are moving... it is as if they’re trying to tell me something....

Fish: (like Munchkins) help us...someone put crap in our water

John: Hey guys I found some clues... look at this... some one has been dumping trash up stream... looks like some detergent wash from the Neighborhood up there, tires, trash bags, and oil cans... I can’t believe that people are still doing this...
Fox: Hey, I got water samples... that should tell us a lot... I need to get back to the lab... but this black stuff on my shoes came from the bottom... what’s that tell you?

Brenda: Well first, it’ tells me not to drink the water, and then it ... did you fall into the water again?
Fox: Uh… no… I was just trying to get some samples from the bottom.

John: It’s only 2 feet deep...
Fox: Anyway, there’s also a smell coming from the water. I can’t quite make it out, but it is familiar. I’ll figure it out eventually. And the water’s cloudy.

Brenda: I talked to... I mean “examined” the fish and here’s what I figure is going on:

It seems some pollutant or pollutants are getting into the creek up stream... phosphates from detergents and oil from discarded cans... maybe even some runoff pollution from the neighborhood just up the hill...
The oil on the bottom means that it’s been happening for a long time and
The cloudy water with no oxygen means acid rain or pollutants may have affected the ph of the water, and now it can’t support life very well...

John: So what are you saying?
Brenda: What I’m saying is we all need to check our waterways and join stream watches and become volunteers to prevent and protect our precious water supply... so this week go check with your local nature center or nature area and volunteer to be a water watcher and help save our waterways… before we’re all “sleepin’ with the fishes”.

Listener Letters – 6:00 Sponsored by: CMI Solar Electric

It’s time for Listener Letters. What do we have Doug?

Our first question comes from Randy Cunningham of Depford, NJ. Randy wants to know: I want to buy Compact Fluorescent Lights for my house, but there are so many now, I don’t know which to buy.
ENERGY STAR qualified CFLs provide the greatest savings in light fixtures that are on for a substantial amount of time each day. At a minimum, ENERGY STAR recommends installing qualified CFLs in fixtures that are used at least 15 minutes at a time or for several hours a day. The best fixtures in which to use qualified CFLs are usually found in the following areas of your home:
Matching the right CFL to the right kind of fixture helps ensure that it will perform properly and last a long time.
For example:
CFLs perform best in open fixtures that allow airflow, such as table and floor lamps, wall sconces, pendants, and outdoor fixtures.
For recessed fixtures, it is better to use a reflector CFL than a spiral CFL since the design of the reflector evenly distributes the light down to your task area.
If a light fixture is connected to a dimmer or three-way switch, you'll need to use a special ENERGY STAR qualified CFL designed to work in these applications. Make sure to look for CFLs that specify use with dimmers or three-way fixtures.
To choose the ENERGY STAR qualified CFL with the right amount of light, find a qualified CFL that’s labeled as equivalent to the incandescent bulb you are replacing. Light bulb manufacturers include this information right on the product packaging to make it easy for consumers to choose the equivalent bulb. Common terms include "Soft White 60" or "60 Watt Replacement."
You should also check the lumen rating to find the right CFL. The higher the lumen rating, the greater the light output.
For more information, or to find the right bulb for the right job, go to energystar.gov. You can do a search there to find the makes and models available (and even where to buy them) for any application, like 3-ways, dimmers and outdoor use.
Our second question is from Harry Nillsson of Montchanin, DE, who asks: I’m hearing some bad things about hybrid cars. What’s the real story?
While there are some things about hybrids that people aren’t discussing, it’s still too early to see whether or not they’re everything they’re cracked up to be. For instance, Gas - electric hybrid engines use several large batteries. Creating these power cells requires a couple of hundred pounds of heavy metals-- not to mention the copper used in the large electric drive motors and the heavy wires they require. Mining and smelting lead, copper and other heavy metals used to make a hybrid battery is an energy intensive process that generates both air pollution and deforestation. Disposing of the batteries when they outlive their usefulness also raises some environmental challenges.
We’ve been cautioning all along that it’s too soon to determine if Hybrids are all that and a bag of chips. However, we already know that hybrids are simply a stepping stone to better technology anyway. So let people go nuts over the hybrids for now. Eventually they’re going to go away anyway. In the meantime, they’re helping us by being part of the bridge to get to where we want to go anyway.
Our last question is from Al Davis of Elkton, MD. Al asks: I want to build a green home from scratch. What are the first steps I need to take to make it as green as possible?

Check the Radio Show Segments on GREENandSAVE.com for the ANSWERS!

Thanks to CMI Electric for sponsoring this weeks Listener Letters. Remember, we’ll answer your questions too.