As National Cut Your Energy Costs Day approaches, we thought you should see some of the more cutting-edge (or bizarre) methods to shave pennies from your utility bills, help save the planet and look like a freak doing it. Think carpeting your fridge or the art of dumpster diving are strictly for hippies? Think again.
Crazy Ways to Cut Energy Costs
Grass Roofing: If you're interested in gardening but have no yard space you can still consider a green roof. The idea is plant hardy grasses in 2-4 inches of soil. This reduces storm runoff, which will ultimately lower your sewer bill. It'll help cool down the building and prolong the roof's life.
ecogeek.org
Moo-based Methane: If we're going to eat beef, from an animal considered to be the most wasteful to produce (aside from humans) we might as well capture its capacious methane gas explosions for energy usage. You really wouldn't want to be the meter reader for that job.
inhabit.com
Slaughterhouse Fuel: Take leftover turkey in your fridge from the holidays and make biofuel. A fuel producer in Missouri has teamed up with a turkey slaughterhouse to produce oil from the leftover guts. A great savings from the energy side, plus all those nasty innards stay out of the landfills.
discovermagazine.com
Fridge Carpeting: A few environmental writers claim that you can eliminate up to 50 percent of the heat loss in your fridge by adding your own insulation, in this case, shag carpeting.
trendhunter.com
Coffee Grounds Gas: Causing truckers to veer off to the next coffee shop, the Cafe Racer is a '75 GMC pickup that runs on coffee grounds. A Gasifier in the back of the truck incinerates the coffee and turns it into something like natural gas.
studiodeb, Flickr.com
Cheap Housing: Inappropriate housing is no reason to stop you from moving to the Sahara! Winner of the Treehugger Award, the Hexayurt is the perfect cheap dwelling for those in hot climates. Big enough to fit a small family, costs $200 to build. It's airtight, and the Thermax material will reflect sunlight, so no need for A/C. Perfect for former homeowners in Vegas.
redferret.net
Electric Clothes: Let your date charge your cell phone with a piezoelectric dress. The fabric creates a charge based on any mechanical stress, like movement, which can be stored in a battery (hopefully that does not make her look fat).
cnet.com
Worm Disposal: If you don't have a green thumb, you might go in the other direction: grow your own worms. From garbage. It can be done indoors (a plus). All you need is 2,000 worms to eat a pound of food waste every day. This means less garbage gets driven to the landfill and more bait for fishing.
wormwoman.com
Bike Moving: If you are considering a move across town, you might recruit a bunch of friends with bikes and trailers. Bike Moving has become incredibly popular in cycle -friendly towns like Portland, Oregon.
kstoerz, Flickr
Fat Fuel: Last month we heard a plastic surgeon was using human fat from liposuction to power his car. The claim appears to be a fraud, but California investigated him and the Doc vanished to South America. If you goo this route, make sure that converting human medical waste to fuel is legit.
yobbit.com





















Of course you want to cut energy costs and use less water, and you're tired of all the same old ideas -- aside from showering with someone else (but that doesn't really save water, does it?). 




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Saturday 10 January
By Gryffin
Dumpster diving, the college fave. When one of my buddies moved off-campus, he drove around town, got furniture for the living room, lumber to build a bedroom set, washer and dryer, and microwave. Granted, he's handier than most, but all the washer and dryer needed were new belts. Wonder if he's still a treasure hunter now that he's married and has children.
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Sunday 11 January
By mary peck
my granddaughter is a senior at alabama. she and her friends have a network and notify each other when the department stores are putting out their trash. She got down into one of them and couldn't get out; one of the guys had a rope in his truck and they pulled her out that way. They get gifts as well as clothes and household stuff. You'd think they were destitute (with tuition, etc., they (we) just about are)
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