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<div class=Section1>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=department1><font size=1 color=black face=Arial><span
style='font-size:9.0pt'>the green lantern</span></font></span> <o:p></o:p></p>
<h1><b><font size=5 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:16.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Dim Bulbs, Old Clothes, and Hairballs<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></h1>
<h2><font size=4 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:14.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Three questions in one column.<o:p></o:p></span></font></h2>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=author1><font size=2 color=black face=Arial><span
style='font-size:11.0pt'>By Nina Shen Rastogi</span></font></span><font size=2
color="#cc0000"><span style='font-size:11.0pt;color:#CC0000'><br>
<span class=dateline1><font color="#cc0000">Posted Tuesday, June 8, 2010, at
6:50 AM ET </font></span></span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<div class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><font size=3
color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>
<hr size=2 width="100%" align=center>
</span></font></div>
<p><em><i><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Here
are some quick answers to questions from the Lantern's inbox.</span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><strong><b><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Do
I save electricity when I use a dimmer switch on my lights? Or am I using the
same amount of electricity no matter where I have it set?</span></font></b></strong><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Unless
your dimmer dates to the 1970s, it will save some energy. The more you lower
the lights, the less power they use—although the savings won't be as
large as the reduction in brightness. (At a light level of 50 percent, you'll
be using more than half the electricity.)<strong><b><font face="Times New Roman">
<font color="#0f243e"><span style='color:#0F243E'>(continued in article
on-line)</span></font></font></b></strong><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><strong><b><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Can
you recycle clothes? </span></font></b></strong><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Yup.
Textiles that are still relatively intact can be cut up into wiping rags, which
are sold to gas stations and paint shops. Ratty clothes are shredded, and the
resulting fibers can be used in things like carpet padding or soundproofing
insulation. Some fibers, like wool, can be re-spun, re-dyed, and re-woven into
brand-new clothes. <font color="#0f243e"><span style='color:#0F243E'> <strong><b><font
face="Times New Roman">(continued in article on-line)</font></b></strong></span></font><br>
<br>
<strong><b><font face="Times New Roman">What's the most environmentally
friendly way to get rid of the hair from my brush or comb? In lieu of trashing
it, I've been flushing it down the toilet, but something tells me that can't be
right. </font></b></strong><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Trust
your instinct: The toilet is not the proper place for hairballs. First of all,
it could lead to clogs in your plumbing. The wastewater treatment plant, in
turn, will just try to screen out your hair and truck it off to the landfill
along with the Q-tips, condoms, and other sundry interlopers that get flushed
every day. <strong><b><font color="#0f243e" face="Times New Roman"><span
style='color:#0F243E'>(continued in article on-line)</span></font></b></strong><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><em><i><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Is
there an environmental quandary that's been keeping you up at night? Send it to
</span></font></i></em><a
href="https://mail.google.com/mail/?view=cm&fs=1&tf=1&to=ask.the.lantern@gmail.com"
target="_blank"><em><i><font color=blue face="Times New Roman"><span
style='color:blue'>ask.the.lantern@gmail.com</span></font></i></em></a><em><i><font
face="Times New Roman">, and check this space every Tuesday. </font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><em><i><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Like
<a href="http://www.facebook.com/Slate" target="_blank"><strong><b><font
color=blue face="Times New Roman"><span style='color:blue'>Slate</span></font></b></strong>
on Facebook</a>. Follow us <a href="http://www.twitter.com/Slate"
target="_blank">on Twitter</a>.</span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><font size=3 color=black face=Arial><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Nina Shen Rastogi is
a writer and editor in Brooklyn, N.Y.</span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><strong><b><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Article
URL: <a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2255772/" target="_blank">http://www.slate.com/id/2255772/</a></span></font></b></strong><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoFooter><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Copyright 2010 Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive Co. LLC<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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