Flex Your Power has some great no cost heating and cooling tips that can help you reduce your energy bill for the rest of the year:
Check the settings on the room air conditioner. Make sure the “fresh air” vent on the air conditioner is closed so you are not cooling outside air.
Close drapes, blinds and shades to keep sun’s rays out of the home during the warmer months.
Close drapes, blinds and shades to help retain heat at night or during unoccupied periods.
In the winter, reverse your ceiling fan motor so that the blades push air up toward the ceiling, where hot air normally rises. The fan will drive the warm air back down around the edges of the room, which can result in more even heating. Better heat circulation will help combat the problem of sweating windows that some homes experience in the wintertime because of condensation on the glass.
Set the temperature lower in the winter when your home is unoccupied. Use a programmable thermostat to automatically lower and raise the temperature according to your settings.
Set the thermostat as low as comfortably possible in the winter. The less difference between the indoor and outdoor temperatures, the lower your overall heating bill will be.
Home may be where the hearth is but it’s also where 17 percent of greenhouse gas emissions are generated in the United States, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. So depending on your perspective, it’s either heartening or appalling that just 12 percent of new single-family homes built in the United States in 2006 qualified for the EPA’s Energy Star high efficiency designation.
Wow. I don’t own a home, but it’s something to keep in mind as I consider buying one next year.
Time: Tuesday, July 24, 2007 5:00 PM Location: Memorial Drive Methodist Church
Jim Dale, the narrator of all seven Harry Potter audiobooks will put on a spectacular show for all in attendance and will be available to sign copies of the audiobook.
Tickets for the event, which will be held in Wesley Hall at Memorial Drive United Methodist Church, 12955 Memorial Drive, are free, but must be picked up in advance at the store.
We will also hold a book drive to benefit the Larkin Community Center, so please bring gently used books for preschoolers.
This summer, don’t just sit around…get fit and have fun at your neighborhood library. The Houston Public Library presents the Fit For Life event series to promote health awareness and physical fitness. The Fit For Life series coincides with Teen Summer Slam and Summer Reading Program, the library’s busiest time of year for teens and families.
Fit For Life events include a presentation on healthy choices about nutrition and a demonstration on the preparation of healthy snacks. Additional presentations will address the importance of making a life-long commitment to a healthy lifestyle and the importance of every-day choices and health awareness to achieve it. Each event will culminate with a 45-minute cardio workout program incorporating different types of aerobic activities such as Dance Dance Revolution, Hip Hop Aerobics and Dance Workshops to stress the importance of physical fitness. All Fit For Life events are free and open to the public.
Saturday, June 9, 2007 * 12–3 PM (Hip Hop Cafe and Hip Hop Jam to run concurrently)
Houston Public Library & Houston Grand Opera Present “Opera to Go!” Dr. Dulcamara’s Magical Restorative Tonic!
Art is only minutes away from your door at the Houston Public Library. The Houston Public Library invites children to see and hear the beauty of Opera with Dr. Dulcamara’s Magical Restorative Tonic! Set in the Old West, this production is a delightful retelling of one of Gaetano Donizetti’s most beloved operas, The Elixir of Love. Revel in the fun and see if ranch-hand Ned Moreno is able to win the cowgirl of his dreams with Dr. Dulcamara’s magical potion, or if Sheriff Bill Corey stands in his way!
Opera to Go! features 45 minutes of fully staged, high-energy productions sung in English and created by the Houston Grand Opera especially for school-age children. These events are free and open to the public at your Houston Public Library:
The big top has risen and clown cars are filling up, tooting their horns, and hitting the streets of Houston on the way to your library. The Houston Public Library invites children of all ages to performances by Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus clowns during June 4-8. The clowns will bring their big red noses and much more to ten neighborhood libraries. This summer’s repertoire will include storytimes, balloon animals, juggling acts and lots of crazy clown antics. Circus Clown performances are scheduled are free and open to the public at the following neighborhood libraries:
The Houston Public Library, H-E-B, and 97.9 The Box Radio have partnered to present a week-long Hip Hop Cafe: Dancin’ in the Streets program series for our community’s teens. All programs are free to the public and take place Monday, June 4th through Saturday, June 9th at the Fifth Ward Neighborhood Library, located at 4014 Market, 77020, 832-393-1770.
Hip Hop Cafe: Dancin’ in the Streets programs were created to promote teen literacy and library resources. During the week teens can participate in daily educational and fun activities ending with a free Hip Hop Cafe on Saturday, June 9th from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Fun, entertaining and educational programs for Teens, their families and friends @ the Houston Public Library!
Hip Hop Cafe weeklong programs include:
Monday, June 4th * 3 PM – 5 PM
T-Shirt Reconstruction Bring an ordinary T-shirt and turn it in to something worth wearing.
Tuesday, June 5th * 3 PM– 5 PM
Make your own free bling. Make a unique piece of jewelry that you can show off or give away to a friend.
Wednesday, June 6th * 3 PM– 5 PM
Bike Customization Learn the tools of how to make your ride so much tighter with professional customization artist Conrad with Sun God Kustoms.
Thursday, June 7th * 4 PM - 5 PM
Air Xpressions Air Brush Demonstration Artist Lee Wilson will air brush plain white clothes—bring a shirt or shoes. LIMIT 30 teens.
Hip Hop Cafe Celebration- Saturday June 9th * 12 PM – 4 PM
Special Appearance by King Booker of the WWE and special performance by Houston’s J Xavier: Da Young Prince of tha South!
12 PM -1 PM * John Hendricks Personal Trainer Body Works Company 1 PM - 2 PM * J Xavier: Da Young Prince of tha South 2 PM - 3 PM * UrgeWorks Hip Hop History and Dance 3 PM - 4 PM * Sol y Luna: Zcelebre: Break-dance and House Style Dance
All day activites include: Air Xpressions Air-Brush Artist will be airbrushing T-shirts, clothes, and shoes. Customized Cycles, Bikes, and Cars will be on display Healthy Snack Demonstrations Free Food and Drinks
Program Partner: Friends of the Houston Public Library
AllHip Hop Cafe: Dancin’ in the Streets events are free and open to the public. For further information call the Houston Public Library at 832-393-1313 or visit www.houstonlibrary.org.
Great Books Well-known Authors Inspiring & Entertaining Topics
The Houston Public Library invites you, your friends and your neighbors to an ongoing author series where you will meet well-known authors from several genres. Relationships, mysteries and faith are just a few of the topics to be presented in the first programs.
As part of the year-long series, monthly events will be held throughout the city at neighborhood libraries. Attend one, or attend them all. Authors will read from one (or several) of their books, answer audience questions and talk about what inspires their writing. All events are free and open to the public.
Divakaruni is an award-winning author and poet. She will read from three of her adult fiction books: “Mistress Of Spices,” “Sister of My Heart,” and “Queen of Dreams.”
For further details, please contact the Houston Public Library at www.houstonlibrary.org or call 832-393-1313.
The Big Read is a communitywide reading program held in May 2007. Everyone in the Harris County metro area is invited to read Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club and discuss it with your neighbors and family.
There will be programs, activities and book discussions that focus on The Joy Luck Club and the Asian culture. To look for programs in your area, visit www.bigreadtexas.org.
This event is part of The Big Read, an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts, in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services and Arts Midwest.
Monday, June 4-Saturday, June 9, 2007
