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Fluorescent
light bulbs:
Switch to compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs). Although
they cost several
times more upfront than regular incandescent
light bulbs,
they also last about
10 times longer, which means that for every CFL you screw
in, you'll be saving
eight incandescent light bulbs from landfill purgatory.
Plus, you'll save some
serious cash in the long run. Because CFLs use 75 percent
less energy,
swapping one incandescent bulb for a CFL
reduces carbon dioxide by
500 pounds a year; replacing 17
has the equivalent effect of taking one car
off the road for
a year.
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Energy Star-rated appliances:
Purchasing energy-saving Energy Star-rated appliances,
electronics, and
lighting
can help mitigate that, while slashing a third of your
electric bill.
Improving the energy efficiency of your home
could even earn you tax
credits from Uncle Sam. |
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Paper Not Plastic:
Because petroleum-based plastic isn't biodegradable,
it's certain to outlive
you-by about a millennium or so. Each year, thousands of
marine animals,
including the endangered leatherback turtle, choke to death
on plastic
trash
they mistake for snackable morsels. Our unholy love for
plastic disposables
has
also bred a swirling vortex of plastic trash the size of
Texas in the North
Pacific Ocean-not surprising when you
consider that Americans run through
about 100 billion plastic
bags annually,
using up an estimated 12 million
barrels of oil.
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No Soliciting:
Deforestation is responsible for 25 percent of all carbon
emissions
released into
the atmosphere, through the burning and cutting of 34
million
acres of trees annually.
Save some virgin and old-growth forests by opting
out of paper catalogs
and browsing online, instead. Why did you think
Al
Gore invented the Internet? Shed those extra 41 pounds of junk
mail
the average American packs on each year by removing
yourself from
direct-mail mailing lists;
if you need a tad more help, companies such as
GreenDimes
and 41pounds.org
have got your back. |
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Buy Locally Grown Produce:
North American produce typically travels a
minimum of 1,500 miles.
Grapes can
clock 2,143 miles cruising from vineyards in Napa Valley
to
supermarket aisles in Chicago, gobbling up barrels of crude
oil and
spewing pollutants and greenhouse-gas emissions
in their wake. By
buying your produce locally, whether it's
through
the farmers' market
or a community-assisted agriculture
program, you can reduce your
"food miles," otherwise known
as the distance your food has to travel
to get from the farm
to your plate. Now that's fresh.
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Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle:
It's better to reduce your personal consumption than
it is to reuse
something,
and it's less environmentally taxing to reuse a product than
to have it recycled. Separating recyclables from your
regular trash,
which
barely takes any effort, is
a no-brainer, of course; recycling aluminum,
for instance,
takes as little as
5 percent of the energy we'd need to
manufacture virgin
aluminum.
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Renewable "fuels:"
Low-impact sources such as wind, solar,
and hydroelectric power
reduce
our dependence on
coal-burning power plants, a major source
of
greenhouse-gas
emissions. And because harnessing the power of
renewable
"fuels" such as sun and wind are free, your electric bill is likely
to scale
down because of the
reduced price of wholesale electricity.
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Energy Vampires:
Household
appliances that are plugged into
wall sockets, drain power all
hours
of the day and night, even after you've switched them off.
(Americans pay
$1 billion a year to power our televisions and VCRs while
they're turned off.)
Other sleeper agents of the electric undead
that
consume 1,000 kilowatt
hours a year per household, while in standby mode:
your
toaster, coffeemaker,
hair dryer, PC, printer, cable box, and cell phone
charger.
You don't have to
live in a constant state of fear, however, forever
checking
behind your back
for that one appliance you forgot to unplug.
Just plug
adjacent equipment
into power strips with surge protectors, and
before you
crawl under the
safety of your covers-or head out to work-simply
flip the
switch. |
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Household chemicals:
An average of 200 industrial compounds, pollutants and other
chemicals,
for instance, were recently discovered in the
umbilical-cord blood of
newborns.
(These included seven dangerous pesticides,
some of which
were banned in
the U.S. more than 30 years ago.) We're serving our kids
potent
chemical
cocktails even before they're born. Pesticides have also
been implicated in Parkinson's disease, infertility, brain
damage, and cancer.
So ditch the poisons
and choose natural, non-toxic, and equally effective
methods
of cleaning and corralling pests.
You probably already have what
you need in your kitchen to
get started. Chowing down on organically
grown food will cut
out pesticides
from your diet, as well. |
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Support Green:
Trees absorb heat-trapping carbon
dioxide,
hold soil together to prevent
landslides, and provide a rich habitat for diverse plants
and animals.
Choose
furniture made from eco-friendly sources
such as sustainably
managed forests, bamboo, and reclaimed
wood. Buying vintage wherever
possible, rather than
adding something new into the waste stream,
is
always in style. Also, look for furniture that is durable
and likely long-lived
-you'll save money on replacements
in the future and prevent more wasted
materials from winding
up in the landfill.
And, if for some reason, that
dresser or dining table no
longer suits your needs, something in fine shape
will always
have takers via Craig's List, eBay, or
Freecycle. |
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Window Film:
President Bill Clinton announced two
new partnerships to make green
products
more affordable and accessible to city governments and
consumers across the United States. In response to growing
demand,
Clinton Climate Initiative will
extend its programs and purchasing
consortium, which offers
lower-cost green products from 25
manufacturers, to 1,100
cities in the US Conference of
Mayors.
Installation of Solar Gard window film is included
under the Energy
Efficiency Building Retrofit Program, which was designed to
help public
entities
lower their energy consumption. Solar Gard window film can
be
sized to fit any
glass door or window. Now, all public organizations that
have committed to
reducing their carbon footprint can easily and
cost-
effectively fit Solar Gard
window film into an overall strategy to reduce
CO2
emissions.
Because Solar Gard rejects solar energy, less energy is
used
to keep the
interior temperature comfortable. Our window film
provides
an ideal solution
on reducing your energy bill and keeping more
money in your
pocket.
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Saving Every Last Drop:
Installation of low flow
fixtures is an inexpensive way to modify water
usage and see easy-to-quantify results. Other good starter
projects
include identifying and fixing leaks, changing processes
that use
excessive amounts of water, and training employees to report
water-
wasting situations within the facility.
Develop a baseline measurement of your
water usage. Use water bills and
meters to
measure amounts of water consumption.
Water meter available
online.
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Rely on me to help you and
your family along the path to a healthier, greener life.
Contact me to discuss
becoming an Eco-Consultant in your community or
sign up thru this link
if we have
already spoken about Green Irene.
If you have trouble reaching me through
the contact information above, you can call
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Trademarks of Green Irene LLC.
Copyright 2008. All Rights
Reserved.
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