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the HERALD Page 12 Environment Wednesday December 11 1991 Ways to conserve energy and save money all at once By BARBARA HALSALL Herald Special SHOPPING THAT SAVES Would you like to save Information from the Ministry of Energy tells us that this is the ference between choosing the most efficient rather than the least efficient over the life time of six major appliances Appliances now carry an EnerGuide rating that appears as a sticker on the appliance and shows how many kilowatt hours of electricity it uses per month By multiplying this figure months the appliance life in years local electricity costs dollars per kWh we will arrive Environmental tips for Christmas Hi We are the students Against the Violation of the Earth SAVE the environmental club at Georgetown District High School Here are a few things our club has been putting together at G S In January we will be receiving blue boxes in our classrooms for paper recycling Also in the cafeteria there are bins for recycling cans and bottles Our chnstmas fundraiser is up too We will be selling gift bags gift cards and envelopes made from wallpaper They are good quality durable and come in different designs and sizes They will be on sale at school before Christmas for 50 cents to 00 en velopes 10 for 1 00 and gift cards 10 for 25 cents or one free with the pur chase of a gift bag Many thanks to St Clair Paint and Paper Colour World and Georgetown Decorating Centre for providing us with wallpaper Half of our proceeds will go to Toys for Tots while the other half will be used to eliminate en problems at the school We hope everyone has a Merry and here are a few tips to keep in mind over the holidays Wrap your gifts in newspaper or put them in reusable cloth bags in stead of buying wrapping paper Turn your chnstmas lights in side and out off when not at home Buy a live tree you can plant out side when you are finished with it Recycle Chnstmas wrapping paper and if possible compost your Chnstmas tree Merry Christmas SAVE Much care required when watering plants TOM AN Herald Special QUESTION Mv hibiscus is getting yellow leaves and the flower buds are dropping off just before opening What am I doing wrong ANSWER Yellow leaves and premature bud drop are caused from stress You have either kept the plant to wet or you are watering before the plant has a chance to use the water from the previous watering The other extreme is allowing the plant to drv out to much then over the soil to saturation It is lm portant to realize that Hibiscus do use alot of water especially when in flower Keep this plant evenly moist and never saturate or allow it to stand in water for extended periods of time It is also mportant to understand that p ant roots need an even mix of and air throughout the soil root one If you allow a plant dry o the point that the foliage wilts take the plant from direct sun or heat and place it back in its pro per light requirement Return to a regular watering schedule of watering when the plant needs it A good rule of thumb is to pick up the plant each day until it becomes light not when it wilts since water has weight you can use this as your guide until you get back on track with your watering schedule Hibiscus when in flower will use up more water than when it is not in flower The blooms are like big sweat glands that transpire more water then leaves do QUESTION My weeping fig is dropping leaves from the inside and bottom When I uater the water runs through the pot and I have to let the plant stand in to soak it up I have had the plant for only 6 months what can I do ANSWER The problem you have is a common one The plant has used all of the available nutnents in the soil and the soil structure has been literally eaten the plant This is the result of the plant out growing its soil base and should be transplanted of should take place when the plants are growing This time span runs from mid March to mid November You should not transplant a plant during the cold low light months of winter unless you have a solanum and even then I would only recommend the transplanting of a plant that is e all roots and no soil you should give a root wash with tepid water to loosen the tangled roots and remove any old soil and salts residue from fertilizing a soilless mix designed for container culture and thoroughly water to settle the soil naturally and expel any air pockets Allow the plant to dry thoroughly before watering its second time The reason for this is the plant will hdve to root into the soil and you don want to start off with its new soil into a over watering situation Also you must realize there will be soil that the roots are not occupying and excess water will rot the soil Have you protected the investment you have in your home Make sure your family will have a deed not a debt Protect your family s biggest investment with a mortgage protection plan Its low cost peace of mind knowing your home is creditor proof Let me show you how CorWGoodletB A Econ Queen St West Su Brampton Bus 451 Res censed L CinaiU The Mutual Group Facing Tomorrow Together at what the Ministry of Energy calls the second price tag If the purchase pnee is thought of as a down payment then the se cond pnee tag can be thought of as a series of monthly in stalments that must be paid over the next 15 to 20 years I have just purchased a clothes dryer I never do anything by half measures so shopping in eluded getting information form the Ministry of Energy as well as touring stores Once I decided on the features that were important to me I saved gas by phoning around to compare prices I did end up buying in town at Goodlet who gave me the best for the model I wanted One of the items on my shopp ing list was the rating The least efficient clothes dryer was rated at 100 while the most efficient was rated at 77 kWh so the first would use 30 per cent more energy than the most efficient Another way to look at it is that my dryer could be operated for 3 months for free compared to the amount of energy used by the least efficient The information from the ministry goes on to point out that some efficient appliances are more expensive and so com sumers will have to decide whether the extra cost is justified by the lower second price tag For example a dryer with only a timer is cheaper than a dryer with a thermostat or a humidity sensor than will detect when the clothes are dry and shut off This extra feature however will save energy and can actually prolong the life of the clothes The information from the ministry says that there are other benefits in buying the most cient products They often offer better construction and advanced technology Energy efficient dishwashers use less hot water leaving more in the tank for other uses Energyefficient features available on your kitchen range will actually improve the cooking performance The benefits of energy efficien cy arc significant now at today s As costs for hydro in crease these savings will become even more important Checking with Halton Hills Hydro I learned that we are faced with an in crease of 11 6 percent 1992 and that Ontano Hydro is double digit increases for the next four years YOU CAN MAKE A to the environment when you shop wisely and see a benefit in your pocket book etc Stout HEY KIDS WIN A GIFT CEKTIFICATE FIOM GEORGETOWN LOCATION Send your Letter to Santa to the Herald We Will draw a winner December for a Gift Certificate from Canadian Tire Georgetown GEORGETOWN LOCATION SCROOGE APPROVED CHRISTMAS SAVINGS SUZY SNAPSHOT DOLL No 3999 HAND HELD ELECTRONIC GAMES 999 CHRISTMAS PAPER TOWELS JUMBO ROLL No Rig 99 AMARYLLIS BULBS SOFT GLASS LIGHT REFLECTORS No Reg 567 199 TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES TALKING TURTLE FIGURINES No 4 Reg 6 B FIGURE NATIVITY SET No Reg 99 TEENAGE MUTANT TURTLES TURTLE COPTER No Reg ILLUMINATED SNOWMAN OR SANTA No 7446X Reg 99 TREENAGE MUTANT TURTLES PIZZA THROWER No 50 27204 Reg 99 QUALITY CHRISTMAS CARDS BOX OF 18 No 4 Reg 7 99 GEORGETOWN LOCATION ONLY GEORGETOWN Omnium PARTS