EARTH DAY TIPS 2009
- When you travel with others, you increase your fuel efficiency. Find out about ride sharing and carpool opportunities in your area.
- If American households went online to view and pay their bills, it would save over 16 million trees. Find out what services and options are available to you.
- Use public transportation whenever possible. Every year, public transportation reduces gasoline consumption by 1.4 billion gallons--- that's equal to 108 million full tanks of gas.
- It's easy to clutter up your life with obsolete devices. If you're no longer using your old MP3 players, give them back. You'd be happy to know that many of your favorite brands offer recycling programs.
- If just 10 percent of U.S. households attached shut off nozzles to their outdoor hoses, we'd save enough water to fill over 128,000 bathtubs--- everyday.
- Most baking instructions tell you to preheat your oven. Never do so for more than 10 minutes. If everybody reduced their oven time by an hour per year, we'd save enough energy to bake a billion cookies.
- Do your best to avoid washing paint thinners, household cleaners or pesticides down the drain. Dispose your cleaning solutions at your local harmful waste disposal center, or share unused portions with friends, neighbors or a charity.
- Moving your heater's thermostat down 2 degrees in winter and up two degrees in summer saves over 2,000 pounds of Co2 emissions-which is over $100 on your annual energy bills.
- Buy fresh produce from your local farmers market. You'll not only avoid harmful additives that are sometimes used to protect produce during transport, but you'll also be supporting the regional economies of your own neighborhoods.
- Try biking, walking, bussing or car pooling to work whenever possible. Biking to work not only keeps you in good shape, but it also cuts down on your daily carbon footprint. Use a basket or a carrier rack to help carry your belongings
- Many local city and regional utility companies have joined forces to encourage homeowners to upgrade the insulation efficiency of their homes. Many utility companies have rebate programs to help offset the cost or even rebate the whole amount. Search your area for utility rebates for upgraded insulation.
- If you're like me, your coffee table is stacked with old magazines. Instead of throwing them away, donate them to hospital waiting rooms, schools, and libraries, even your workplace. Extending a magazine's life means conserving our own.
- Creating a greener planet will require us to change the goods we use and the ways we live and work. Making this transition will require the skills of contractors, electricians, engineers, and entrepreneurs. Search the internet for job sites that post opportunities in this growing global business.
- A cleaner planet needs the brightest of minds. Put your gifts to use by encouraging legislators, utility companies, employers, and manufacturers to support green initiatives. Doing so will help curb pollution, create new jobs, and change our future.
- Support household cleaners that take an extra step in protecting the environment and encourage other brands you use to do the same. Research your cleaning supplies and read labels carefully to make an informed environmental decision regarding your purchases.
- Insulating your home's attic, pipes, ductwork, and floors can save 25 percent on your energy bill. Ask a professional to help make your home more energy efficient.
- In the course of a year, if everyone in the US composted their kitchen scraps instead of sending them to the trash, the organic waste diverted from landfills would cover the entire city of San Francisco.
- Next time you travel, consider a permanent tag for your luggage. If travelers in the U.S. stopped using paper luggage tags during their trips, 60 million sheets of paper could be saved per year.
- Consumers will throw out about 400 million electronics this year. Sell, donate, or recycle your old electronics rather than throwing it away. Check your area for drop off locations.
- Use leftover paper or plastic bags for your trash can. When one ton of plastic bags are reused, the energy equivalent of 11 barrels of oil is saved, and 17 trees are spared.
- Did you know that your home is a bigger polluter of greenhouse gases than your car? Talk to your local utility company and find out how you can get a free energy audit to reduce your utility bill and curb global warming.
- How can you put more money back into your wallet and help others too? Talk to your local utility company about how you can get a free energy audit. Reduce your energy use. Save money. Create jobs.
- How do you stop your cash from leaking away? Prevent your home from leaking so much energy. Speak to your local utility company about a free energy audit to save you money and combat global warming all at the same time.
- Did you know that 40% of our energy consumption and carbon emissions come from our homes, offices, and schools? There are simple steps you can take to reduce your energy use, save you money, and grow our economy. Speak to your local utility company about a free energy audit today.
- Cut your grass two inches high and leave the clippings on the lawn. You'll not only be able to save time mowing and raking, but your lawn will require less water.
- Set your outside lights on timers or motion sensors. Reducing usage on a single outdoor floodlight can save you up to $120 a year in energy costs.
- Recycle your newspapers whenever you can. Each year, 10 million tons of newspaper are not recycled, but thrown away in landfills. If we changed this habit together, we could save up to 75 million trees.
- Unplug your appliances when you're away on vacation. Residential households in the U.S. spend more than 5 billion dollars annually on standby power alone-which is 5% of all the electricity consumed across the country.
- Nowadays, some of America's favorite brands are focusing their efforts on creating earth friendly products. Let them know that the choice is important to you by purchasing products that support a cleaner planet.
- Next time you do your shopping, consider products with less packaging. Buy in bulk, and you'll not only save money, but you'll also be reducing your carbon footprint with fewer trips to the store.
- Check with your co-workers to make sure your workplace is doing its part to recycle. Just by recycling paper alone, offices across the country could reduce the waste they send to landfills by 50 percent. That's 33 million tons.
ATTRIBUTION: Information loosely based on collective research from "Our Planet- Change is Possible" by Jeca Taudte and Tom Anderson, except where noted.
