cape; may COUNTY

u,s. PAID F«fmH No. 330 Comd«m. N.J.

TV

LISTINGS

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VOL. 14 NO. 21

WEEK OF NOVEMBER 28 TO DECEMBER 4, 1979

PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY BY THE 'SEAWAVE CORPORATION, P.Q. BOX 0, AVALON. HJ. 09307

No matter how many thousands of time* you’ve heard tt, it can’t be said too much: conserve energy. For our own individual good as well as the good of the country and the world, Americans have cut down on their energy consumption in a variety of

creative ways.

With the crisis in Iran, the advent of winter and steadily rising fuel coats a constant companion. Cape May County residents will again look for many ways to pare their energy usage down even further. Conserving energy can be easy, painless and downright enjoyable in

Push To Conserve Energy Continues

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The crisis concerns petroleum, and the experts talk about it in quads and gigawatts, billions of this and trillions of that. However, they describe it and whatever its causes, one of its effects is painfully clear — It to taking a bigger and bigger bite out of your income. There’s a way for you to bite back, but before getting into that, let’s put your bathtub, your house and your utility bills into the international picture. Review the energy use in

your home. Although it may not use oil directly, whatever form of energy it does use — natural gas, electricity, solar — can be expressed as an amount of oil, half of which we must import. The average American home uses the energy equivalent of about 940 gallons of oil each year. This energy is used mainly for heating and cooling rooms, heating water, lighting, cooking and running refrigerators and other appliances. Half the oil Americans use is imported and this imported oil now coats consuming nations about $22 per 42gallon barrel. A year ago a barrel of oil sold for about

$12.

Today, the average household’s energy cost is more than $2,000. About half of that is for gasoline for the car; the rest is mainly for heating fuel and electricity. Those figures win only go up as energy becomes more expensive to produce or as the foreign oil producers raise the price further. '• One way of cutting your utility bills is to make sure that you get the full use of the energy you pay for. This is called energy

AS ENERGY PRICES SOAR Cape May County residents are cutting down on energy usage. Every drop of oil or kilowatt of electricity

helps.

conservation, and it is'die easiest and fastest way to

not only cut your personal bills but also reduce the nation’s dangerous dependence on oil that

somebody else controls. One of the easiest ways of gauging the potential of energy conservation is monitoring energy use in your own home. The

1979: A Rainy Record Set On Cape

COURT HOUSE — The year 1979 has been, well, rather moist, according to county agriculture officials. In fact, with a little more than one month remaining, 1979 may turn out to set a record for rainfall, Larry Newbold Cape May County Agricultural Agent said.

Rainfall totals at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Plant Materials Center show a total of 51.33 inches for the months January through October, 10 inches more than usual. Cluster Belcher, Manager of the Plant Material Center keeps track of the rainfall count at the official

reporting station. The average yearly rairiTall at the Plant Materials Station in Swainton, is approximately 40 inches of rainfall per year for records over a fifteen year period. The 1977 total was 36.57 inches while the 1978 total was 45.49 inches. Newbold pointed out that

the average rainfall in Cape May County ranges from about 38 inches in the Southern half of the County to about 43 inches in the Northern portion. Newbold reminds homeowners that trees and shrubs and bulbs may show the results of this excessive rainfall. Tree roots must breath oxygen and some tree species are more prone to flooding injury than, others. Spring flowering bulbs are •specially susceptible to drowning. Homeowners are warned to provide proper drainage and reminded that some tree species under water for* few hours is sufficient to kill them. Newbold

further stated that soil drainage is critical for the establishment of developments as well as individual home sites. Septic systems do not function well when they are under water or subjected to periodic flooding problems, he said. . People contemplating building new homes should definitely consult the soil survey of Cape May County before purchasing a building lot, Newbold advised. Soil survey information provides information on water tables and soil types and soil limitations. A homeowner would be wise to consult this soil survey before purchasing any property.

RAINDROPS WERE FALLING on our heads more than usual this year in Cape May County. Hie unusual volume ot wet Stuff just could set a record, county agricultural officials say.

RAINFALL

J«n. 1. I«W>«. 31.1»7»

Month

Total Rainfall

JANUARY

FEBRUARY

MARCH

APRIL

MAY

JUNE

JULY

AUGUST

SEPTEMBER

OCTOBER

Ten inches of snow Is equivalent to one inch of rain.

•SNOW (inches) — January — 9.6 30.70.

February —

biggest piece of your utility costs, about 70 percent of the total, goes for heating and cooling rooms. Heating water takes about another 15 percent, and lighting.

cooking and small appliances account for the rest. But in some homes, water heating costs more than home heating. With winter coming, you can save up to 30 percent of your heating costs (that’s about one dollar of every five you spend for utilities) by adequately insulating your home. It can be relatively expensive to install, but the Federal government now offers homeowners a 15 percent tax credit for installing insulation, storm windows, or caulking up to $2,000 for a total credit of $300. The nearest Internal Revenue Service Office has the details - a toll-free number is listed in your Phonebook. Cracks around loose doors and windows are like energy burglars stealing your home’s heat. Yon can caulk and weatherstrip your entire house for about $25 worth of materials and a tew hours of work; this alone may cut your annual {(eating costs by 10 percent or more. If you have an oil-fired furnace,,cast a suspicious eye on it. On very cold days it should run almost continuously. If, instead, it keeps going on and off it is probably wasting money. By one estimate, 97 percent of all such furnaces are overfired — that is, they , squire more oil than needed because the oil nozzle is too big. A smaller nozzle will use up to 14 percent less oil, and your service technician can quickly tell you if you need

one.

If you have a forced-air heating system, check the ducts for leaks, because they can waste up to nine percent of your heating dollars. Patching with a roil of insulation tape will usually do the trick. (And while you’re af it, check the filter because if it is dirty, you are not getting the heat you paid for.) Setting the thermostat down by only five degrees for eight hours each night can save up to 15 percent of your fuel costs. By the way, keep the radiators dusted, and if you paint them, use flat paint, not enamel. Hot water heaters throw away money at an alarming rate. For example, as much as 14 percent of their heat escapes through the walls of the tank. Many hardware stores now carry do-it-yourself insulation kits; these cost about $20 but can pay for themselvCs in about a year as energy prices rise. Reducing the hot water setting from 140 degrees F to 120 degrees F will use (Page 3 Please)