Augusta focus. ([Augusta, Ga.) 198?-current, December 19, 1996, Image 10

Augusta focus., December 19, 1996, Page 10A, Image 10

About Augusta focus. ([Augusta, Ga.) 198?-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 19, 1996)

Page of 28

Prev Issue Next Issue

Text PDF JP2 (3.7 MB) Clip/Print Image

Page of 28

Prev Issue Next Issue

Return to Top

Newspaper Page Text10A December 19, 1996 AUGUSTA FOCUS ' Taking steps to trim your ‘home’s energy costs this winter MEMPHIS, Tenn. Ifthe thought of your approach ing winter utility bill gives you the chills, take heart. There are several simple and inexpensive ways to improve your home’s energy efficiency and lower your heating costs. Michael Lamb, an energy con sultant with the Energy Efficien cy and Renewable Energy Clear inghouse, says one of the simple and most cost-effective methods istoinstall a programmable ther mostat. According to Lamb, the U.S. Department of Energy esti mates that the average Ameri can household can save 3 per cent on its heating bill for every one degree lower the thermostat is set. With a programmable thermostat, you can easily re duce the average temperature inside your house by several de grees with no loss of comfort. Think of a programmable ther mostat like a house-sitter. While you’re away, it automatically decreases the indoor tempera ture to a setting you select. You waste less energy heating your home when no one is there. Just before you arrive home in the evening, the programmable ther mostat adjusts the temperature to make your home cozy and warm. The same is true each night while you’re sleeping. The programmable thermostat low ers the temperature while you are asleep, then raises the heat just before you get up each morn ing. Inthe meantime, you saved a bundle. Programmable thermostats make programming for energy savings quick and easy. There are many brands on the market, and prices and options vary. Hunter Fan Company alone pro duces seven models, ranging in price from $29.95 t 0599.90. They offer options such as “auto pro gram” which automatically acti vates an energy-saving setback program, and features “over rides” that allow you to hold a temperature while home for a holiday or away on vacation with out having to program the unit. Is your child frenzied by the festivities? A missed meal here. A mara thon shopping day there. Two of fice parties on the same night. A monthofsleepdeprivation. Ifyour holiday schedule has you on the edge, you can bet the season’s stress is getting to your child too, says Dr. Laura L. Mee, child psy chologist with Egleston Children’s Hospital at Emory University in Atlanta. The following is a list of holiday stressors: sAbundant activities. End less parties, school performances and family gatherings all placean increased demand on children to Exercise for a healthy heart Most adults know that regular exercise plays an important part in fighting heart disease. Kids, on the other hand, get plenty of exercise just by playing and being kids, right? Not always, and especially not during winter months, when more time tends to be spent indoors playing sedentary games and watch ing television. Children need regular vigor ous physical exercise just as much as they need healthy food and good sleep. Even school physical education classes may not be enough, as the average PE class often keeps students active for less than half the class period. Parents should set an example by being ac tive themselves and showing that physical activity is a fun part of daily life. They can help their children find sports and activities that fit individual tastes and styles, as well as give gifts that emphasize movement, such h Synergic Health Centre q Gerald D. Oliver, M.D. Internal Medicine and Pediatric Medicine D T - : . SR §\\\\\§§\\§*§§§§L@ programmanbie thermostat e bb @ S Iy gnd ey m S insulating tha attic floor S savers will result es Save up so 10% by insulating vour hot watsr heater in big dividends i _and the pipes that lead to and from it : for wintsr e g lﬂz many or Save up to 8% by making sure your healing : WF sysemis gparating ai top efficiency § § locome. 3| S2ve up to 5% by cauiking and weathar-stripping O rersme———— 370 UN windows and deers \\\\\\\s“ ——— TS R e R S DRRTEER 3 Save up to 3% by making sure he dampar t the -is tgnt siting and ciesed when actinuse {Graphic countesy of Humler Fas Company) Porcentage Of #nergy savings arovived by Meaphis Light G and Water andd the Ensegy Fifnuncy and Renawadde Enuegy Cleannghouse Resuits mav vary dus 10 3ilferer conditons Other options include “auto sea son changeover,” which elimi nates the need to change between heating and cooling settings. You can choose the features that best fit your needs, theninstall it your self and start saving money. Another important step when “winterizing” your home, says Lamb, is to seal and heavily in sulate the attic floor. “The attic floor in most houses is full of holes,” explains Lamb. “These holes are created during the con struction process, and then cov ered up with wall board and in sulation. The homeowner hasno way of knowing that the problem exits.” These holes act like hundreds oflittle chimneys all winter long, serving as escape routes for your home’s warmer, more buoyant air. Therefore, as the warm air rises, so do your utility bills. To air-seal the attic floor, the existing insulation and floor boards must be moved, and seams, cracks and holes must be filled with a specially designed sealant. Once the attic floor is sealed, adequate insulation should follow, ensuring that the eaves get top priority. Lamb maintains that attics were not designed for storage. “The insulation cannot do its be on their best behavior. Being on constant good behavior is diffi cult for a child any time, but dur ing the excitement of the holi days, it’s too much to expect. sHoliday depression. Com mercial advertisers and popular media often overemphasize the traditional family unit during the holidays. Children with an atypi cal family unit, or those who have recently experienced a loss through death or divorce, aremore exposed tothedifferences between themselves and others. eFamily difficulties. Whether a parent has just lost a job, or there as riding toys, skates, jump ropes and balls.\ Because exercise is a lifetime commit ment, it’s important that we begin an exer cise regimen early in life. If you are not exercising now, be a good example to your children and get them and yourself moving! Exercise may not add years to our lives but it will definitely improve the quality oflife in the years we have remaining. For more in formation, call Synergic Health Centre at 648-3500, or see us by appointment at 1055 A Silver Bluff Rd. As specialists in pediatric and adolescent medicine, we place a high priority on the prevention of disease and injuries. We treat childhood illnesses like pneumonia, allergies and diabetes. By age eight, 40 percent of U.S. children have already developed risk factors for heart disease, which is the country’s No.l killer. Livingßetter job if the Christmas decorations are piled on top of it,” he ex plains. “I recommend hanging a catwalk from the attic’s rafters and realizing the attic’s storage potential that way.” Cold air entering your home from outside is another winter utility bill booster. The air may “turn over” several times an hour in an unprotected home, forcing the home’s entire volume of air to be reheated that often. A “tight” home —one that is sealed properly — will complete an air exchange only once every two to three hours, thus greatly reduc ing energy use. Lamb advises caulking and weather-stripping around win dows and doors, and pinpointing and closing up other leaky of fenders such as fireplaces and attic entrances. A word of caution here for al lergy sufferers: A tightly closed house can aggravate allergy symptoms. To relieve allergy sniffles, get a portable room air purifier. It will clean the air in tightly sealed homes and pro vide relief from the dust, fire place ash and other allergens floating in the air. To make sure you get a high-quality air filter, look for the Clean Air Delivery Rating listed on the box. It’s the areother ongoing stressorsat home, children pick up on the anxiety in the air. Overheard comments such as, “Ifonly I had gotten that raise, I would be able to buy what the kids really want,” can make a child feel guilty or anxious. Finding ways to keep the house hold holiday stress level low may bedifficult, but Egleston’s Dr. Mee offers these ideas: *Think routine. Make it your goal tokeep meal times, bed times, wake-up times and other routine activities as close to normal as possible. When your schedule is derailed, get back on track the only rating system recognized by the Association of Home Appli ance Manufacturers and the EPA, and it is listed on the pack aging of Hunter Air Purifiers and other quality brands. Insulating your hot water heat er and the pipes that lead to and from it is yet another simple and cost-effective way to save on en ergy costs. Awater heaterjacket can be purchased for as little as sls, and it’s simple to install. Lamb suggests coveringboth the hot and cold water pipes with foil insulating tape to maximize sav ings. “This measure alone can result in a 4-to-9-percent sav ings per month for the typical consumer,” he says. Another method of cutting down on home energy costs is to make sure your heating system is operating at top efficiency. Have a professional check your heat pumps, steam boilers and forced air furnaces. During heat ing season, replace the filters once a month and keep vents, registers and radiators clear of dust, furniture and drapes. Fi nally, close the vents or shut off radiators in rooms that are not being used. A final simple step is to make sure the damper on your fireplace is tight-fitting and closed when notinuse. Most ofthe heat creat ed by a fireplace goes right out the chimney and, when not in use, an open damper can suck the warm air right out of your home. Investing now in these simple andinexpensive energy savers will result in big dividends for this winter and for many cold seasons to come. Not only will you see a dramatic decrease in your utility bills, but you will be doing your part to conserve energy as well. For more information about Hunter Fan Company’s program mable thermostats, visit Hunt er’s Web site address at http:/ www.hunterfan.com or call 1- 800-4 HUNTER. Questions about home energy savers canbe answered by the Energy Effi ciency & Renewable Clearing house at 1-800-363-3732. next day. *The big picture. Create a family holiday calendar and re view it over breakfast. Knowing what lies ahead helps children and parents mentally prepare. And remember to schedule down time to give your children’s minds and bodies a rest. eMake parting fun. Whenyou must be away from your children, create fun for them in your ab sence. Arrange a special, not-too stimulating activity for the babysitter and your children such as icing holiday cookies or creat ing simple ornaments. o S | &t &) ‘ e Hope for stopping a killer By Larry Lucas Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America What’sthe No. 1 killer of young African-American men? It used to be murder. Now it’s AIDS. In fact, there are disturb ing signs that AIDS is becoming a black disease. Blacks are now outnumbering whites in new re ported cases of AIDS. And more than half of the 700,000 to 900,C00 Americans whoare HlV positive are people of color. What can we as a community do about this? We should certainly step up prevention efforts. We have to educate our young people about AIDS, but we have to do more. We have to give them the self respect that will empower them to stay away from drug use and Promiscuous Sex. Unfortunately, for people who already have AIDS or who are infected with the HIV virus, it’s too late to talk about prevention. That’s why a new survey by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of Americais par ticularly good news for African Americans. The survey reports that there are 122 new medi cines in testing for AIDS, includ ing 13 vaccines. For the over whelming majority of these med icines — 86 — minorities have participated in the clinical tri als, Forty-one of the potential new medicines are anti-virals, which attack the AIDS virus itself. Nineteen target AIDS-related cancers. Eighteen of the medi cines are being tested to treat infections that often attack the weakened immune systems of AIDS patients. Ten of the medi cines are aimed at strengthen ing the patient’s immune sys tem. Other medicines in devel r';g We wish you the happiest of holidays No More p 2 (a 2 ¢ l * 2-for-1 Memberships! ' (*new memberships only, enrollment fee required, offer expires 1/31/97) If you thought you couldn’t afford to join Augusta’s premier wellness and fitness facility, think again. Join with a friend or family member and get two memberships for the price of one. You both get full access to Health Central and ail it offers — from an indoor pool and track to more than 75 classes each week! Plus professionally trained staff, the newest equipment and free child care. Now, what’s your excuse? This special offer ends January 31, 1997. Join today. Make 1997 your healthiest year ever! ,9 A MAGATTNE . i6*ﬂ i Voted Best of ) edth Augusta 12 AU'G USTA years in a row. = he%lgh = ntral ; =__:.__ A Service of University Hospital/University Health ' For more information or to schedule a free guided tour, call 706/724-4408 I Y Y L A / B L opment include drugs to allevi ate severe pain, totreat the “wast ing” that accompanies AIDS and to prevent the transmission of the virus from pregnant women to their children. These new medicines — if and when they make it through the long, tough testing process — will add to the weapons we al ready have to fight AIDS. This arsenal now includes 42 medi cines already approved and on the market. The progress already made against AIDS is impressive, con sidering the fact that the first U.S. cases were only reported in 1981. By 1987, a pharmaceutical company won approval for the first AIDS drug, Retrovir,or AZT. Although not a cure, Retrovir and other drugs that followed extended the lives of AIDS pa tients, buying time for other medicines to be developed. In the past year, drug compa nies have turned out a new class of drugs known as protease in hibitors. These drugs can stop the AIDS virus from reproduc ing. Used in combination with other drugs, protease inhibitors can lower the amount of virus in a patient’s body by as much as 99 percent. AIDS is still a Kkiller, and pre vention is still the best policy. But tremendous progress has been made. And pharmaceutical companies are determined to turn the hope of a cure for AIDS into a reality. For a free copy of “New Medi cines in Development for AIDS,” write to PhRMA, 1100 15th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20005. Larry Lucas is associate vice president of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA).