Some easy ways to save energy and water in our day-to-day lives.
OK.
You’ve planted a tree with your kids or grandkids, lugged your recyclables out
to the curb (or to the recycling center), and fixed all the leaks in your home
(and maybe your customers’ homes, too). Now what?
Searching
the Internet for Earth Day topics, I came across this site called
Earth Day
Network. One of the blog topics was “Top 10 Ways to
Go Green Without Changing Your Life”:
1. Use mugs,
not plastic or “foam” cups. Ditch those nasty polystyrene
cups at work, and bring in your own mugs instead. The MCA of Chicago does that
at its new training center - mugs with the MCA of Chicago logo are available
for coffee and teas, and soft drinks are provided in aluminum cans.
Also keep a supply of plates and
cutlery on hand to use instead of plastic ones. Or recycle whatever plastic you
can in your area.
2.
Drink tap water, not bottled water. I’ve written about this
subject in the magazine a few times. In most areas of the country, tap water is
safe and tastes good. If taste or health is an issue, there are a myriad of
whole-house and point-of-use water purification systems on the market.
If
you need something portable, buy an aluminum or Nalgene plastic refillable
bottle. Better yet, buy some with your logo and give them to your customers and
employees. Several drinking fountain manufacturers are now adding bottle
fillers to their drinking fountains to make it easier to refill water bottles.
3.
Decide what you want before you open the fridge. Didn’t our
parents tell us that when we were kids? When you open the refrigerator door, up
to 30 per cent of the cooled air escapes. Turning the lights out when you leave
a room is another one I leaned as a kid, as well as closing the door all the
way when you came into the house - “Were you born in a barn?”
4.
Recycle your cell phone. When you have finished with your
cell phone, find a way to recycle it. Many charities take them or look online
to find companies willing to take your phone and maybe even pay you for it. You
can also recycle old computers/monitors/keyboards and other electronic
equipment. Even CDs and the plastic cases - I know I get a lot of press
releases and photos on CD these days.
You
can also recycle your eyeglasses when you get new ones. I know the Lions Club
takes eyeglass donations - they refurbish them for use in developing countries.
5.
When your light bulbs need changing, use energy-saving bulbs.
And energy-saving light bulb uses 20 percent of the electricity of a normal one
and lasts up to 12 times longer.
6.
Always cover your pans with lids when cooking. Keeping the
lid on saves energy, allowing you to turn the gas or electric burner down. It
can also speed up cooking time when you are waiting for something to boil.
7.
Turn off the oven 10 minutes before the end of the required cooking
time. Because ovens are so well-insulated, they will retain
enough heat to finish the cooking.
8.
Defrost food before cooking. Cooking food from frozen can
use twice the electricity than cooking defrosted food.
9.
Buy recycled toilet paper. It is often cheaper than the main
brands. Plus, it’s thinner than the thicker-ply toilet paper most Americans
use, which means it’s less likely to clog.
10.
Don’t run water when brushing teeth or washing hands.You can
save water by turning the tap off while brushing your teeth and only using what
is necessary.
The
same goes for washing hands or dishes. In fact, there is some research that
indicates cleaning dishes in a dishwasher uses 37 percent less water than
washing by hand. Make sure you buy one with an EnergyStar rating.
The
EPA has additional suggestions for saving energy and water
at home,
at work and
in the classroom.
Do
you have an energy-saving or water-saving tip that you use at your home or
company?
