Dozens of people received advice Wednesday on how to improve their impact on the environment and save money while doing it.
In an event sponsored by the Marietta/Washington County League of Women Voters at the Washington Electric Cooperative, several speakers tried to convey ways that listeners can reduce their "carbon footprint."
The term refers to the amount of carbon emissions a person's everyday activities generate. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas.
Seth Cressey, a junior biochemistry major at Marietta College, discussed transportation. He recommended people who decide to buy hybrid vehicles choose smaller ones like a Prius or a Passat, rather than a sport-utility vehicle hybrid.
"You want to get one that gets at least 50 miles per gallon if you really do want to reduce your carbon footprint," he said.
Batteries on the larger hybrid SUVs take a lot of energy to make and dispose of, but the environmental impact is offset with the fuel economy on the smaller hybrids, Cressey said.
Cressey explained that ethanol can be a more efficient fuel than gasoline, but only if it is made properly
"It's not popular to say this, but the United States does not make ethanol properly," he said.
Cressey said the U.S. makes corn ethanol, which has to be harvested and turned into sugar before it is processed. Brazil, he said, uses sugar cane ethanol, which is easier to cultivate, and is already sugar, so it takes less energy to produce.
Local environmentalist Marilyn Ortt spoke about the solar panels she had installed in her house.
"I just love getting those $8 electric bills from American Electric Power," she said.
Ortt cited a study which showed the cost of having solar panels installed would be made up in about 17 years if energy prices continued to rise. She also said there are government grants available which will pay about 25 percent of the total price, but those grants are a lot of work to obtain.
Jennifer Bennett from the cooperative talked about getting fluorescent bulbs, saying they can save about $3 a year on an electric bill. The bulbs also last longer than their incandescent counterparts, she said.
"I was glad to see the attendance was as high as it was," said Jim Grecni, 59, of Marietta. "I'm an environmentally conscious person and even I was enlightened."
