FORT RUCKER, Ala. (October 10, 2014) -- Saving energy can be as involved as building a home or as simple as changing a light bulb, and this month people are reminded that saving a little energy can help the Army transition to a clean energy reality.
October is Energy Action Month, and military housing officials are reminding people that simple steps can not only help the environment, but their wallets, too.
"If a resident has a light bulb go out in their house on post, they should stop by their neighborhood office and exchange it for a brand new one," said Brandon Masters, communications manager with Corvias Military Living. "This ensures that energy usage stays down."
The U.S. Department of Energy's Federal Energy Management Program is encouraging all federal agencies to conserve energy, and help the nation transition to clean energy and conservation.
FEMP advises that making clean energy a reality means greater energy security, less carbon pollution and more tax dollars saved.
"All of the homes that were built on Fort Rucker were built to Leed Silver Certifiable standards," Masters said. "That means the home meets energy standards like insulation, energy efficient appliances, double-pane windows and various building materials to ensure the home is conservative in terms of energy.
"The Army has put out the Live Army Green Program," he added. "It puts some of the responsibility back on the people living on an installation to be responsible for their energy consumption. The Live Army Green Program has been extremely successful here at Fort Rucker. People are finding new ways to be more conservative with their home energy usage.
"The utilities are included in the resident's basic allowance for housing," Masters explained. "We take a group of like homes and average out their monthly energy usage. If you conserve energy in your home, you will get a refund back."
Another way people on Fort Rucker are conserving energy and resources is the recycling program. "People on Fort Rucker are very positive about the recycling program -- they use it," he added.
"When we started doing the recycling program here, we had small green bins for people to put their recyclable goods in," Masters said. "It became apparent very early on that those were not big enough for the amount of recycling the community was doing. We had to upgrade to large rolling bins and that is really great."
The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that recycling paper reduces water use by 60 percent, energy by 70 percent and cuts pollution in half.
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