Green Day
As you may or may not know, today is Earth Day, and while the task of tending to the environment can seem kind of daunting and overwhelming, there are several little things we all can do to pitch in. Some of the following suggestions require a little more effort than others, but in the end are really worth it. Please take a look, and then visit a few of my favorite sites below for more cool tips!1. Unplug small appliances and stereos when they're not in use, or use a smart power strip. Believe it or not they still use electricity even when they're off!All right, that's a great start! I also love the following sites if you're interested in checking them out. They're full of tons of great tips on how we can help preserve the environment in easy, everyday ways:
2. Use compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs instead of incandescent bulbs, they use 75 percent less energy.
3. Buy organic dairy and food when possible to avoid consuming growth hormones and other additives, and also to increase the demand for hormone/additive free products. Also, consider planting a garden and/or buying from local farmers if there are some in your area.
4. Wash clothes in cold or warm instead of hot water when possible, it's not so much the temperature of the water that cleans the clothes as the agitation of the water. Also, as with the dishwasher, wait to wash until you have a full load.
5. Turn off computers off when you leave for the day. Turn lights off when you leave a room for an extended period of time.
6. Water lawns just before dawn instead of mid-day. The warmer temps in the afternoon will only be cause for quicker evaporation.
7. Recycle. Recycle. Recycle. And buy recycled products when possible.
8. Don't buy bottled water. Most bottles are made from petroleum, and only an average of 20% are ever recycled. Instead, get a filter for your tap, or a pitcher with a filter.
9. When it's warm out, set the thermostat to 85 degrees when you leave for the day, in cool weather, set it to 55.
10. Carpool, walk, bike, or take public transportation when possible.
The Green Guide
The Daily Green
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posted by Wil at 10:55 AM
8 Comments:
Cool site and tips Wil, thanks!
Let's see- don't have a dishwasher or a lawn so I'm good there.
Have two rain cisterns that hold 800 gallons each and drive an 88 Honda. Our addition to our sub-2000 sq. ft house is made out of rastra, made out of recycled materials and keeps out cold and heat with it's high "r" factor.
We are currently looking into solar for heating our water.
We walk to get our weekly supply of bagels, I use my sandwich bags for a month or more (over and over) and carpool 5 out of seven days...
funny how common sense, save $ stuff is suddenly considered "green".
So do I get a green star from Michael and Al? :-)
AWESOME FE LADY!! That all rocks. Yep, convenience is a lot easier, unfortunately, but the cool thing is that it only takes a little bit to make a big difference. Thanks for all you're doing!
If this was graded I would score pretty good.
Where I am poor is turning off the computer. A mac sleeps pretty good compared to PC's I see at home and work where even when "sleeping" the hard drive spins up etc.
I'll look into those "smart" power strips.
Go fe-lady with solar power. My husband works in the business.
Wil,
You forgot a good one. "no bag please" or better yet bring canvas.
Great list, and I can say I adhere to all but 2 items. I work from home, and I run the air A LOT. I do try to keep it around 78-80 degrees in the summer, but in the desert it runs pretty much non-stop for 3 months. Anything warmer than that in the house and I'm falling asleep in front of the pc.
Also I just can't get behind the CFL bulbs (or LEDs for that matter). I can't stand the light they emit, so I installed dimmers on practically every switch and light in the house. I won't save as much energy as I would if I had all CFL bulbs, but the dimmers do reduce my electric costs by about 40-50%. Here's a cool calculator for those interested what dimmers can save over time -
http://www.lutron.com/CMS400/default.aspx?app=energywb
Oh, and we just planted a garden this year, and recycled coffee grounds are great fertilizer.
Very nice. I didn't know about the smart power strips, nor that the appliances continued using power even when off. Thanks for the tips, I'll check for the strip as well at the hardware store.
fe-lady is right...
before, if you sued sandwhich bags on multiple times, people would say..."hey buddy, really pinching pennies, aren't you"?
but its really a common sense thing and you are using less energy. got to get into more solar energy..
I want to have one day where I bike to work. Its only 9 miles each way, but that will make a difference... every little bit helps
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