25 Ways to Save Planet Earth
1. Lightbulbs Matter
Switch from traditional incandescent lightbulbs to compact fluorescent lightbulbs (C.F.L.). If every American household replaced one regular lightbulb with a C.F.L., the pollution reduction would be equivalent to removing one million cars from the road. A 30-watt C.F.L. produces about as much light as an ordinary 100-watt bulb. Although the initial price is higher, C.F.L.'s can last 12 times as long. C.F.L.'s are available at most home-improvement stores and at bulbs.com.
2. Ditch Plastic Bags
Californians Against Waste (cawrecycles.org), a nonprofit environmental advocacy group, estimates that Americans use 84 billion plastic bags annually, a considerable contribution to the 500 billion to one trillion used *********. Made from polyethylene, plastic bags are not biodegradable and are making their way into our oceans and waterways. According to recent studies, the oceans are full of tiny fragments of plastic that are beginning to work their way up the food chain. Invest in stronger, re-usable bags, and avoid plastic bags whenever possible.
3. Rinse No More
According to Consumer Reports, pre-rinsing dishes does not necessarily improve a dishwasher's ability to clean them. By skipping the wash before the wash, you can save up to 20 gallons of water per dishload. At one load a day, that's 7,300 gallons over the course of the year. Not to mention that you're saving time, dishwashing soap, and the energy used to heat the additional water.
4. Forget Pre-heating
Ignore cookbooks! It is usually unnecessary to pre-heat your oven before cooking, except when baking bread or pastries. Just turn on the oven at the same time you put the dish in. During cooking, rather than opening the oven door to check on your food, just look at it through the oven window. Why? Opening the oven door results in a significant loss of energy.
5. A Glass Act
Recycle glass (think beer bottles, jars, juice containers) either through curbside programs or at community drop-off centers. Glass takes more than one million years to decompose; Americans generate almost 13 million tons of glass waste a year. Glass produced from recycled glass reduces related air pollution by 20 percent and related water pollution by 50 percent. Go to earth911.org for local recycling information.
6. Banking on the Environment
Want to have a more energy-efficient home or office? Save green by being green. Purchase appliances and electronics with the Energy Star certification. Begun in 1992 by the E.P.A. to rate energy-efficient computers, the Energy Star program today includes more than 40 product categories, and it also rates homes and workplaces for energy efficiency. Energy Star estimates that, with its help, Americans saved enough energy in 2004 to power 24 million homes, amounting to savings of $10 billion. To learn more about Energy Star, visit energystar.gov.
7. Hang Up Your Dryer
It goes without saying—clothes dryers are huge energy gluttons. Hints to reduce energy use: Clean the lint filter after each load (improves air circulation). Use the cool-down cycle (allows clothes to finish drying from the residual heat inside). Better yet, abandon your dryer and buy some drying racks, if you don't have a clothesline. Generally, clothes dry overnight.
8. Get a Gold Laundry Star
An Energy Star–qualified washing machine uses 50 percent less energy and could reduce your utility bills by $110 annually. Standard machines use about 40 gallons of water per wash; most Energy Star machines use only 18 to 25 gallons, thus also saving water. Whenever possible, wash your clothes in cold water using cold-water detergents (designed to remove soils at low temperatures). And do your laundry only when you have a full load. If you must do a small load, adjust the water level
9. Green Paint
Most paint is made from petrochemicals, and its manufacturing process can create 10 times its own weight in toxic waste. It also releases volatile organic compounds (V.O.C.'s) that threaten public health. (V.O.C.'s are solvents that rapidly evaporate, allowing paint to dry quickly.) They cause photochemical reactions in the atmosphere, leading to ground-level smog that can cause eye and skin irritation, lung and breathing problems, headaches, nausea, and nervous-system and kidney damage. The best alternative? Natural paints. Manufactured using plant oils, natural paints pose far fewer health risks, are breathable, and in some cases are 100 percent biodegradable. Remember: Never throw your paint away. Check out Earth 911's "Paint Wise" section for re-use programs in your community; earth911.org.
10. Build Green
Before embarking on any home remodeling, make sure your architect has green credentials. Although there is no national organization of green architects in the U.S., that doesn't mean you can't get an architect who will build along sustainable lines. Ask where he or she sources materials, and request that energy-saving devices, such as solar paneling, be installed. Visit directory.greenbuilder.com or environmentalhomecenter.com for more green-building information.
11. Get a Green Roof
A green roof is more than simply a roof with plants growing on it. It functions like a "breathing wall," consuming carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and emitting oxygen. Green roofs generally use low-maintenance, drought-resistant plants. Vegetation is planted or laid down as pre-vegetated mats on a thin layer of soil. More intensive green-roof systems may contain trees and larger plants, but these require deeper soil and are more expensive. One of the biggest benefits of a green roof is water management: it can absorb more than 50 percent of rainwater, thereby reducing runoff, a major source of pollution in our waterways. Plus, it can help reduce air-conditioning costs during the hot summer months. The vegetation looks after itself through the seasons and creates a habitat for insects, which, in turn, provide food for birds. Green roofs can also last more than twice as long as conventional rooftops. They look better too. For more information, visit greenroofs.com.
12. Play It Cool
Avoid placing your air conditioner next to a TV, lamp, or other electrical appliance that generates heat. A heat source will confuse the unit's thermostat, causing it to misread how hot the room is and make the air conditioner run longer than it should. You can also program an air conditioner to start running 30 minutes before you arrive home (as with heating). There is no need to cool a home if no one is in it.
13. Food Miles Matter
Food is traveling farther than ever. Once upon a time people ate seasonally—artichokes in the winter, cherries in June. Now you can buy most fruits and vegetables practically year-round. The average American meal contains ingredients produced in at least five other countries. The transportation of food and agricultural products constitutes more than 20 percent of total commodity transport within the U.S. To help reduce CO2 emissions (released from trucks, airplanes, and cargo ships), it's best to buy food that's in season, organic, and grown locally. Go to ams.usda.gov to find the farmers' market nearest you.
14. Go Vegetarian One Day a Week
To produce one pound of beef requires 2,500 gallons of water—that's 40 times more water than is used to produce a pound of potatoes. Before buying beef, think about the immense cost of energy used to raise cattle and to transport meat to your supermarket shelf. Besides all this, cows consume enormous amounts of antibiotics and are a prodigious source of methane, which is the number-two
greenhouse gas; livestock are responsible for almost 20 percent of the methane in the atmosphere.
15. Buy Eggs in Cardboard Cartons
Cardboard egg cartons are normally made from recycled paper, which biodegrades relatively quickly, and are also again recyclable—Styrofoam or plastic cartons take a much longer time to biodegrade and their manufacture produces harmful by-products.
16. Drink Shade-Grown Coffee
Shade-grown coffee is for the birds, literally. According to coffeeresearch.org, about 150 species of birds live on shade-grown-coffee farms, while only 20 to 50 inhabit full-sun farms. With increased demand for cheap coffee, many Latin American growers have moved toward full-sun plantations, clearing the habitat of numerous native birds and increasing the use of pesticides and fertilizers. By drinking shade-grown coffee, you can help bird habitats and reduce the need for farming chemicals. Shade-grown coffee beans can be purchased at many grocery stores. Starbucks offers shade-grown coffee as well.
17. Save Water Indoors
A typical American household uses 350 gallons of water each day. About half that—175 gallons—is used indoors (toilets consume about 30 percent of the indoor total). Unnecessary water usage comes in the form of leaks. Fixing leaky faucets and toilets is a quick and easy way to conserve water. A steady faucet drip can waste 20 gallons of water a day. Leaky toilets are even worse, wasting upward of 100 gallons a day. Since toilet leaks are generally silent, check for them regularly by removing the tank cover and adding food coloring. If the toilet is leaking (and 20 percent of them usually are), color will appear in the bowl within 30 minutes.
18. Take Showers, Not Baths
The average American household consumes about 60 gallons of water a day from showers and baths. To reduce this number, take quick showers and install a low-flow showerhead that uses fewer than 2.5 gallons of water per minute, as compared to about 5 gallons with an older showerhead. Baths are relaxing, but it can take 50 gallons of water to fill a tub.
19. Stop the Water
By leaving the water running while you brush your teeth, you can waste 150 gallons of water per month—that's 1,800 gallons a year! Turning the water off while you brush can save several gallons of water per minute. Also pay attention to this water-saving principle while shaving or washing your face.
20. Insulate Your House
Good insulation is one of the best ways to reduce your heating bills and cut your CO2 emissions. Heating and cooling make up 50 to 70 percent of energy use in the average American home. Also, replace old windows and be sure to seal holes and cracks in your house with weather stripping or caulk. A well-insulated house can prevent hundreds of pounds of CO2 emissions per year and can cut your heating and cooling bills by up to 20 percent. For more information, visit eere.energy.gov.
21. Turn Your Thermostat Down One Degree
If you turn your thermostat down by one degree, your heating costs will decrease by about 3 percent. Turn it down five more degrees for four hours a day and reduce your heating bills by almost 6 percent. If you're going to be away for the weekend or out in the evening, turn your thermostat down. It's not true that reducing the temperature means it will take more heat to bring it back up to a warm level (unless you have a heat pump in your home). Also, turn the heat down if you are throwing a party—every guest will be the equivalent of a 100-watt heater.
22. Don't Be a Butt Tosser
About 4.5 trillion cigarette butts are littered ********* each year—making them the most-littered item. The myth that cigarette filters are biodegradable is just that, a myth. Although the filters do eventually decompose, they release harmful chemicals that enter the earth's land and water during the decaying process. There is nothing earth-friendly about the breakdown. If you must smoke, carry a 35-mm. film canister to store your used butts in until you can properly discard them.
23. Don't Just Dump
Envelopes come in huge quantities for free every day. If you are careful when opening letters, you can use the envelopes again by simply putting a label over the original address. This saves money and trees, while reducing waste. Try to re-use jars and plastic containers—for example, when taking your lunch to work. (Doing so prevents waste, and making your food at home is less expensive than the alternative.) Ask your office manager to buy re-usable mesh coffee filters instead of bleached paper ones, which may contain dioxins. They are tree-free and should save your company money.
24. Avoid Disposable Goods
Institute a mug policy in your office. Americans throw away some 25 billion polystyrene cups every year, most of which end up in landfills. Refill your water bottles once or twice, and make your coffee in a ceramic mug. If you bring in cutlery from home, you will also cut down on those pesky plastic forks, knives, and spoons.
25. Grow Your Own Garden
In 1826, J. C. Loudon wrote in An Encyclopaedia of Gardening, "For all things produced in a garden, whether salads or fruits, a poor man that has one of his own will eat better than a rich man that has none." To start a vegetable garden costs nothing but a few packs of seeds and rudimentary garden implements, and it saves enormous amounts of money, to say nothing of the food miles and the packaging that go into supplying you with fresh fruits and vegetables. Of course, a vegetable garden is only productive for part of the year, but it is amazing how long that growing season lasts and how much you can produce from one small patch.
