GPB

A new state program can help Georgians figure out how to save money on their electricity bills.

Every public library in the state has a device called the “Kill-A-Watt” available for checkout.

Once connected to an appliance, the Kill-A-Watt displays the amount of energy it uses and the cost to run it.

The program began a couple of months ago through a partnership between the Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority and the Georgia Public Library Service. Since the then, library officials estimate the Kill-A-Watt has been checked out 450 times.

Darin Givens is with the Georgia Public Library Service. He says the Kill-A-Watt can help people cut their energy costs.

“This device is going to help people understand how much energy that’s being used in the house,” says Givens. “And if they’re aware of how much energy that’s being used by each of the devices in their house, they can, I think, help reduce consumption of the energy.”

The Kill-A-Watt program is part of the Governor’s Energy Challenge, which aims to cut energy consumption in the state 15 percent by 2020.

Although other states have similar initiatives, Georgia is the largest one nationwide.

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Governor Sonny Perdue’s Water Contingency Task Force met for the first time this week to discuss metro Atlanta’s alternative water sources. For analysis on what kind of influence the group could have on state lawmakers, Rickey Bevington spoke with Tom Crawford of CapitolImpact.com.

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Slave shout songs from Georgia’s coast are just one attraction of this weekend’s 40^th Annual Golden Isles Fine Art & Crafts Festival.

The event includes two days of food and art, as well as a celebration of Gullah-Geechee culture from which that music you just heard comes from.

Festival organizer Susan [Dur-keys] of the Glynn Art Association gave me a preview.

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Weighing the Charter School Debate

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Dutch Utopia

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Beach Rescuers

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West Point Lake on the Chattahoochee downstream from Atlanta caught a lot of debris from the recent flood in Metro Atlanta.

Susanna Capelouto toured the lake with Joe Maltese, a consultant to the city of La Grange.

They spoke with All Things Considered host Rickey Bevington about the environmental impact and worries about clean up.

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GPB’s Edgar Treiguts interviews sports broadcasting legend Larry Munson.

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