Mr. Faded Green Jeans
I've definitely never been much of an environmentalist, but I did learn a few things from Saturday's Live Earth Day. Now, I'm not going to run out and buy a Toyota Prius (although they DO get 55 mpg and I would love to have one) or start walking or riding a bike everywhere (anyone that knows me is thinking "Yeah, like I thought THAT was a possibility!") and I'm not planning to put big solar panels on my roof (I think the apartment owners might object to that anyway), but there ARE lots of small things that made sense to me. So, this is a realistic list of things that I put together that I think I can actually do. If you'll notice, nearly all of them will help the environment AND save me money. Woohoo! Everyone wins!
Check your tire pressure. If every American's tires were properly inflated we could save around 2 billion gallons of gas each year! I don't know about you, but with gas being approximately $ 3.00 a gallon, regardless of the impact on the environment, I'm pretty interested in the significant impact on my wallet.
Buy some of those funky $ 7.00 fluorescent light bulbs. Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs use 66% less energy than a standard incandescent bulb and last up to 10 times longer. Replacing a 100-watt incandescent bulb with a 32-watt CFL can save $30 in energy costs over the life of the bulb. And think of the fewer chances that you'll fall off that chair you stand on to change light bulbs!
Unplug your chargers when you aren't using them! All of those cellphone, ipod, laptop and electric razor chargers use lots of electricity (approximately 20 watts), even when they aren't charging.
Wash and rinse in cold water. I've always washed my clothes this way, mainly because I didn't want them to shrink! LE Factoid: If everyone in the United States alone switched to cold water with their washing machines, we could save about 30 million tons of carbon dioxide each year -- and more than $3 billion in energy costs, collectively. And what's more? Cold water cleans your laundry just as well as hot water.
Mailing Lists. You can have your name removed from junk mail lists by visiting this site. http://www.dgaconsumers.org/
Re-use water bottles when possible. Reid and I have been refilling our gallon jugs of water at Walmart for only .25. I have some 20 oz. water bottles that I refill to drink around the house and when I go for a walk. Live Earth factoid: 1.5 million tons of plastic are used to make bottles every year, a waste that could instead power electricity in 250,000 homes.
Download music instead of buying CD's. By purchasing digital music online you can help conserve the oil consumed in transporting CDs to and from the store. Hey! I've been saving the environment for years! Wait, they said BUY music online. Crap.
Any of you guys have any "green tips" you'd like to share?
