Entry bubble What Do You Know About Energy?

By: Editor | August 24, 2009 | Category: Home and Family

boy who looks puzzledOur guest blogger today is Colleen Blessing, who works on the energy statistics website at the Energy Information Administration.   

We all think a little about gasoline, because that’s a type of energy we actually buy, but many of us probably don’t understand much about gas prices except that they go up and down a lot. 

Do you know which country we get the biggest share of our oil imports 
from?  Answer:  It’s Canada, and almost half of our oil imports come from the Western Hemisphere.  You’re not alone if you got the wrong answer:  More than half of the people we surveyed recently either didn’t know or guessed Saudi Arabia or Iraq.

When you click the remote and the TV comes on, do you ever think about the electricity you’re buying to make it work or even where that electricity comes from?  If you’re like me, energy is sort of just there.  It’s on the stove and in the plug, but I don’t really think about it until there’s a power outage or until my bills are really high.  But where does electricity come from?  About half of the electricity in the United States is generated by burning coal! 

So, seeing as how it’s back-to-school time for kids, maybe some of us adults could also learn an interesting fact or two! 

And have I got a source of energy information for you!  In the category of “wow, I didn’t know the government did that,” at my high school reunion (I won’t mention which one), I amazed people by telling them I work at a government statistical agency that produces policy neutral energy data—independent of spin or advocacy.  They thought the government should do that, but they didn’t know that it actually did!  The Energy Information Administration prides itself on collecting and giving the public facts about energy that they can believe in. 

Biofuels mostly refers to ethanol and biodiesel, liquid fuels used for transportation.  They are made from things like corn and animal fat.  Did you know that Henry Ford’s original automobile, the Model T, could run on either gasoline or ethanol?

Renewable energy sources include water, the sun, geothermal, biomass and wind.  Did you know that most renewable energy is used to produce electricity?  China leads the world in renewable energy use for electricity production, but the United States is in second place.  

Do you think yellow cake is just to eat?  In fact, the term also is another name for uranium oxide, the fuel used by nuclear power plants.  Fun and Games can help you learn more energy terms.  If you’re ready to graduate to data and analysis, you can find lots of information on the Energy Information Administration website.

Start learning about energy!

| View Comments [4] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: biofuels   editor   electricity   energy   foreign_oil_dependence   gas_prices   gasoline   kids   renewable_energy  

 

Entry bubble Keep Food Safe During a Power Outage

By: Joanne | July 29, 2008 | Category: Health

stainless steel refrigerator doorsI woke up this morning to a power outage. Naturally my first instinct was to panic – I can’t make coffee! Then I collected myself, found an electric bill and reported the outage to the power company and within an hour I was grinding coffee beans.

I’m lucky that I’m rarely without power and if it does go out, it’s only for a short time. What concerns me most during a power outage (after coffee) is the food in the refrigerator and freezer. Summertime is when you have to be the most careful about handling food – the heat, humidity and power outages caused by summer storms can all make your food bad, and worse, make you sick.

I know we all hate the idea of throwing food away – it’s so expensive these days and we hate to waste it. But remember it’s better to be safe than sorry. Salmonella and other food-borne illnesses are not to be taken lightly.

The good news is that it’s pretty easy to take care of your food for a short power outage, and there are steps you can take to save your food for a longer outage too. Keep your refrigerator and freezer doors closed. An unopened refrigerator will keep foods cold enough for a couple of hours at least. A freezer that is half full will hold for up to 24 hours and a full freezer for 48 hours. When the power comes back on, use a thermometer to check the temperature of your refrigerator and freezer. If the refrigerator is 40° F or colder, and the freezer is still colder than 40° F, the food is safe.

| View Comments [3] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: electricity   food   joanne   outage   power   safety