Happy Earth Day...April 22

Happy Earth Day...April 22

 

Ten Ways to Save the Planet Without Losing Your Mind

 

Here are some small things we can do to help save the planet.

1. Change a light bulb to a CFL or LED. They can take getting use to. If you don't like the CFL try the LED or the other way around. If you still don't like either, try putting them in your closet and other places you won't be as much. CFL bulbs consume around 65% - 75% less electricity than regular light bulbs.  And they last up to 10 times longer than regular light bulbs. LED use even less electricity and last even longer than CFL's.
2. Use one less napkin. The average American uses an average of 2,200 paper napkins per year. If everyone in the U.S. used one less napkin a day, more than a billion pounds of napkins would be saved from landfills each year. For a bigger impact use recycled napkins or even cloth napkins for a bigger impact.
3. Turn off your computer. Turning off your computer in place of sleep mode can save you 40 watt-hours per day. For bigger impact put your computer on a power strip and turn the power strip off when not in used to stop "vampire power."
4. Use a laptop. Laptops use a quarter of the power of a desktop. For a bigger impact when buying a laptop look at the Apple MacBook line. They are made from largely aluminum, energy saving LED lit screens, and a reduction in toxic chemicals used.
5. Use the both sides of the paper. Set your printer to two-sided printing. American businesses throw away 21 million tons of paper every year. Remember to recycle the paper when done. For a bigger impact use recycled paper when printing.
6. Ditch one use water bottles. Almost 90% of plastic water bottles are not recycled! To make things worse plastic never decomposes. Buy a reusable bottle and refill it with filtered tap water. Tap water has higher EPA standards than bottled water. For a bigger impact ditch soda as well and go for tea or make your own soda with a Soda Club soda maker.
7. Stop brushing while running. Running water while you brush your teeth uses on average five gallons a day. For a bigger impact use a tooth brush made from recycled plastic like the ones made by Preserve.
8. Turn off the lights. If you are still using incandescent bulbs turn off the light every time you leave the room. CFL's are more affected by being turned on and off so turn off if you will be gone for more than 15 minutes. For a bigger impact use natural lighting during the day and turn off the lights all together.
9. Set your cruise control. You can get up to 15% better mileage. Even with gas prices a bit lower these days is that really where you want your money going? For a bigger impact brake and accelerate slowly. You will save even more gas!
10. Inflate your tires. Keep your tires properly inflated. You can improve mileage by more than 3%. Check them weekly for best results. For a bigger impact carpool. Just sharing 2 days a week can reduce your carbon dioxide emissions by 1,590 a year.

Courtesy: http://blissfullydomestic.com/healthy-bliss/ten-ways-to-save-the-planet-without-losing-your-mind/