Air Date: Week of January 18, 2008

Looking for tips on how to lower your carbon footprint? California listener Sandy Kappelmann tells us how her family saves water and electricity doing the dishes.

Transcript

[THEME MUSIC]

GELLERMAN: In the segment we call “Cool Fix for a Hot Planet” we highlight ways you can take action against climate change. Sandy Kappelman listens to Living on Earth on KQED in San Francisco. We liked the Cool Fix she emailed. So we called her up.

KAPPELMANN: We’re using our dishwasher in a new way these days. Instead of using large amounts of water and electricity to run full loads and dry them, we now hand wash our dishes each night in biodegradable liquid dish soap, using a small sink full of hot, soapy water. Then we rinse off all the dishes at the same time. The dishwasher has become a giant dish drainer. We leave the racks open at night and by morning all the dishes are air-dried. We’ve noticed our utility bills are smaller and the amount of water we’re using is less. So by going green we’re saving some green, too. We love using lavender earth-friendly dish soap instead of powder dishwasher detergent. Our dishes are cleaner now than they ever were when we were using the dishwasher in the usual way.

GELLERMAN: Well, thanks, Sandy. And for your cool fix, we're sending you a sleek blue Living on Earth tire gauge. If you use it to keep your tires correctly inflated, it could save you as much as $432 a year. That's according to a study from Carnegie Mellon University. If you have a Cool Fix for a Hot Planet, let us know. If we use your idea on the air, you too will get a LOE tire gauge.
Call our listener line at 800-218-99 88, that's 800-218-9988. Or email coolfix— that’s one word—at loe.org. That's coolfix at loe.org.