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| May 2 2008, 7:38 PM EDT (current) | kris2090 | 16 words added, 2 words deleted |
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On this page you can find simple ways to reduce your impact on the environment. It will be updated throughout the month of April, in honor of Earth Day. Please feel free to add your own suggestions.suggestions or share success stories by starting a thread at the bottom of this page.
Food
-Buy organic foods. They use natural growing practices that promote sustainable agriculture.
-Grow your own! Herbs, vegetables and fruits can be easy and cheap to grow- without the nasty pesticides! Seeds for your own organic garden can be found at your local gardening, grocery or hardware store.
- If you are a meat-eater, make a point to eat one meatless meal per week. Everyone can cut back on how much meat they consume without making huge lifestyle changes. Industrial farming requires huge amounts of energy and creates noxious waste problems.
Electronics
-Recycle electronic equipment. E-waste from discarded cell phones and computers is a growing environmental problem. Tons of electronic waste are being shipped abroad illegally for ‘disassembly’ by workers, who are then exposed to dangerous toxic substances, such as mercury, found in these items.
Shopping
-Reuse shopping bags or purchase reusable canvas bags from your grocery store.
-Buy used when possible. If you're moving, services like craigslist and freesharing have items listed to help furnish your home.
-Use your local library instead of buying books. Or, shop at used bookstores.
Energy
-Keep your refrigerator full. Food maintains temperatures better than empty space can.
-Turn off the oven 10-15 minutes before cooking time runs out. Food will continue cooking without using the extra energy.
-Use compact flourescentfluorescent bulbs. They use 1/3 the power and last ten times as long as regular bulbs.
-Unplug household appliances. Items that are turned off can use as much as 40% of the energy that an appliance that is on uses.
-Almost 90% of the energy used to wash clothing goes towards heating the water. Wash clothes in cold water to to avoid using this extra energy.
Holidays
-Wrap presents in recycled paper or newspaper.
-Save boxes for additional use.
-Consider donating to a favorite charity in lieu of a material gift.
Cleaning
-Use reusable and durable cleaning equipment instead of one-use wipes.
-Buy products in concentrated form. They use less packaging.
Water
- Adjust the ballcock in your toilet. You can usually just twist them a little so that the tank won’t have to get as full before the water shuts off. Another easy way to reduce the water used with each flush is to fill some plastic bottles with water and just sit them inside the toilet tank. This will have the same effect as adjusting the ballcock.
-Install a water filter in your kitchen and skip buying bottled water. Instead purchase a reusable aluminum bottle and refill for water on-the-go.
Laundry
-When whitening whites, skip the harmful chlorine bleach. When bleach goes down the drain and eventually interacts with sewage water, a poisonous combination is created. Why take risks? Instead, use hydrogen peroxide. It'll whiten whites and be kinder to the earth.
-Be smart about soap. Did you know that most liquid detergents in the big, giant bottles are actually watered down? Instead, choose a super-concentrated detergent that only requires a small amount to clean a large load of laundry. It is a greener choice because less packaging is involved to make the product. Less packaging means less waste, which means less fuel is used up to move more bottles to the store shelves. It all adds up.
Source: Trask, Crissy. It's Easy Being Green. Salt Lake City: Gibbs Smith, Publisher, 2006.
Source: "Do Just One Thing" Calendar by Eco-Expert Danny Seo. http://www.dannyseo.com/books.html
Food
-Buy organic foods. They use natural growing practices that promote sustainable agriculture.
-Grow your own! Herbs, vegetables and fruits can be easy and cheap to grow- without the nasty pesticides! Seeds for your own organic garden can be found at your local gardening, grocery or hardware store.
- If you are a meat-eater, make a point to eat one meatless meal per week. Everyone can cut back on how much meat they consume without making huge lifestyle changes. Industrial farming requires huge amounts of energy and creates noxious waste problems.
Electronics
-Recycle electronic equipment. E-waste from discarded cell phones and computers is a growing environmental problem. Tons of electronic waste are being shipped abroad illegally for ‘disassembly’ by workers, who are then exposed to dangerous toxic substances, such as mercury, found in these items.
Shopping
-Reuse shopping bags or purchase reusable canvas bags from your grocery store.
-Buy used when possible. If you're moving, services like craigslist and freesharing have items listed to help furnish your home.
-Use your local library instead of buying books. Or, shop at used bookstores.
Energy
-Keep your refrigerator full. Food maintains temperatures better than empty space can.
-Turn off the oven 10-15 minutes before cooking time runs out. Food will continue cooking without using the extra energy.
-Use compact flourescentfluorescent bulbs. They use 1/3 the power and last ten times as long as regular bulbs.
-Unplug household appliances. Items that are turned off can use as much as 40% of the energy that an appliance that is on uses.
-Almost 90% of the energy used to wash clothing goes towards heating the water. Wash clothes in cold water to to avoid using this extra energy.
Holidays
-Wrap presents in recycled paper or newspaper.
-Save boxes for additional use.
-Consider donating to a favorite charity in lieu of a material gift.
Cleaning
-Use reusable and durable cleaning equipment instead of one-use wipes.
-Buy products in concentrated form. They use less packaging.
Water
- Adjust the ballcock in your toilet. You can usually just twist them a little so that the tank won’t have to get as full before the water shuts off. Another easy way to reduce the water used with each flush is to fill some plastic bottles with water and just sit them inside the toilet tank. This will have the same effect as adjusting the ballcock.
-Install a water filter in your kitchen and skip buying bottled water. Instead purchase a reusable aluminum bottle and refill for water on-the-go.
Laundry
-When whitening whites, skip the harmful chlorine bleach. When bleach goes down the drain and eventually interacts with sewage water, a poisonous combination is created. Why take risks? Instead, use hydrogen peroxide. It'll whiten whites and be kinder to the earth.
-Be smart about soap. Did you know that most liquid detergents in the big, giant bottles are actually watered down? Instead, choose a super-concentrated detergent that only requires a small amount to clean a large load of laundry. It is a greener choice because less packaging is involved to make the product. Less packaging means less waste, which means less fuel is used up to move more bottles to the store shelves. It all adds up.
Source: Trask, Crissy. It's Easy Being Green. Salt Lake City: Gibbs Smith, Publisher, 2006.
Source: "Do Just One Thing" Calendar by Eco-Expert Danny Seo. http://www.dannyseo.com/books.html
