Here is an article reporting that as copper price drops, so do thefts.

A good source of copper related information as it relates to the electrical industry can be found at Electrical Wholesaling.

Related copper articles:

Managing Copper Price Risk (New Article)
Copper showing off germ-killing qualities
Red Metal Raging
Copper Facts
Copper Prices on Google News
The Copper Journal (New)

Animal Haven (which we love)  is the largest no-kill pet shelter in the greater Kansas City area.  They have a large number of adoptable dogs and cats that need a new home.  They manage stray animals for twelve local cities within the Kansas City area plus take in pets from people who can no longer care for them. If you’re looking for a pet and live in the Kansas City area please check out Animal Haven.

See all their recently adopted pets at Petfinder.com

Adoptable Dogs

Adoptable Cats

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Need step-by-step instructions on installing a French drain?  We’ve made it simple!  Find instructions on installing your a French drain here!

1. Tutor
Pay: $10.90 to $18.85
Job Description: Provide one-on-one or group instruction. Tutor individuals from your home.

2. Childcare Worker/Babysitter
Pay: $7.82 – $10.18
Job Description: Care for children, organize and participate in recreational activities, discipline children, etc. At-home childcare workers can also provide before-school and afterschool care.

3. Wedding/Party Planner
Pay: $31,049 to $43,668
Job Description: Party planners conceive, organize, and execute special affairs such as weddings, birthday parties, anniversaries, and bar and bat mitzvahs. They custom design an event to suit their customers’ needs and budgets.

4. Answering Service
Pay: $9.46 to $12.69
Job Description: Answer incoming calls from offices (i.e. doctors offices, apartment complexes, etc.) after normal business hours and relay information per specific account protocol.
 
5. Scheduler
Pay: $11.92 to $17.51
Job Description: Handles client calendar and updates appointments as needed.

6. Medical Biller
Pay: $11.88 to $15.72
Job Description: Medical Billing and its related occupations continue to be the fastest growing opportunities in health care. Insurance companies and the government are spending more time and money researching and controlling claims’ fraud, abusive practices, and medical necessity issues. Because of this, insurance companies, doctors, hospitals, pharmacies, and other providers are hiring more.

7. Freelance Writer
Pay: $28.78 to $45.62
Job Description: Freelance writing work generally requires at least one field of expertise. Create technical writing documents or blog about sports, politics, entertainment, etc. Writing assignments can also include grant proposals or academic projects.

8. Caterer
Pay: $9.47 to $11.97
Job Description: Cook food for events, i.e, parties, weddings, anniversaries, birthdays, prepare specialty items, hors d’oeuvres, etc.

9. Desktop Publisher
Pay: $15.98 to $21.30
Job Description: Complete assignments involving word processing, including page layouts, charts and computer graphics utilizing desktop publishing equipment and integrated software packages. May require an associate’s degree in a related area and experience in the field or in a related area.

10. Fundraiser
Pay: $35,349 to $51,291.
Job Description: Responsible for achieving an agreed money-raising target by approaching trusts, corporations, statutory bodies, major donors, individuals and other sources, and by running events. Fundraisers work with individuals, communities, businesses and charitable trusts to raise awareness of the charity’s work, aims and goals.

Source:  Careerbuilder.com

1.) Expose Your Energy Bill With Fluorescent Lamps
If you replace 25% of your lights in high-use areas with fluorescents, you can save about 50% on your lighting energy bill. Although fluorescent lamps are more expensive than incandescents, they more than pay for themselves, lasting 6 to 10 times longer and saving energy. Exterior lighting is one of the best places to use compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs). Like traditional long-tube fluorescents, CFLs have a long life, but are smaller so that they can fit in many residential fixtures. If you live in a cold climate, be sure to buy a lamp with a cold-weather ballast. Use 4-foot fixtures with reflective backing and electronic ballasts for your garage and laundry areas, and consider 4-watt mini-fluorescent or electro-luminescent night-lights. CFLs can also be used in portable table and floor lamps, and even in torchiere fixtures; consider carefully the size and fit of CFLs when you select them.

2.) Save Costs on Hot Water
Water heating is a home’s third largest energy expense after heating/cooling and appliances. While it isn’t the biggest energy concern, there are still a few ways to save on water heating: Use less water by repairing leaky faucets promptly and installing nonaerating, low-flow faucets and showerheads. Lower the thermostat on your water heater to 115 degrees and insulate your hot-water storage tank and pipes. Also buy an energy-efficient water heater. Look for the EnergyGuide label that tells how much energy the water heater uses in one year. Look for the FHR (First Hour Rating), which measures the maximum hot water the heater will deliver in its first hour of use. While an energy-efficient water heater may cost more initially than a standard water heater, the energy savings will continue during the lifetime of the appliance.

3.) Cooking Savings in the Kitchen
Use a covered kettle or pan to boil water; it’s faster and uses less energy. It’s also more efficient to match the size of the pan to the burner. If you cook with electricity, turn the oven and stovetop burners off several minutes before the allotted cooking time — the heating element will stay hot long enough to finish the cooking without using more electricity. Use pressure cookers and microwave ovens to significantly reduce cooking time.

4.) Save Energy While Doing the Laundry
About 80-85% of the energy used for washing clothes goes toward heating the water. You can reduce this cost by washing full loads, which results in using less water overall. Also use cooler water — switching the temperature setting from hot to warm cuts a load’s energy use in half. Reduce drying costs by cleaning the lint filter after every load to improve air circulation. Don’t overdry clothes, and use the cool-down cycle to allow clothes to finish drying with residual heat.

5.) Use Window Coverings
Draperies and shades can help you keep your heating bills under control. Open the coverings on your south-facing windows during the day to allow sunlight to enter your home and close them at night to reduce the chilly air you may feel emanating from cold windows.

6.) Save Money Without Sacrificing Comfort
You can save as much as 10% a year on your heating bills by simply turning down your thermostat 10% to 15% for 8 hours. You can do this automatically without sacrificing comfort by installing an automatic setback or programmable thermostat. The latter allows you to adjust the times the heat goes on according to a pre-set schedule, saving energy and money while you’re asleep or at work. Programmable thermostats can store and repeat multiple daily settings that you can manually override without affecting the rest of the schedule.

7.) Be Smart When Using A Fireplace
A fireplace is one of the most inefficient heat sources in your home — a fire exhausts the air your heating system has warmed, sending it out through the chimney. But you can minimize your losses. Keep your damper closed when the fireplace is not in use, and if you never use your fireplace, plug and seal the chimney flue. When you do use the fireplace, reduce heat loss by opening dampers in the bottom of the firebox, if you have them, or open the nearest window slightly — approximately one inch — and close doors leading into the room. Lower the thermostat setting to between 50° and 55°F.

Here are a few simple ways of saving money this summer and winter:

1.) Install a programmable thermostat.  These thermostats, which cost between $30 to $100 can store up to four temperature settings a day.  They regulate air-conditioner and furnace turn-on times, making it easier to manage the temperture in your home.  The potential energy cost savings could be as much as $100 or more over a year.

2.) Insulate your home!  Blowing insulation in the walls or laying batts of insulation in the attice keep week the heat in during the winter and the cool air in during the summer.  The initial cost can be substantial but you will see a return in reduced heating and cooling bills.

3.) Storm Windows!  Consider installing double-pane windows.  Most homes lose warmth and cold air through the windows.  Having a double or triple-pane windows will keep the air inside the house.

4.) Consider buying a new refrigerator.  If your refrigerator is over 15 years old, consider buying a new one.  Since the 1990′s many new advances in energy efficiency appliances.  Look for Energy Star rated freezers.  Models sold after 2001 use up to 40% less energy.  Replacing a refrigerator bought in 1990 with a Energy Star rating would save enough energy to light the average household for nearly four months! 

5.) Replace old light bulbs with florescents!  They use 75% less energy than the standard incandescent bulbs and last up to 10 times longer!  Not only do they last longer but they can save up to $30 or more in electricity over the the bulb’s lifetime.  They also produce about 75% less heat which helps with energy cost associated with home cooling cost.

Here are five ways to save energy with your Air Conditioner:

1. Reduce your home’s heat load

Eliminate heat-generating sources inside your home and you may not need to rely on the air conditioner as much, says Jennifer Thorne Amann, a senior associate at American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. Close the shades on windows that get a lot of direct sunlight, and refrain from running appliances that generate heat, such as the oven, dishwasher or clothes dryer, during the hottest parts of the day. And make sure to switch your incandescent light bulbs to energy-efficient compact fluorescent ones. “Every incandescent bulb in your house is a little extra heater,” says Amman. “CFLs use less energy and release less heat.” Take these steps and you can set the thermostat two degrees warmer, saving about $4 a month.

2. Make sure your unit is in top shape

“Even if you have the most efficient [air-conditioning] system, if it’s not operating the way it should, you’re wasting energy,” says Maria Vargas, a spokeswoman for the government’s Energy Star program. Problems like a worn-out filter or unsealed duct won’t keep your A/C from working, but they could make the unit as much as 20% less efficient. Typically, an inspection from a licensed contractor costs about $50, an expense you should easily recoup in energy savings by Labor Day. (A unit operating back at peak efficiency again could cut as much as $20 a month from your electricity bill.) On your own, clean or replace air filters at least once a month. “That cuts down how hard the fan has to work to move air throughout your home,” explains Vargas.

3. Turn back the thermostat

There’s no point in keeping the air conditioning on full blast when no one’s home to enjoy it. Turn the thermostat higher while you’re at work or asleep, advises Kweller. Setting it five degrees higher for an eight-hour period each day shaves 10% from your monthly bill. You don’t have to come home to a space that’s as sweltering inside as it is outside, either. “Program the air conditioner to kick in at the more comfortable temperature just before you get home,” she says.

4. Use a fan

Set your ceiling fan to its counterclockwise mode. “That pushes the cool air down and redistributes the warm air,” says Vargas. Or use other types of fans to create a breeze. The result: The room feels about two degrees cooler. Adjust the thermostat accordingly, and you’ll save another $4 per month. Just be sure to turn the fan off when you leave the room, cautions Amann. “Fans don’t cool rooms — they cool people,” she says.

5. Seal up your home

Sad but true: At least some of that chilled air your system generates isn’t going to stay inside. Cracks along window and door frames, attic eaves and electrical outlets enable it to escape — and force your air conditioner to work much harder to maintain a cool temperature, says Amann. The equivalent of leaving a window open all year, such leaks can tack on another 20% to your bill. Seal everything up with some caulk, insulation and weather-stripping for as little as $50. Doing so could help cut your annual energy bill by as much as $470.

Source: AOL Money & Finance

Traditionally it’s a trench filled with gravel so water will drain off from low areas.  However, today’s French drains can include a drain pipe at the bottom of the trench to help with the follow of the drain.  They are low cost and easy to install.  Here are a few tips for installing a French drain.

1.  Start with digging the trench.  The depth and width of the trench should be about 5 inches wide and 10 to 12 inches deep.
2.  You must have a proper slope.  There needs to be enough of a slope to move the water in the direction you need.  It is recommended to have a slope of 1% (one foot per every 100 feet) to ensure proper water flow.  Some recommend 6 inches per 100 feet.  It’s up to you as to your slope but it’s very important to have one.
3.  Add gravel to trench.  Add enough gravel to come within an inch or two from the surface of the trench.  I recommend using gravel that’s half an inch to an inch in size.
4.  Top off the remaining trench with sand.  You will want to use a coarse sand so water will properly drain through the trench.  The coarse sand will also allow turf to grow so the trench will not be seen.
5.  Add turf.  You can either lay sod over the top of the sand or plant grass seeds.

With these five simple steps, you can install a French drain in one afternoon.  For additional information, be sure to view this video on installing French Drains for more information.

Bike Instead Of Ride
Riding your bike instead of riding in a car saves energy and reduces pollution!  It is also fun!  That makes it a double benefit.

Buy Products Made Of Recycled Paper
How can you tell if a package is recycled?  Many have specific claims, such as “made of 100 percent recycled material.”  However, some recycled packages don’t advertise this fact, although there are ways you can find out for yourself.  For example, when shopping for cereal, cookies, crackers, and other groceries packaged in cardboard boxes, make sure boxes are made from recycled paper.  If the underside is gray or dark brown, the cardboard is made of recycled material.  If it’s white, it is made of unrecycled material.

Change A Light Bulb
By replacing a standard bulb with a compact fluorescent one you will get more light for less money and save a lot of energy.

Close The Refrigerator Door
By leaving it open for just a few extra seconds, you waste a lot of energy.  Decide what you want before you open the refrigerator door.  Then get it and close the door right away.

Collect Aluminum Cans
You might raise a lot of money in the process.  The best thing is to combine this with your stream or park cleanup (see above).  Sell the cans you collect to a local aluminum recycler and use the money for something fun!  Or donate the money to a worthy environmental organization (see below).

Create A Compost Pile
It’s easy to do.  Find a corner of the yard that’s out of the way.  Carefully throw food wastes (leftovers, eggshells, coffee grounds, spoiled vegetables, etc.) into a pile and mix with dirt.  Every week or so, turn the pile over with a shovel to give it more air.  In a few weeks, it will turn into a rich, nutrition soil that will help plants grow.  Just think:  What used to be “garbage” is now a valuable substance!

Cut Down On Packaging
We’ve already given you several ways to do this.  Keep in mind that about half of what we throw away is packaging.  By buying products that have as little packaging as possible, you can help to reduce those mountains of trash.

Don’t Buy Aerosols
There are environmentally better packages for most products.  Aerosols can’t be recycled–which means that they are guaranteed to end up in landfills–and some of their ingredients contribute to air pollution.  Instead of aerosols, look for spray bottles, liquids, powders, and roll-ons.

Find Out How To Dispose of Hazardous Waste
Nearly every household has some kind of hazardous waste: old paint cans, used motor oil, unused pesticides and weed killers.  If you dump these things down the drain, you’ll end up polluting the water supply.  THey should be disposed of in a site specially designed for hazardous or toxic wastes.  Some cities and counties have monthly or annual pickups.  Other areas have special drop-off sites.  Call your city or county government to find out the proper way to dispose of such trash in your area. 

Grow A Garden
A garden provides flowers, vegetables, and environmental benefits.  It can help to reduce soil erosion and may help to reduce some kinds of air pollution.  Try to grow your garden using as few pesticides and chemical fertilizers as possible.

Insulate Your Home
You may find a lot of energy being wasted right in your own home.  After you’ve finished your energy audit, make a list of the things you believe should be done.  Your local hardware-store sales person can help you determine how much the improvements will cost, how much energy they will save, and how much money your family will save in reduced energy bills.

Keep The Car At Home
You’ve learned by now that automobiles are one of the single biggest sources of pollution.  Most driving trips are under five miles, and you’d be surprised how many are under one mile.  Try walking, biking, skateboarding, roller-skating, or taking the bus.

Make Scratch Pads
Here’s a good way to recycle paper.  When you use a piece of paper on only one side, don’t throw it away when you are done with it.  Instead, put it in a pile with all of the blank sides surfacing up.  When you get a big pile, you can turn the paper into scratch pads.  First, get someone to cut the pile of paper in half.  Then, staple small batches of paper together into “pads.”

Observe The Three R’s
Refuse, Reuse, and Recycle.  Whatever you buy, wherever you live, the Three Rs are the most important rules to live by, at least as far as the environment is concerned.  The next time you go shopping–whether by yourself or with your parents or friends–think about the Three Rs every time you pull a potential purchase off the shelf.  Is it something that is overpackaged or wasteful?  If so, Refuse it.  Is it something that is made of or packaged in recycled material, or which you can reuse in some way? If so, Reuse it.  Is it something that can be recycled easily? If so, Recycle it.

Plant A Tree
How would you like to plant your very own tree and watch it grow?  There are organizations in most communities that have set up tree-planting campaigns.  But you don’t even need one of these.  Visit a local nursery to find out what kinds of trees will grow best in your area.  The nursery people might also help you find a good place to plant a tree.  You can watch the tree’s progress every year, and have the pleasure of know that you put it there for everyone to enjoy!

Quit Throwing Away Batteries
Americans go through more than two billion batteries a year to power such things as radios, calculators, watches, flashlights, and computers.  Unfortunately, batteries contain many hazardous materials, which leak into landfills when batteries are thrown away.  Many of these dangerous chemicals get into our water supply.  There are two ways you can avoid throwing away batteries.  One is by using batteries that can be recharged over and over.  You should also find out if there are companies in your area that recycle batteries.  If you must throw batteries away, do so at a hazardous-waste collection site, if there is one in your area. 

Recycle Everything
Well, not everything, but just about.  As we described earlier, there is little you can’t recycle one way or another.  One exception is plastic, most of which is not easily recyclable.  Set up recycling boxes in your home–one for collecting newspapers, another for collecting other types of paper, another for glass, and another for aluminum.  Try composting, which is a way of recycling food and other organic matter.  You can even try recycling plastic, if you can find a place that accepts plastic for recycling.  If you can’t recycle something, see if there is some way you can reuse it.

Reuse Bags
Some people believe that bags made of trees–paper bags–are less harmful to the earth than bags made of chemicals–plastic bags.  The fact is, making both types of bags creates a lot of pollution, and both paper and plastic bags use a lot of resources.  So neither is much better than the other.  The best solution is not to use any bag at all, or to bring your own bag.  Some people carry a canvas or mesh bag they can use over and over.  If you must use a paper or plastic bag, don’t throw it away.  Try to use the bag over and over–as many times as you can.

Stop A Leak
Organize a Stop-the-Leak Day on which everyone in your family tightens, insulates, replaces, caulks, and does whatever else is necessary to make your home as “tight” as possible. Your local water, gas, or electric utility company may be able to provide help, or even instructions and supplies.

Turn Off The Lights
This is such a simple thing to do, but sometimes it’s so hard to remember!  Ask your parents if you can put little stickers near the light switches you leave on the most often, reminding everyone to turn them off when they leave the room.  Consider starting a Lights-Off Fund, to which each person must donate a nickel or dime every time he or she forgets to turn off the lights.  As those nickels or dimes add up, you might donate them to an environmental organization.

Use Recycled Paper
There’s just no reason why you shouldn’t buy recycled paper whenever it is available.  In most cases, it is just as good as “virgin” paper–even better, in fact, because it helps save trees!  You can buy toilet paper, paper towels, napkins, writing paper, books, newspapers, and many other things made of recycled paper.  If you or your parents can’t find recycled paper products in your local grocery store, ask the manager to stock them.

Source:  Going Green A-to-Z List of Ideas