If you have storm windows and notice condensation on the inside of the storm window, there is an air leak that is making the windows less effective than they can were intended to be.  This can be especially irritating when you can't see outside because of the steamed up surface and can be very detrimental when selling your home.  You need to seal any leak to prevent warm inside air from the space between the two windows.  This will save heating costs and make living a little sweeter.

This week on the Today Show, the theme is water conservation and the impacts of global warming on this natural resource.  Conservation efforts everyone can can make part of their live will be introduced on each day of the show.  Each person uses about 100 to 175 gallons of water a day which makes a tremendous impact.  It is worth the time to listen in and see what you can do each day.

If you use an electric blanket and turn down the heat at night, you can save money and reduce your energy consumption.  A couple of things are important to remember though.  First, you have to remember to turn it off in the morning.  The other thing that is important is to replace older blankets - more for safety reasons than for energy savings.  Keeping warm and staying ahead of the electric bills can be simple.

When you're conserving energy, every little thing can help.  Painting the walls of your home a light color is more efficient.  Dark colors tend to absorb light, requiring you to use more energy from light bulbs to achieve the same level of light in your home.  Lighter color walls will also make your rooms feel brighter and more cheerful, not to mention the benefit of having a brighter, cleaner, and more neutral home when you are selling your home.

Fall is a good time to check you battery's load capabilities. Getting stuck on a cold winter day because a little preventative maintenance was overlooked is no fun.  Newer cars are equipped with so many computers and electronic systems, higher load capacity batteries are needed.  My Volkswagen Eurovan was having trouble - the engine light, brake light, and other warning lights were coming on for no reason - at least with those components.  A new battery fixed that problem and insured I can safely show homes through the upcoming winter months.  If you replace your battery at home, be sure to recycle.

Here's information from Chelan County PUD on their SNAP program - a program designed to generate alternative, renewable energy.  The simpliest way to participate is to donate to renewable power; the ultimate is to produce your own and sell it back to the PUD.  Here's the link to the PUD website:

 http://www.chelanpud.org/snap.html

Here's a brief summary:

Sustainable Natural Alternative Power (SNAP) is one of Chelan County PUD's renewable energy programs. Customers voluntarily pay a little extra on their utility bills to support solar and wind power. These donations are distributed once a year to our SNAP producers -- individuals, schools and nonprofit agencies that are generating solar and wind power. Renewable energy generated by SNAP producers goes into the PUD's electrical grid and is distributed to PUD customers. 

Pretty cool (or hot, if it's winter)

Set back thermostats are a great way to reduce your heating and cooling costs, especially if you use the feature to turn back the settings while you are away and at night.  This time of year, however, I find we use heating and cooling when we really don't need it.  For air conditioning, a hour or two with a temperature a few degrees warmer than we usually keep the rooms is not too hard to endure.  The automatic settings on the thermostat keeps the temperature at the predetermined setting regardless.  I prefer to turn off the system all together until winter sets in and the temperature calls for heat full time and in the spring, for constant cooling.

Watching the Olympics is an eye-opener when it comes to pollution.  Every effort we make is small compared to the damage that is happening in other countries.  Money must be such a powerful forcethat damaging the lives of people comes second to wealth.  The technologies that have been developed to reduce emissions are available but not being employed.  What will it take to stop the harm?  Would withholding the privilege of hosting the Olympics have made a difference?  Maybe, but we will never know.

It is true and you've probably heard it before but driving slower will save you money.  Your car uses less gas at slower speeds and with less stopping and going.  It is hard to slow down when everyone is passing you by but not only will you save money, less consumption is a good thing, especially considering the price of filling a tank these days.  Will we become complacent when gas prices fall a little and seem like a bargain again.  It would be better is we permanently changed our driving habits, but will we?

Windmills have been around for centuries to generate power for a variety of needs.  A new type of wind generation system has been developed by placing wind generators on top of tall buildings in cities.  These machines appear to be lying on their sides but actually rotate better than windmill type generators.  The face of the building can be modified to increase the wind tunnel effect and output.  These types of energy generators are unseen which is an improvement over the wind farms sprouting up all over and they are reported to be more efficient.