Living on a limited budget as we do, we here at The Thin Green Line are sensitive to the fact that all too often, doing the right thing is not the cheapest thing.

Which is why we wanted to make you all aware of a couple of ideas out there in the idea-o-sphere (if this becomes Webster's new word of the year, we hereby formally lay legal and binding claim to it. Stuff THAT in your "truthiness" and smoke it Stephen Colbert!).

First of all, we'd like to tell you about an incentive from an industry long thought to be bereft of soul and all human feeling, unless of course you've been in a car crash or had your house burn down.

Yes, you've guessed it, we're talking about the insurance industry, which took us completely by surprise last month and announced discounts for folks who try to make their house more green.

According to this helpful release provided by the folks at the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, at least one company, Donegal Insurance Group, will provide you with a 5 percent discount for installing solar electric panels on your house and another 5 percent discount for installing geo-thermal heat pumps to heat and cool your house.

(Shown at right is a geo-thermal plant, just a weeeeee bit bigger than the kind your house would use.)

And, if you own a small business, the state is offering 2 percent fixed interest 10-year loans for projects that reduce waste, pollution or energy use. The loans can be used to pay up to 75 percent of the cost, up to $100,000.

Click here for the link to that program.

If heating your hot water with the sun is your bag, consider that homeowners are eligible for a federal tax credit on solar heaters of up to 30 percent of the installed system's cost, with a cap of $2,000.

In this Feb. 9 Op-Ed piece for the New York Times, Amherst professor Larry Hunter argued that solar hot water is cheaper, simpler and more energy efficient than photovoltaic (in which solar energy is used to generate electricity for your house) and deserves a bigger slice of the stimulus pie.

Of course if you're devoted to photo-voltaic, The Thin Green Line has a morsel for you as well.

One of the frustrating things about being the first on your block with anything is you don't have a lot of bargaining power with the seller...unless if you got your whole block to buy it.!

Voila!

And so we bring you this link to a New York Times Magazine article about an entity called 1BOG.

So long as you are not so sensitive to the wave of "socialist" accusations sweeping out from the far right shouting machine, you may find savings from the "collective" purchasing of solar power. Just think of it like pitching in with your neighbor to share the cost of a fence dividing your two properties.

This how the Times described the company: "Owned by Virgance, a for-profit company based in San Francisco, 1BOG aims to make money by collecting what amounts to a referral fee from the solar installer, and some of the incentives it offers to consumers involve straightforward middleman functions: mastering the details of state, local and federal incentive programs that drastically lower costs; vetting solar-installation companies; and so on. Solar panels are, after all, a big-ticket item that few consumers know much about. (Costs vary, but under normal circumstances a $20,000 price tag is not unusual.) Finding the best installer and getting a fair price can be intimidating and bewildering."

Having seen "Obama-mania" sweep the country, the company collects customers through a campaign. "When 1BOG starts a “campaign” in a city, it relies on its consumer participants to recruit more consumer participants," the Times reports.

They've even hired a former Obama campaign coordinator to help. Whether or not this results in 1BOG-o-mania, it's too soon to tell.

In its first venture, with a group of 41 homes, it garnered a 20 percent discount in the price of installation, no small figure when you figure it can cost as much as $40,000 to install a 4.5 kilowatt system.

So far, the nearest the company has a group is Washington, D.C., but there is also one started in Bergen County, N.J., so Pennsylvania might be next.

We'll let you know...

In the meantime, consider this. If you think none of this affects you because you're just fine with the way things are, know that things will not stay the way they are.

The Obama administration and Congress are already moving toward regulations to reduce carbon emissions into the air, that means coal, currently the cheapest of the fossil fuels.

When coal gets more expensive, your electric bill will go up.

As this New York Times article shows, those worst hit by the price jumps may well be those least able to afford it.

Blogger's note: Reporters have a love/hate relationship with press releases. They often convey necessary information and they all too often offer the temptation of copying them word for word and then slapping your by-line on top so you can play solitaire for the rest of your shift.

Other times, they are so poorly written, lacking crucial information like a date, or so obtuse as to be completely useless.

What appears below is none of those.

Arriving in my e-mail box was information on an event unique to North Coventry that I was hard-pressed to improve. Also being hard-pressed for time, I chose simply the dreaded "copy and paste" option and present it below unchanged from its original, well-written form.

Hats off to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection not only for providing this vital information about Norco's famous salamander and frog migration, but also for putting out a cleverly worded press release. (I suspect it was written by a former reporter.)

Why did the salamander cross the road? (a) To get to the vernal pool; (b) To ensure survival of the species; (c) To watch humans run across the road in reflective gear carrying buckets of amphibians; or (d) All of the above.

If you answered (d), you know it’s that time of year again, when Friends of Amphibians gather in North Coventry Township, armed with flashlights and buckets, to help hundreds of salamanders and frogs cross St. Peters Road without mishap.

The migration usually occurs at the end of February or early March, when temperatures are above freezing and weather conditions are damp or rainy. Unfortunately, humans never know when amphibians will choose to migrate, so the Green Valleys Association, which coordinates the migration, is looking for motivated volunteers with flexible schedules.

Traffic does not stop during the assisted migration, so only adult volunteers may participate.

In 2008, the group assisted 299 spotted salamanders, 27 Jefferson salamanders and 228 wood frogs over a three-night period.

Adult friends who would like to participate in this year’s migration may contact Kim White at kim.a.white@gmail.com.

Your heart raced as you tore the paper off the package ... YES! that new iPod (or Blackberry, or computer, or MP3 player, or BIG SCREEN TV)! Santa came through big time.

Your hands trembling, you disconnect the old dinosaur (barely two years old) in your entertainment center, sweeping away the dust and accumulated DVDs and make room for your new baby...just in time for the SUPERBOWL!

Or how about this? The old Zenith won't get that new digital signal that starts next month, so rather than get the converter box, you decide it's time to get a new TV.

Or maybe you have heard such good things about Vista (OK, let's face it, that would never happen) that you've run out and purchased a new computer.

All of these scenarios have one question in common: What do you do with the old one?

Well, in a previous life, you would have put it at the curb, surprisingly still legal in Pennsylvania.

But what you may not know, or have chosen not to question, is that many electronics contain dangerous chemicals, heavy metals in particular.

Why are they potentially harmful? The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection informs us that electronic equipment contains metals like cadmium, lead and mercury.

• Cadmium - The largest source of cadmium in municipal waste is rechargeable nickel-cadmium (NiCd) batteries.
• Lead - Monitors and televisions contain a picture tube known as a cathode ray tube (CRT). The CRTs contain leaded glass, and are the largest source of lead in municipal waste.
• Mercury - Some electronic equipment also contains recoverable quantities of mercury.
  

Electronic discards include computers, monitors, televisions, audio equipment, printers, and other electronic devices. Rapid advances in technology means that consumer electronics, particularly computers, are quickly rendered them obsolete. The average lifespan of a computer is about 2-3 years. (Here I must announced proudly that I still use a desktop that runs Windows '95. Honesty also requires that my son calls it "Old Bessie" and it is little more than a glorified typewriter at this point.)

Further, we all know that when it stops working right, the price of replacement parts or service often makes it more practical to simply buy a new one; which is all well and good, provided you can find a green way to get rid of the old one.

Well guess what, your friends here at The Thin Green Line are here to help.

Having finally regained consciousness after being bludgeoned insensate by an overdose of holiday consumerism, we sent our massive team of expert researchers into the field to answer these crucial questions.

(In other words, Evan spent a few minutes surfing Web. This really isn't that hard people!)

One answer is to be found from the very same DEP that warns us about the potential pollution from the old Victrola.

Their first suggestion, contained in a Dec. 30 release that landed in The Mercury in-box, is a pretty good one. If it works, find someone else you can give it to.

Free-cycle (more about this in a later blog) is one way to do it, although you might also call The Mercury's Sound-Off line (610-323-3009) and leave a message. Someone will surely want it.

The good news is there are a number of locations around the state where electronics can be dropped off for recycling. The bad news is there are none in the immediate area, with the exception of Jim Crater's Recycling Services Inc. in North Coventry which will take some electronics for re-sale.

You can go to the DEP Web site, -- http://www.depweb.state.pa.us/-- and search under "Electronics Collection Program," or call one of their hotlines, 800-346-4242, or 717-787-7382 to find out where, but why do that, when we've already done it for you?

• Philadelphia County - Philadelphia now has two permanent drop off collections sites for electronics recycling. Hours are Monday - Saturday 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. The sites are located at:
  Domino Lane and Umbria Street- Roxborough
  State Road and Ashburner Street
  Questions can be directed to Scott McGrath at 215-686-5504
• Lehigh County residents can recycle unwanted electronic equipment at AERC Recycling Solutions at 1801 Union Blvd in Allentown on the 2nd and 4th Friday of each month from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Fee to recycle most items is $1 and televisions are $5. For a full list of prices or for more information please call 610-797-7608 or visit http://www.aercrecycling.com/
• Lancaster County (computers only) - Residents of Lancaster County can recycle their computers for NO CHARGE. This includes associated items such as monitors, printer and keyboards.
  Small businesses can recycle up to 25 computers. The first five will be recycled for NO CHARGE; after that there is a $5 fee for each monitor and a $5 fee for each CPU.
  Computers will be accepted at the Household Hazardous Waste Facility, located at 1299 Harrisburg Pike. Monday through Friday 8:30 a.m. until 3 p.m. 2nd & 4th Saturday of each month 8 a.m. until noon. 717-397-9968 http://www.lcswma.org/

If the item you're tossing is smaller, guess who else can help? Would you believe the Post Office?

In April, the Post Office launched a pilot program that "allows customers to recycle small electronics and inkjet cartridges by mailing them free of charge."

Called the "Mail Back Program," you just go to the post office and use free envelopes located there to mail back inkjet cartridges, PDAs, Blackberries, digital cameras, iPods and MP3 players – without having to pay for postage. Postage is paid for by Clover Technologies Group, a company that recycles, remanufactures and remarkets inkjet cartridges, laser cartridges and small electronics.

If the electronic item or cartridges cannot be refurbished and resold, its component parts are reused to refurbish other items, or the parts are broken down further and the materials are recycled, according to the Post Office. Clover Technologies Group has a “zero waste to landfill” policy: it does everything it can to avoid contributing any materials to the nation’s landfills.

The free, postage-paid Mail Back envelopes can be found on displays in Post Office lobbies. There is no limit to the number of envelopes customers may take.

According to an April release, "The pilot is set for 10 areas across the country, including Washington, D.C., Chicago, Los Angeles and San Diego, but could become a national program this fall if the pilot program proves successful. "

Our crack research team was unable to find any information about whether the program is available everywhere or not. Maybe someone will let us know.