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Winter care tips for your trees Snow and ice can be beautiful to look at, but can be treacherous on your trees. Here are a few tips to take care of your trees this winter: Prune deciduous trees to improve structural strength. (That's leafy trees for us non-botanists.) Water your evergreens thoroughly in early winter, and later if the ground isn't frozen so they don't dry out. Small seedlings can be loosened in the ground by alternate freezing and thawing, so protect them by mulching them with straw, chips or other material. Sometimes Bambi and her rabbit friends can wreak havoc on your trees. Protect them by wrapping, or placing hardware cloth cylinders around your smaller trees. And keep your tree planting areas free of high grass and weeds to reduce rabbit and rodent habitat. Administration clarifies environmental rules impacting power plants In one of the thorniest environmental issues yet to face the Bush Administration, confusing Clean Air Act regulations aimed at power plants and other industrial facilities have finally been clarified by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). "Securing these rule clarifications has been a high priority for electric cooperatives and other utilities. The new regulations will provide us with much greater certainty over what we can and cannot do to maintain our power plants without triggering additional costly and time consuming regulations," said Rae Cronmiller, environmental counsel at the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA). Marianne Horinko, the acting administrator of the EPA, signed final regulations clarifying the "routine maintenance" provisions of the New Source Review (NSR) program. Required by the 1977 amendments to the Clean Air Act, NSR governs circumstances under which physical or operational changes at existing industrial and electric utility facilities must take place with additional pollution controls. The rules were called "new source review" because they triggered an extensive review process when an existing plant underwent modifications that could increase emissions, thereby requiring additional, state of the art pollution controls like those required for brand new facilities. Under the old rule the NSR regulatory process was triggered if plant owners undertook "changes" that most in the industry considered nothing more than "routine maintenance." Electric utilities had delayed some maintenance and repair. Help available for elderly caregivers A new program serving Illinois' 13 southernmost counties aims to make sure that people taking care of elderly friends and relatives take care of themselves as well. "Because that kind of care giving is so common, people often don't get the help and support they need," says Kathleen Chwalisz, an associate professor of psychology at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. "It's very stressful. Caregivers tend to break down, either physically or mentally, within nine months to two years of assuming the role." Chwalisz and colleague Stephanie Dollinger are offering a little TLC. The letters stand for Tele-help Line for Caregivers: free help that's just a touchtone away. Trained care giving specialists offer advice and support through the toll-free service from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week. For those in the Carbondale area, the number is 453-3407. The toll-free number is (866) 438-7852 (1-866-GETS TLC). TLC is not a "call and complain" line, nor is it counseling. It focuses on particular problem areas typical to most caregivers and teaches callers how to cope. Chwalisz says, "We can help them connect with information, resources and services, give them some strategies for approaching and solving care giving problems, pass on some tips on how to stay connected and get help and support from others, and help them learn how to manage the emotional ups-and-downs." People who live in Alexander, Franklin, Gallatin, Hardin, Jackson, Johnson, Massac, Perry, Pope, Pulaski, Saline, Union and Williamson counties can call TLC or e-mail the specialists at getTLC@siu.edu. The service also has a Web site at http://psychology.siu.edu/tlc/tlc.htm.
Source: Southern Illinois University,
6 / Illinois Country Living / www.icl.coop
Christmas trees help environment and economy
Real Christmas trees are a renewable resource. For every tree harvested, two or three seedlings are generally planted in its place. • One acre of Christmas trees produces the daily oxygen requirements for 18 people; there are approximately one million acres dedicated to growing them. • Christmas tree farms and related enterprises employ more than 100,000 people full or part time, most of them in rural areas where the income is especially needed. • The most popular Christmas trees are Fraser Fir, Balsam Fir, Douglas Fir, Noble Fir, and Scotch, Virginia and White Pines. So enjoy your real Christmas tree this holiday season. It's renewable, recyclable and completely biodegradable.
Source: www.arborday.org Gas prices to stay high In an article titled "U.S. Natural Gas Prices Heat Up," Stephen P. A. Brown, Director of Energy Economics and Microeconomic Policy Analysis at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, predicted that natural gas prices will remain high for the next few years and will create a drag on the economy. Brown points out that electric utilities are among the industries most adversely affected by rising natural gas prices. He notes that the price of natural gas has more than doubled in the past year. He says futures prices suggest relatively high natural gas prices will be sustained for the next few years. Over the long run, he observes, further development of domestic resources, pipelines and import facilities for liquefied natural gas (LNG) are likely to prove necessary to prevent prices from remaining high. He states that analysts generally expect natural gas demand to expand more rapidly than that for other fuel sources. If sustained indefinitely, elevated natural gas prices will act as a drag on U.S. economic activity over the next few years, he writes. A permanent doubling of natural gas prices could reduce U.S. GDP by 0.5 to 1.8 percent below what it would otherwise be. The increase in the price level would be roughly the same. Be careful with candles this holiday season According to National Fire Protection Association, Christmas Day has the highest occurrence of home candle fires, followed by New Year's Day and Christmas Eve. In 1999, there was an estimated 200 home candle fires on Christmas Day. This is five times the daily average of 40 such fires seen throughout the year. Over the last decade, candle fires have almost tripled. According to the National Candle Association, 37 percent of candle fires occurred after candles were left unattended, abandoned or inadequately controlled; 19 percent occurred when combustible material was left or came too close to the candle; 8 percent were started by children playing with the candle; 5 percent started after the candle user fell asleep. Safety Tips: • Never leave a candle unattended.
• Extinguish all candles when leaving the room or going to sleep.
There are 11,600 candle-related fires each year, resulting in 156 deaths, 1,202 injuries and $171 million in property loss annually.
• Use candleholders that are sturdy and won't tip over easily.
• Keep candles and all open flames away from flammable liquids. • Never use a candle for a light when checking pilot lights or fueling equipment such as a kerosene heater or lantern. The flame may ignite the fumes. Source: National Fire Protection Association, candle-safety.org, National Candle Association. December 2003 / www.aiec.coop / 7 Energy efficient mortgages made easy
The country's largest source of funding for home mortgages has unveiled two new and improved energy-efficient mortgages (EEM). Fannie Mae says the mortgage programs will simplify and make the programs more attractive to potential loan recipients. According to the Federal Consumer Information Center there are several energy efficient mortgage programs across the United States, two from the federal government— the Federal Housing Authority and the Department of Veterans Affairs—and the one from Fannie Mae. EEMs are available for new homebuyers or those who want to make improvements to their existing homes. This type of mortgage program is based on the fact that those who own energy efficient homes will spend less on energy costs and have more to spend on housing. Given that, a buyer of a new home is likely to qualify for a larger mortgage. Those who want to make improvements will save money on energy costs in the long run and increase the potential resale value of the home. EEMs allow any qualified person to purchase a home with only a 3 percent down payment, which can come from the borrowers funds or from other sources such as gifts or grants. A certified energy rater must rate the home and also identify the improvements that will be made before a loan can be made. The other new EEM at Fannie Mae, My Community Mortgage, extends the benefits of this program to low-and moderate-income borrowers. Under this mortgage, borrowers can make an even lower down payment —$500 or 1 percent of the home's value, whichever is less. This program is for borrowers who are at or below 100 percent of area median income, with exceptions for high-cost areas as defined by Housing and Urban Development Department. For more information on the two Federal government programs, go to www.pueblo.gsa.gov. For additional info on the Fannie Mae programs, go to www.efanniemae.com and look under Fannie Mae's Housing and Environmental Initiatives. Source: Home Energy; Fannie Mae; Federal Consumer Information Center. New hydronic geothermal heat pump available WaterFurnace is making a new EW Series hydronic geothermal heat pump system. The unit will come in four sizes, 15,000, 30,000, 42,000 and 60,000 BTUs. The EW series is being made for residential and commercial applications. It is generally accepted that hydronics systems typically operate for 20 percent less seasonal BTU hours than forced-air systems. Hydronics is the science of heating and cooling with a liquid and heating with hot water is extremely versatile. There are many ways of distributing the heat through a building, ranging from heavy cast iron radiators found in older buildings to modern, baseboard-style convection radiation, to invisible radiant floor heating and forced air systems using fan coil units. Radiant heating is a favorite of building owners because of its even, clean and quiet comfort. The EW Series will offer a wide range of system applications, such as radiant floor heating, radiant wall or ceiling heating, industrial process water heating/cooling, domestic hot water generation, baseboard radiation, chilled water cooling, pool and spa heating, snow melt and make-up air preheating/cooling. The EW Series can be used in new construction or to retrofit existing systems. Source: www.waterfurnace.com The Prairie Collection of Books from SIU Press Looking for a good book to read on a cold Illinois afternoon? Visit Southern Illinois University Press' Web site at www.siu.edu/~siupress, or write to Southern Illinois University Press, P.O. Box 3687, Carbondale, IL 62902-3697 for a great collection of Illinois stories by Illinois authors. Celebrating its 40th anniversary in 1996, SIU Press publishes an enviable mixture of solid younger scholars balanced by those with established reputations. For example, mystery novel "The Whisper of Leaves," set on a fictional version of the Carbondale campus and written by SIUC alumnus Craig Smith, nabbed the Bronze Medal Award in the 2002 ForeWord magazines Mystery Book of the Year competition. Publishers Weekly praises the mystery as a dark cat-and-mouse thriller and Kirkus Reviews says that Smith writes with verve and style about campus life. Or read "Baseball's Natural: The Story of Eddie Waitkus," John Theodore's true account of the slick-fielding first baseman who played for the Cubs and Phillies in the 1940s and became an immortalized figure in baseball lore as the inspiration for Roy Hobbs in Bernard Malamud's The Natural. 8 / Illinois Country Living / www.icl.coop |
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In a psychology lab at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, doctoral student Kendra B. Daniels works the Telehelp Line for Caregivers, a free phone service aimed at helping people who take care of elderly family or friends.
