Texans for Energy Efficiency

Chris and I will hopefully soon be in the market for new appliances when we become homeowners, but unfortunately that won't happen soon enough to meet the deadline for these rebates.  Hopefully someone out there reading this will!  Pass along if you know anyone who might be interested.

As part of the federal stimulus package, Texas received $23 million and started the Texas Trade Up Appliance Rebate Program.    Here are the rebate deets:

• Refrigerators - $240
• Freezers - $180
• Room Air Conditioners - $45
• Clothes Washers - $150-180
• Dishwashers - $185-215
• Central Air Conditioners - $600-1,000
• Air-Source Heat Pumps - $,1200-1,600
• Hot Water Heaters - $375-715

In addition, you'll receive $75 more for recycling each of your old appliances.  The new appliances must be Energy Star certified.

From the Texas Trade Up website:
The program officially begins on Wednesday, April 7, 2010 at 7 a.m., when rebate reservations will be accepted online or via toll-free call to 1-877-780-3039.  The purchase period for all appliances begins April 16, 2010. Appliances must be purchased from a Texas retail location or contractor. Online purchases are not eligible.  For refrigerators, freezers, clothes washers, dishwashers and room air conditioners, the purchase period ends April 25, 2010.

 Kudos to our state for providing an additional incentive for residents to use efficient appliances!

There are also federal tax cuts available for purchases of Energy Star appliances, Memorial Day Weekend Sales Tax Holiday on Energy Star appliances, and don't forget about our local rebate programs from Austin Water Utility and Austin Energy.

Happy World Water Day

Photo and caption from Nationalgeographic.com:  In drought-ravaged Australia this Hallett Cove family not only shares showers, but carefully captures the runoff in buckets.  In this arid land, water is simply too precious to let it run down the drain.

Today is World Water Day, and National Geographic has released an interactive issue all about water.  It's available free here (only for a few weeks) and I highly recommend it.

The photo above caught my eye because Hallett Cove is a small town outside of Adelaide where my childhood pen pal grew up.  While every family there is certainly not making the same concerted effort to save their valued water, Aussies are in general more in tune with its importance than us Yanks.  Living in Australia and driving through the neverending outback was the first time I think I truly understood fresh water's value.

There it is - those little slivers in yellow.  Enough to go around ....except .....we humans are really skilled at procreating.

Anyway, there is plenty of info worth checking out in the magazine, and Zinio makes it a much more fun experience than reading it on a dead tree.  I especially liked this representation of drugs found in fish from Chicago's North Shore.  The number one drug these fish are being involuntarily prescribed?  Antidepressants.  Along with anti-seizure, antihistamine, and blood pressure meds.  Yikes. 

Palo Duro Canyon

As an outdoor enthusiast, I'm embarrassed to say I still have not been to Palo Duro Canyon. I've spent time in a good portion of our state parks and lots of time in Texas' two national parks, but I've yet to make it to Palo Duro Canyon State Park. My problem is that for the past ten years, the Big Bend area has been my playground. Let's be honest...that will never change. But I'd like to make more time to be able to explore Palo Duro as well.

Palo Duro Canyon is the second largest in the US. That's right, it's the Grand Canyon of Texas. Accoring to TPWD, it's 120 miles long and 20 miles wide at its widest. (The GC is 270 miles long and up to 18 miles wide.) It's just outside of Amarillo (at about the same lat as Albuquerque), so it's a cool nine hours drive from Austin.

The park hosts a 50-mile Ultra Race every year at the bottom of the canyon. Dios mio! Don't think I'll be participating in that if I want to keep my original knees. But our "official state play," Texas, (of course) is performed at the park's amphitheater for a few weeks every summer. (They've been doing it since the 1960s.) It's down at the base of the canyon and a BBQ dinner is served before the show starts. A musical at the bottom of a gigantic red rock canyon on a summer night? Yes, please!