Area climate group touts energy efficiency

Since Mayor Jay Knudtson signed a proclamation recognizing Alan Journet and Kathy Conway's local grassroots movement a few weeks ago, the couple has not wasted any time -- or energy.

The two facilitators of the Southeast Missouri Climate Protection Initiative produced a list of 10 things people can do to reduce their personal contribution to greenhouse gas emissions in recognition of National Day of Climate Action today.

Friday, they put on a tour, beginning at the Nature Center and ending at their home, to show ways people can reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The couple said climate disruption is a global issue but that it doesn't take an international effort to begin making changes.

"We feel we should tread lightly on the planet," said Conway, who is a professor at Southeast Missouri State University along with Journet, her husband.

The Southeast Missouri Climate Protection Initiative is a nonpartisan community organization dedicated to promoting activities in Southeast Missouri that will reduce, to the extent possible and feasible, further release of greenhouse gases into the environment. The group held its first meeting last month.

Journet and Conway live in a "passive" solar home, which means their house is designed to use energy from the sun as it comes. An active solar home turns the energy into electricity and stores it in a battery.

The couple had their Oakshire Circle house built in 1998. At the time, a passive solar design was more cost-effective than an active solar design, according to Conway, but she said that the technology is changing quickly.

The passive solar house was constructed to face the sun. The front of the structure on the south side has large windows with a special coating to reflect infrared radiation. The caulked windows have two glass panes with an eaves overhang that allows light to shine in when the sun is low in winter, and blocks the light when the sun is higher during summer.

Journet said the key to regulating the temperature of the house is to keep the cold air outside in the winter and the hot air outside in the summer. The house was built with large pieces of oriented strand board insulated with Styrofoam and tested for leaks. Strand board has minimal cracks, which allows less air to leak in.

"We wanted a house that would use as little as possible," said Conway, adding that they have less space to heat or cool. The 2,000-square-foot structure does not have a basement.

Using as little as possible isn't the end of it.

People need to reuse, Journet said. For example, their house has a deck made from recycled paper bags and sawdust. Their carpets are made from recycled plastic bottles. Conway said they bought eight canvas bags from Schnucks in 1990 and still use them for grocery shopping, which allows them to avoid using plastic bags.

Journet said temperature control and water are the two main energy users in a house. He and Conway use the sun as their first source of heat, a wood stove as their second and an electric furnace only as a last resort. They program their thermostat so it is not on when they aren't home. They had a water heater timer installed on their water tank and only heat the water about a half-hour before running it in the morning and at night.

"You don't need your water heated to 200 degrees," Journet said. "If you have to turn the cold water faucet a lot to add into the hot water when you're running your shower, it's up too high."

Their home's design has other energy-efficient ideas that Journet and Conway plan to share, they said, in upcoming meetings of the initiative.

For more information, visit cstl.semo.edu/semocpi/.

tkrakowiak@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 137