GoingTrueGreen's Blog Postings - Going True Green

Revisiting Two Old Articles

8/17/2020

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3.5 inch Floppy

I went through some of my old files this month, not some file drawers, but files on 3.5 floppy discs and CDs. I had to clean off and plug in my old computer that was in the attic to visit yesteryear. What caught my attention were two old articles that I had on my first Lightbulb Hotline website pages in the 1990s and then I posted them on my second website (EnergyHotwire) for 4th of July, 2003 and 2004.

I have now posted them on GoingTrueGreen.com for your viewing today. The data is powerful, but deals with compact fluorescent bulbs, so LEDs will be the way to go today with an even more powerful result. Especially when using today's much higher kilowatt rates.

Visiting the past always helps to make a better future. Feel free to use the Category Links on the right, namely the ones called Memories and Yesteryear Articles and Blogs. To go directly to these two newly reposted articles, use the Archives section on the right ( you may need to scroll down some) and click on the dates: July 2003 and 2004.

Enjoy the "Look Back" - Thank you.

Bill Lauto, at GoingTrueGreen.com
Environmental Scientist
International Sustainability and Energy Consultant
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Goodbye To EnergyHotWire.com

6/11/2020

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EnergyHotWire.com (EHW) Home Page

Hard to believe that we are going to be saying goodbye to EnergyHotwire.com. Almost 20 years after we started to build the website EHW, we created over 180 web pages of data. All to help everyone save money, energy, health and our Earth.

An interesting note is that EHW wasn't our first website. By 1994 the Internet was being explored as a tool to provide energy saving information. Recognizing a need, I first launched the Light Bulb HotLine web site off of my company's Domain in 1996. Then in April of 2001, EnergyHotwire.com was created. At the end of 2001, EnergyHotwire.com started to work on a stronger effort to present energy saving data and the Light Bulb HotLine web pages were phased out.

Today, most of the data on EHW is now on GoingTrueGreen.com. Instead of pages with text and photos, we now have videos, online classes and an official Blog dating back to my published articles from the 1980s. Over recent years we have continued re-presenting data from EHW on GTG. Obviously, most information has become redundant between the two websites. So at the end of this June, EnergyHotWire will be retired.

Below are just a few of the comments and emails, in part, that we received over the years:

Hello, I live in Kodiak Alaska. I recently purchased a 15 watt bulb from your company and I would like to buy more. What would be the lowest possible shipping charges to Alaska for a whole case of ESL-15T bulbs?
Best Regards, PV

Bill, Thanks for the quick response. I found out about these bulbs at Safeway and I wish I knew about your website sooner, I would have saved myself about $40 to $50 bucks or more and had better bulbs too. I'm going to buy the case and take them out to my cabin over on Afognak island.
PV - 2002

Bill,
I just emailed my brother Frank to read your outstanding article posted at www.Energy Hotwire.com
Phenomenal writing, I really enjoyed it.
Joe, Buffalo New York - 2002

Thanks for your response, Bill. I'm impressed with your power usage. Here in Texas with the daily high typically hitting 100, my electric bill last month was $128. Many of my friends were over $250 for similar houses. I use geothermal heat as well as all CFC light bulbs and it really makes a difference.
I'll keep in touch.
Brett in Texas - 2003

Dear Bill,
Thank you for your fantastic presentation at the North Shore Audubon meeting. I had such positive feedback from our members and I believe you gave them enough information to actually make a change. Even my husband, the electrician, learned a thing or two. Thank you especially for coming out under such a stressful time.
Wish you peace and happiness in the coming year.
Mary - 2007

Bill Lauto, at GoingTrueGreen.com
Environmental Scientist
International Sustainability and Energy Consultant
Contribute your comments!

50 Years Ago

4/16/2020

These days many of us are using our "stay at home" time to become better connected with God, family, friends, nature and memories. Many of us have caught up on the books we were reading, projects in progress and working to heal our own faults. I have done so on all cited.

With going through albums, yearbooks, cards, letters and photos, I came across memories of the first Earth Day that was many years before I would learn how to drive a car. So bicycles were the way for me and my friends. Let them be a 3 speed, 10 speed or a bike with a Banana seat!

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I remember many people, places and events, but I don't remember as a young boy screaming or demanding solutions. We were part of the solutions. Over the years, we organized bike rides with signs and later as an adult, I became the energy advisor to the Earth Day committee on the twentieth anniversary. On that twentieth anniversary I was given the nickname "Lightbulb Bill" and I continue today with presenting an educational approach to Nature's complete picture. Having a complete picture of the facts helps to present real solutions for each one of us. Mainly because each one of us, is the solution.

For Earth Day this year, the 50th anniversary, I have been working on another exciting way to provide and help share the facts for a complete picture. My next GTG Blog will be posted on Earth Day to formally introduce Going True Green's Membership program with benefits for all of us to work together as a team, while implementing solutions on our own. Until then please stay safe, be smart and be well.

Bill Lauto, at GoingTrueGreen.com
Environmental Scientist
International Sustainability and Energy Consultant
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Published by BBV Publishing

Grandpa's Wood Hangers

2/13/2020

FTC Disclosure: This post contains an affiliate Ad link below and GTG will be compensated if a purchase is made after clicking the link. Thank you.

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70 Year Old Wood Hangers Still Working

I only had one grandfather in my life when growing up. I never knew my grandfather who was killed in an accident on a loading dock for a World War Two supply ship. The other day I thought of both of them as I reviewed my clothes in the closet. I have been Reducing and Reusing over the years and I make sure that a great deal of my clothes are made of 100% cotton or wool. See my previous GTG Blog post called:
All I Want for Christmas is Cotton and Wool

This time while going through my closet, I noticed something else I have been reusing: My grandfather's hangers made of wood. The grandfather, that I was fortunate to have in my life when young, was a tailor and worked in New York City's Garment District. When the Garment district started its transition and the demand for my grandfather's talent was replaced with overseas manufacturing, the company he worked for eventually went out of business. When he saw the company throwing away all the suit hangers, he took home as many as he could. These hangers were made in the 1950s and I am still using them. I inherited some of those hangers and I proudly use them instead of any plastic hanger made today which could never perform to the same caliber as my grandfather's hangers that he saved from a landfill.

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Curbside Garbage That Is Not Garbage

Sure over the years one or two broke, but I improvised and fixed them. I took the time to think of a way to repair them and spent the time fixing them instead of subscribing to be a member of the "throw away" society. Many times I see items by the curb for garbage pickup that are still in good working order. So many people just don't take the time, 3 to 5 minutes in reality, to make a phone call for someone else to use the items they are throwing away. One phone call to your church, community center or one of the dozens of charities that will pickup items from furniture to dishes, takes but a few minutes and others will be so grateful.

I realize the many faults of my own, even with me having less clothes now, I still have more clothes than my grandfather did. I know, because I remember cleaning out his armoire after he passed-over. I donated his hand-made suits and clothes. However, I kept the wooden hangers he was using and added them to the few he had given me many years before.

Bill Lauto, at GoingTrueGreen.com
Environmental Scientist
International Sustainability and Energy Consultant
Contribute your comments!

Victory Gardens Are Needed Again

10/2/2019

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I am sadden how the stories of our past, let them be His-Story or Her-Story, are forgotten or completely changed for a false narrative. I know just a few people reading this Going True Green Blog Post will know what a Victory Garden was so many years ago. Nevertheless, Victory Gardens are needed again.

Victory Gardens were planted by individuals on the Home Front as a patriot sign to make a difference as World War I and World War II were being fought. The premise was simple and the difference made was tremendous. These Victory Gardens were planted in yards, window pots, apartment rooftops and empty plots of land around the neighborhoods. They helped in the battle against food shortages as two world changing wars raged on for years. The food that was produced, was used and shared with those in need.

Today, a Victory Garden would be a major part of the multitude of solutions we can do as an individual. Having a Victory Garden will allow us to eat healthier with fresh organic food and be a positive contributing factor for our changing world. For more facts and information see my Going True Green Blog posts under the Category called: Composting.

If we truly want to be part of the solutions, we all need to have or take part in a Victory Garden. This Fall is the perfect time to start planning your very own Victory Garden for next Spring!

Bill Lauto, at GoingTrueGreen.com
Environmental Scientist
International Sustainability and Energy Consultant
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Posting Additional Look Backs

7/31/2019

Before I started GoingTrueGreen.com, I wrote code for websites on the World Wide Web in 1992. By 1995/96 I had the LightBulbHotLine website up and running to help people learn about the many new compact fluorescent light bulbs that were being sold since 1982. Eventually the LightBulb HotLine website became EnergyHotWire.com (EHW) and then I launched GoingTrueGreen.com (GTG) so they could work in tandem. Today, GTG is leading the way!

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First Website, 1995, Light Bulb Hotline

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Comic Relief On EHW Blog In 2007

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Kiplinger's April 1992

Over the years, before Blogs came about, I wrote articles or provided data for publications doing a section or column on energy savings. One such publication was in Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine, April 1992. The first day Kiplinger's magazine hit the newsstands, I received 95 phone calls from around the country. The section was titled: Lights That Lighten Your Electric Bill.

I have always been writing and teaching facts about Energy Saving Light Bulbs, as well as many other energy saving and environmental topics over the decades. I started loading up my articles to EnergyHotwire.com before the Blogging format took off.

This summer I am posting several more of those "Yesteryear" articles from Newspapers, Magazines, my LightBulb Hotline website and EnergyHotwire.com to my GoingTrueGreen Blog. You can take a trip down memory lane by accessing these postings under the Category called: Yesteryear Articles & Blogs, found in the right hand column of this page. For the Kiplinger story, you may click on the date: April 1992 under Archives, also found in the right hand column. To see how I was doing with my energy bills in my first apartment for the year 1988, click on the date May 1989. You can even use the Archives to click on the date November 1972 to peruse my very first paper I wrote on our environment back in middle school. My first article for newspapers on the new energy saving fluorescent light bulbs will be the next Archived date of November 2, 1987.

I also finally added the Category: COMIC RELIEF which brings you back to early 2007 when I published 3 different comic strips on EnergyHotwire.com.
Use this LINK to start off your visit back in time with a laugh or two or three - Comic Relief.

Enjoy the "Look Back" - Thank you.

Bill Lauto, at GoingTrueGreen.com
Environmental Scientist
International Sustainability and Energy Consultant
Contribute your comments!

Roof Tops

5/9/2019

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Altering Perspective

I have been on a several roof tops recently. A person's perspective is always altered when viewing their surroundings from a different angle, especially from above. I had the good fortune to meet with an American Space Shuttle Astronaut when visiting NASA in Florida one year. His view when in space was an extreme perspective of our Earth. Many astronauts described that view as an altering perspective.

Much closer to the ground, on my rooftop, I just did some air vent repairs and wiped down my solar panels for optimum performance. I also cleaned out the rain gutters to prepare for my next project. Collecting rainwater to flush my toilet!

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Tuscany Rain Barrel

I can no longer subscribe to paying money for clean drinkable water to flush away waste. Rainwater is Free and after a filter system to catch roof gravel, I am planning to implement my system for at least one toilet ASAP. I already collect rain water off my roof for my garden and lawn. From Tuscany style rain barrels to a giant rock design holding 80 gallons.

One's perspective must always include all angles to truly see all their surroundings and one's impact on God's green earth.

Bill Lauto, at GoingTrueGreen.com
Environmental Scientist
International Sustainability and Energy Consultant
Contribute your comments!

Batteries Included

1/1/2019

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Tesla's Current Power Wall Battery

This New Year will bring us the 50th anniversary of America's Apollo 11 Moon mission. This American accomplishment, against all odds, proves what Team Work will always give us... Success.

Currently a Team effort for better batteries is underway at the University of Cambridge. Scientists from Cambridge have recently pointed out that in less than the necessary time it takes to build a Nuclear Power Plant, lithium-air batteries could be contributing to making oil, coal and nuclear obsolete. Lithium-Air batteries are five times cheaper and lighter than today's lithium batteries.

These new developments place the technology of battery storage comparable to non-renewable fuels. Lithium-air batteries have a density that is ten times more than a lithium-ion battery. That is over 90% efficient through the discharge and recharge cycle. Also these batteries can be recharged well over 2,000 times before a need to replace them. This can drive down the cost for an electric car with batteries to a fifth of current costs. Additionally, these newer lithium-air batteries will weight a fifth of current batteries, thus allowing a car drive of over 400 miles possible on one charge.

Now technically the energy density is still lower than energy produced from oil. However, much of that oil producing energy is wasted by today's trucks and cars. The oil fuel is not utilized efficiently and as much as three-quarters of the oil fuel energy is lost in heat. Nevertheless, researchers at the University of Cambridge have shown how the development of a lithium-air battery looks very promising.

A New Year is upon us and time will tell. Meanwhile, Fuel Cells that make electricity by running off of free Hydrogen obtained from free rain water with power from free sun light working a photovoltaic panel are also moving closer to the launch pad, where we will all hear those heart stopping words, "Mission Control, we are GO for launch!"

Bill Lauto, at GoingTrueGreen.com
Environmental Scientist
International Sustainability and Energy Consultant
Contribute your comments!

International Friendships

11/23/2018

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IVBEC, New York City

By the conclusion of the 2018 International Vincentian Business and Ethics Conference (IVBEC), I had the good fortune to meet, befriend and network with professionals from around the world. This was an amazing 3 day event where I now have colleagues from Japan, Taiwan, Philippines, Australia, Georgia, Germany, Ireland, India, Spain and several American Universities, including St. John's University, the Host of this 25th IVBEC event in New York City.

We all came together as one team to help God's Green earth. Sustainable living saves money, energy and our environment without any sacrifices being made. All while living happier and healthier. At meals over the three days, conversations abounded about sharing realistic sustainable solutions on multiple levels. Solutions not only for our own families, friends, and workplaces, but also for the world's environment.

My lecture and discussions on the paper I presented covered facts about Climate Change that shows how the two opposite sides have taken various approaches to issues while being guilty of the same fault. At the same time, systematic failure to evaluate the entire scope of our changing climate in several areas of our planet, has caused many to just focus on one issue, forgetting that everything is connected. Thus, I was compelled to present a personal theory in my paper showing a link between two separate studies where I saw the potential for another serious contributing catalyst to our changing climate and potential health issues. Currently I am in contact with various journals to submit my paper for publication. Upon obtaining more details, I will confirm protocol about writing a blog on my theory and speaking at a few Universities that extended me an invitation at the IVBEC's three day event.

I extend a gracious thank you to all those who make the IVBEC, that is extremely effective and important, possible year after year. My inclusion for this 25th anniversary conference is an experience I will always cherish.

Below are a few images from when I attended and presented at the 25th IVBEC in New York City:

Bill Lauto, at GoingTrueGreen.com
Environmental Scientist
International Sustainability and Energy Consultant
Contribute your comments!

2018 Golden Leaf Award

10/29/2018

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I am very appreciative of being awarded the 2018 GOLDEN LEAF AWARD for my Going True Green Blog from LawnStarter's editorial team.

The Golden Leaf Award celebrates the best eco-friendly blogs that produced consistently good content throughout the year. The editorial team selected my blog post entitled: "Benefits To Growing Our Own Food" as their favorite piece for this year.

In part, the email we received from LawnStarter's editorial team stated:

Hello,

First of all, we’re huge fans of Going True Green, which the LawnStarter’s editorial team has chosen to receive our 2018 Golden Leaf Award. Congratulations!

The Golden Leaf Award celebrates the best eco-friendly blogs that produced consistently good content throughout the year.

Throughout this year, we monitored for blogs that achieved these criteria:

- Quality and Consistency of Writing
- Demonstration of Environmental Knowledge
- Resourcefulness with Waste and Money
- Social Media Outreach

We chose your "Benefits To Growing Our Own Food" as our favorite piece for this year.

The writeup afforded to GoingTrueGreen.com and my blog on the LawnStarter's website is:

"Going True Green is an indispensable resource on environmental science and green living. This is because Bill Lauto, a well-respected sustainability consultant and expert, runs this blog. Going True Green shows the full picture of our damage on Earth, while providing info on how we as individuals can reduce our impact."

I must recognize that a major contributing factor to receiving this acknowledgement is because of our followers and readers. I am happy to be able to provide useful details toward saving money, energy, and our environment, when living a more sustainable life without sacrifice. I graciously extend my sincere thanks to all of you and the LawnStarter's editorial team.

Bill Lauto, at GoingTrueGreen.com
Environmental Scientist
International Sustainability and Energy Consultant
Contribute your comments!