Recent Articles

Maintaining a healthy lawn is good for the environment, so we often turn to seasonal lawn fertilizers to feed our lawns and cultivate that rich, green carpet of grass.

However, many lawn fertilizer products contain phosphorus, which can result in pollution to waterways and watersheds if not used properly.

Since phosphorus from grass or lawn fertilizers is absorbed slowly into soil, and plants use only small amounts, excess phosphorus runoff can cause algae to build up in waterways, disrupting the ecological balance.

Compacted soil in your lawn decreases water infiltration and therefore increases the runoff potential for harmful elements like fertilizers, which get washed into storm drains or road ditches and end up in your local lakes and rivers.

Lawn aeration involves the removal of small soil plugs or cores out of the lawn, so that air can pass freely into the soil and circulate around the roots.

According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, healthy grass prevents soil erosion, filters contaminants from rainwater and absorbs many types of airborne pollutants, like dust and soot. Grass is also highly efficient at converting carbon dioxide to oxygen, a process that helps clean the air.

Grass sod is an alternative to seeding when laying a new lawn. Laying grass sod is more expensive than seeding, but you get instant results. A healthy lawn gives environmental benefits whether it’s cultivated from grass sod or seed.

Wise use of water for garden and lawn waterings not only helps protect the environment, but also saves money and provides for optimum growing conditions.

Simple ways of reducing the amount of water used for irrigation include:

1. Mulching
2. Adding water-retaining organic matter to the soil
3. Installing windbreaks and fences to lower the effect of winds.

Below are two tips for conserving water while watering your lawn:

1. Watering in the early morning before the sun is intense helps reduce the water lost from evaporati

Lawn areas around homes provide space for your family's outdoor recreational needs and offer aesthetically pleasing backdrops for other landscape plantings. Lawns and grass also contain many environmental benefits, for example:

1. Stabilizes soil against water and wind erosion
2. Increases water infiltration into the soil
3. Helps recharge groundwater supplies
4. Lowers storm water runoff

Research has demonstrated that storm water runoff from a healthy, relatively dense lawn rarely occurs, even on modest slopes.

Most ENERGY STAR qualified clothes washers do not have a central agitator.

Clothes washers that meet ENERGY STAR criteria use advanced next generation technology to cut energy and water consumption by over 40% compared to conventional washers.

ENERGY STAR qualified models are available as front loading and top loading clothes washers.

1. Top-loading models look like conventional machines from the outside, but the advanced technology in clothes washersapproved by ENERGY STAR usesa different type of washing action to get clothes clean with less water

Replacing a dishwasher manufactured before 1994 with an ENERGY STAR qualified dishwasher can save you more than $30 a year in utility costs.

Earning the ENERGY STAR means a product meets strict energy efficiency guidelines set by the US Environmental Protection Agency and the US Department of Energy. All ENERGY STAR qualified dish washers use at minimum 41 percent less energy than the federal minimum standard for energy consumption. Additionally, ENERGY STAR dishwashers use far less water than conventional models, which helps conserve our nation’s water supplies.

If every room air conditioner sold in the U.S. was ENERGY STAR qualified, it would prevent 1.2 billion pounds of greenhouse gas emissions - the equivalent emissions from 100,000 cars. Earning the ENERGY STAR means a product meets strict energy efficiency guidelines set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy.

1. Among other benefits, ENERGY STAR qualified room air conditioners use at least 10% less energy than conventional models.

ENERGY STAR qualified refrigerators require about half as much energy as models manufactured before 1993. ENERGY STAR qualified refrigerators provide energy savings without sacrificing the features you want. The benefits of ENERGY STAR refrigerators include the following:

1. ENERGY STAR qualified refrigerator models use high efficiency compressors, advanced insulation, and precision temperature and defrosting mechanisms for increased energy efficiency.

The average household washes about 400 loads of laundry each year, consuming an average of 13,500 gallons of water annually. Selecting an ENERGY STAR clothes washer instead of a regular washing machine provides the following benefits:

1. Save Money: Though it may appear cheaper in the short term, regular clothes washers can cost $550 more to operate over their life than ENERGY STAR clothes washers. By dramatically reducing energy and water consumption, these units cut utility bills by an average of $50 per year.