[E-updates] Speakers to Address Solutions to Rising Utility Costs

[Lisa Patterson]

NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:			
City of Lawrence, Kansas
Waste Reduction and Recycling Division
October 12, 2004

CONTACT:  Michelle Crank, Recycling Specialist, 832-3030 
Steve Hughes, Fair Coordinator, 842-2292
Russ Rudy, (785) 565-3883
Marge Padgitt, (816) 461-3665

Speakers to Address Solutions to Rising Utility Costs

As the prices of natural gas and propane are expected to rise by as much as
25% this year, the costs of heating an average Kansas home will no doubt
increase dramatically.  Two featured speakers at Sunday's Home Energy
Conservation Fair are slated to address the diagnosis of home energy
inefficiencies and offer practical solutions to counter skyrocketing winter
utility bills. The Home Energy Conservation Fair will be held at the Douglas
County Fairgrounds from 10 a.m. to 4p.m. on Sunday, October 17.

Russ Rudy, host of KCMO Radio's "Home Energy Doctor" will speak on "What's
Wrong with Your House?" at noon Sunday.  Rudy, Director of the Environmental
Energy and Ratings Alliance, which trains home energy performance
diagnostics professionals, will address the flaws that commonly exist in
homes and relate those to solutions based in building science.  "I have been
in hundreds of houses over the years", he said, "and you find problems that
are common to almost all of them.  More often than not, people are looking
for a little do-it-yourself fix, and they jump into it before they have a
correct diagnosis of the problem."  Rudy's slide show is designed to
highlight common flaws, alert his audience of warning signals for potential
problems, and give solutions that improve the performance and health of home
systems.

Marge Padgitt, national speaker and expert on alternative heating methods,
will lecture at 1:15 p.m. on how to use the renewable resource of cordwood
to heat a home comfortably and less expensively than gas or electricity.
With rising energy costs and concerns for the environment, the use of
clean-burning, high-tech wood burning appliances is increasing dramatically.
Padgitt will present the information homeowners need to make an informed
decision regarding the purchase of a wood-burning appliance for their home.

This year, a fair first, workshops will be featured concurrently with
exhibitors.  Workshop presentations and speakers at the fair are as follows:

- 10 a.m., Home Energy Conservation Fair opens with exhibitors
- 10 a.m., bus tour leaves for Douglas County Sustainable Homes Tour
- 10:15 a.m., John Craft, local remodeler & certified Home Energy Rater,
"Introduction to Energy; Basic steps to Conserving Energy in Your Home"
- 11:15 a.m., Reid Nelson & friends, "Setting up Home Solar Power Stations
for Vehicles and Appliances"
- 12 noon, Russ Rudy, The "Energy Doctor", addressing inefficiencies that
exist in homes and related solutions 
- 12:50 p.m., Jim Ploger from the Kansas Corporation Commission, delivering
the Kansas Legislative update
- 1:15 p.m. Marge Padgitt, "The Chimney Lady", covering alternative heating
methods
- 2 p.m., bus tour leaves for Douglas County Sustainable Homes Tour
- 2:15 p.m., Jane Koger, Prairie Ecosystems Educator and DIY Hay Bale
Homebuilder, "Sustainable Building Ideas - Lessons Learned Living Off-Grid"
- 3:15 p.m., Michael Morley, Builder and Author, "Building with Structural
Insulated Panels"

Exhibitors at the Energy Fair this year include area builders, architects,
heating and cooling experts, home energy supply systems, and alternatively
fueled vehicles displays.   And in response to the popularity of last year's
compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL) sale, members of the Westar Energy
Green Team will be on hand to sell energy and money saving CFLs at the
greatly discounted price of only $2, while supplies last. 

Buses for the Douglas County Sustainable Homes Tour will leave from the
fairgrounds at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.  Homes and structures featured include a
passive solar/earthberm home; a playhouse constructed of "cob" (mixture of
sand, straw and clay soil, joined with straw-bale construction); a
straw-bale art studio with radiant floor heating; a home utilizing insulated
concrete forms; an elementary school described as "powered by sunlight"; and
a Tenants to Homeowners remodel project featuring affordable and simple
measures to create more energy efficient healthy spaces.

For more information visit www.LawrenceRecycles.org or call 832-3030.
_____________________________
Lisa K. Patterson
Communications Coordinator
City of Lawrence
PO Box 708
Lawrence, KS 66044
(785) 832-3406
fax (785) 832-3405
lpatterson at ci.lawrence.ks.us
http://www.lawrenceks.org