Junk Mail, Batteries and Recycling

Remove yourself from junk mail and catalog lists.

Use rechargeable batteries. Recycle all recyclable materials such as cardboard boxes, mixed paper, bottles and cans, electronics, ink-jet and toner cartridges, scrap metal and wood pallets.

Get Twice As Much Out of Your Paper Products

Reuse envelopes, folders, and the blank side of a printed sheet of paper. Collect everything you have printed and no longer need and keep this "scrap" pile of paper for printing routine items like emails. Get double the use out of every sheet!

Folders can be used over and over just by replacing the label with a new one.

And when you're cleaning out files to put the paper in recycling, pull off all the paperclips and pull out staples.

Travel Green

Do you really need a car? Consider car-sharing on campus, or if you live or work in an urban center that has adequate public transportation. Self-service, on-demand cars from companies like Zipcar are available in 23 U.S. cities and dozens of college campuses. It provides the convenience of having a car when necessary without denting the checkbook and the environment by owning a car.

Research your trips online. Print out only the pages or maps you'll actually need. Close to 1 million guidebooks are printed annually, but just 18 percent get recycled. Map paper is particularly difficult to recycle because of the ink used. With smartphones and car navigation devices, you really never need to purchase a map again.

Car Tips

Rent hybrid or fuel-efficient cars. A hybrid rental can go three times as far as a standard sedan on a single tank of gas.

Donate your old vehicle to an environmental cause. Many of these groups will welcome that donation and some will even tow it away for you.

Travel: Linens and Packing

Reuse linens and towels as long as possible. Reducing the amount of water used by washing sheets and towels can save up to 40 percent of your water use. When at a hotel, request that your linens and towels not be replaced until after you check out.

Pack light. Every additional 10 pounds per traveler requires an additional 350 million gallons of jet fuel per year, enough to keep a 747 flying continuously for 10 years!

Commuting Tips

Use public transportation whenever possible, such as the GRTC Transit System buses. Or just commit to one day per week to commute in an energy-saving way.

Commute short. Whenever you're looking for a new job, look close to home. A short commute is an easier one, on you and the environment. If you already have a job and are changing homes or apartments, not only look at nearby locations, but those that have you driving against the flow of traffic or with the sun at your back in the morning and evening. You'll find that's a quicker route with fewer accidents to hold you up.

Travel Tips

Whenever practical, walk or ride your bike. For trips less than two miles, it actually takes less time to bike there.

Work from home! Inquire if your employer might be willing to allow you to work from home at least a day or two a week, if not all the most of the time.

Business Travel, Car Tips

Combine trips and take direct flights to reduce your impact.

Never let your car idle. If you're not driving or stopped at a light, shut off the engine.

Share a Ride

Look for opportunities to share a ride whenever possible. Walk, bike or use public transportation at least twice a week as opposed to using your own vehicle.

Grow a Garden

Grow a garden. Creating a garden or "backyard habitat" on school grounds is great for learning through experience. Growing food and native plants helps kids connect with the world just outside their door, as well as learning about the food chain and sustainable agriculture. If a garden is not possible, take a nature walk. A stroll around school grounds teaches about natural wonders. Even in urban settings, trees, grasses, and wildlife abound. Teach children to pay attention to the environment that is all around them.

Investigate community-supported agriculture. This is how it works: You pay a local farmer a set price in advance for a share in that year's harvest. During the harvesting season, which can be throughout the spring, summer and fall, you receive a box of fresh produce delivered weekly.

Use Commercial Car Washes; Drink Tap Water

Use commercial car washes. Getting your car washed at a commercial car wash is better for the environment than doing it yourself. Commercial car washes not only use significantly less water per wash--up to 100 gallons less--but they often recycle and reuse the rinse water.

Drink tap water at restaurants. Tap water is more strictly regulated than bottled water and there's no need to add tons of plastic and glass bottles and jugs--about 60 million a day-- to landfills. And recycling them uses energy, too.

Reuse Your Water; Walk

Reuse your water. Water is a precious commodity, and too much of it goes down the drain. Install a rain barrel that attaches to your downspouts and collect rainwater from your roof. Rainwater is relatively free of contaminants and can be used instead of tap water for all kinds of outdoor uses: watering gardens and lawns, cleaning sidewalks and washing the car. 

Skip the treadmill. If the weather's right, consider giving the treadmill a rest and taking your walking or jogging routine outdoors.

Share Your Swim Space; Clean Air Filters

Share your swim space. Swim at your community pool or fitness center instead of installing a pool of your own. If you already own a pool, consider a solar heating system, which can heat your home water, too, a solar cover or install a timer and set your water circulation at intervals to cut down the energy consumption.

Clean air filters. Check air conditioning filters monthly to either clean or replace them. This will help the unit run more efficiently. Better yet: buy a permanent filter that can be washed and re-used. This will save you money over the long run and keep all those disposable filters out of landfills. If your unit is outdoors, check to make sure the coils are not obstructed by debris, plants or shrubs.

Take an Eco-Tour; Sleep Green

Take an eco-tour. For a conscientious vacation, try an eco-tour. These earth-friendly getaways seek to enhance awareness of our natural world, promote conservation, minimize impact and provide a positive experience for guests and hosts. Some even put you to work improving the local ecosystem. The International Ecotourism Society and Australia's Green Globe are good places to get started.

Seek "green" lodging. Business travelers and vacationers can decamp in "green" comfort, thanks to the growing number of urban hotels, luxury resorts and lodgings that are minding their carbon footprint. For an extensive list of hotels verified by readers, visit EnvironmentallyFriendlyHotels.com.

Carry Your Golf Clubs; Sail Away

Carry your golf clubs. Forget driving to the greens: These days, carts are definitely déclassé. It's hip to walk the course, carrying or pulling your own clubs.

Choose paddle or sail power. For guilt-free boating, consider a kayak, canoe or inflatable raft for a good cardio workout or a sailboat or sailboard for a little help from the wind. Added plus: With the exception of some sailboats, you'll save a bundle of green compared to buying a motorboat.

Water Your Lawn

Water your lawn less frequently and more deeply and at night in most areas, to avoid evaporation.

Reuse your gray water--the waste water from doing dishes, laundry and showering is fine for watering plants.

Use Cups; Avoid Cans

Buy soft drinks in a cup. Whenever possible, buy soda from a fountain in a paper cup instead of in a can or plastic bottle. You'll reduce the amount of aluminum cans and plastic bottles wasted. More paper (48 percent) is recycled and recovered to make new products than aluminum soda cans (43.9 percent) or plastic soda bottles (25 percent). 

Skip canned fruits and veggies. Whenever possible, limit purchases of canned fruit and vegetables and substitute fresh. The process involved in canning fruit uses 10 times more energy than picking fresh fruit. If every U.S. household replaced just one pound of canned or jarred fruit with one pound of fresh fruit during each summer month, the total energy saved could operate the kitchen appliances of more than 21,000 households for an entire year.

Fresh and Seasonal

Consider purchasing fresh fish instead of canned. You will reduce the amount of resources wasted in the canning process and might even save money. For every 10 pounds of canned fish produced, 20 gallons of water and more than half a pound of edible fish are wasted.

Buy local, seasonal products when available. Food grown or produced halfway around the world didn't just appear in the supermarket—it was shipped by plane, boat, truck or rail, and no matter which method of transportation it used, greenhouse gases were emitted along the way. Pick the apple grown in your state instead of the banana grown in another country.

Cool Down

Set the thermostat to 74 degrees in the summer. Programmable thermostats will reset the house to a higher temperature during the hours you are not at home.

Use ceiling fans to cool down rooms in the summer and to circulate warm air in the winter.

Plant Trees; Laundry Tips

Plant trees. Planting deciduous trees--those that lose their leaves every year--on the south, east or west sides of your house will lower your heating and cooling bills. The trees will shade the house from the sun in summer and let in light to warm the house in winter.

Wash clothes in cold water and line dry. Cold water saves electricity and cleans just as well as hot with most clothes. Today’s soaps are designed for cold water washing. Line drying not only is more environmentally friendly, it also keeps clothes from shrinking and fading.

Grow Green

Plant native plant species, which are better suited to your climate and will require fewer chemicals and water. 

Use natural lawn care. And when using any chemicals or fertilizers, carefully follow recommended application rates.

No Dripping!

Repair leaks, dripping faucets and running toilets.

Replace older toilets with newer, low-flow models.

Car Tips

Properly inflate your tires on your car. By keeping tires properly inflated, you can reduce your vehicle's carbon footprint by an average of 327 pounds per year.

Avoid unnecessary short car trips by combining errands.

Gardening Tips

Plant a tree in your backyard. It seems simple, but just one tree can offset tons of carbon over its lifetime. If planted in the right spot, it provides shade on a sunny day, reducing the use of energy for air-conditioning in buildings and homes.

Create a compost heap and enrich your garden. You can compost most food and yard waste.

Water Tips

Turn off the tap while brushing, shaving, or washing dishes. Don't let good water go down the drain.

Take five minute showers instead of baths. Learn how to wash efficiently and get in and out quickly!

Alternatives to Grass

Reduce your grass exposure. Plant shrubberies and other groundcover to replace this high-demand monoculture.

Get a truly "green" lawn. One hour of mowing your lawn with a gas-powered mower produces as much pollution as driving your car for four hours, according to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. For a truly "green" lawn consider using a push mower or hiring a lawn service that uses solar-rechargeable electric mowers.

Limit Lighting

When working or studying late, only use the lighting needed to illuminate work areas.
 

Purchase a rug in the season's newest color -- green! A rug is not only a decorating must-have, but it also helps insulate your floors and cuts down on noise.

Drink Tap Water

Drink tap water instead of bottled water whenever possible. 

When on the go, use a reusable water bottle. Metal, #2HDPE, #4LDPE, or #5PP are safest. Avoid those with phthalates or BPA.

Don't Be Fooled

Beware faux "green" claims. Look for well-vetted terms and/or a trusted third-party certifying organization. Some examples are the USDA's organic insignia; PETA's leaping-bunny logo for cruelty free; the Salmon Safe symbol for protected waterways; or Green Seal's certification for greener home products. 

Check out any certifications you don't recognize or claims that aren't supported before you buy. And be skeptical of "greenwashing" and of unregulated, vague promises like: natural (almost everything is), recyclable (nearly everything can be recycled) or green (what makes it green?). "Free range" means nothing, says Karen Perry Stillerman, a senior analyst with the Union of Concerned Scientists. And "cage free" doesn't necessarily mean that chickens run free.

Research fish choices before you buy. If you can read a paper, you already know that the oceans are being overfished. So skip the varieties with dwindling populations or the ones that are targets for poaching or overfishing. Limit your exposure to mercury and other toxins by choosing smaller varieties of fish and avoiding some farm-raised options. The Monterey Bay Aquarium regularly updates a list of healthy choices, taking into account sustainability and pollution. Or check the Blue Ocean Institute's Guide to Ocean Friendly Seafood.

Plan Meat Purchases Carefully

Plan meat purchases carefully. Only purchase as much as you know you'll need or use. The average person wastes more than 22 pounds of edible store-bought meat each year. Given that is takes 5 pounds of grain and 2,500 gallons of water to produce just one pound of beef, that's more than 100 pounds of wasted grain and 55,000 gallons of wasted water per person. 

Avoid foam or plastic containers that cannot be recycled. Instead, opt for cardboard, aluminum foil (which is easy to recycle) or recyclable plastics graded 1 or 2.

Preheating Wastes Energy

Don't preheat your oven if you are broiling, roasting or baking a dish that will cook for an hour or more. Don't preheat for more than 10 minutes for breads and cakes. And when roasting meats or baking casseroles, turn off the oven 10-15 minutes before cooking time runs out; food will continue to cook without using the extra electricity. 

By reducing the time your oven is on by one hour per year, you'll save an average of 2 kWh of energy. If 30 percent of U.S. households did this, 60 million kWh of energy could be saved.

Eat More Grains and Produce

Eat lower on the food chain. The higher up you go, the greater the environmental impact. That means more grains and produce.


Add vegan meals to your diet. Electing to go vegan for just one meal a week can impact the planet.

Supply Your Own Bags

Supply your own bags and leftover containers. If you're headed to a restaurant that you know serves king-sized portions, bring a plastic container to take home the leftovers, and keep one fewer Styrofoam container from the landfill pile. 

Going to the supermarket? Opt out of the paper/plastic debate and bring your own canvas tote bags.

March 19, 2012

Opt for travel mugs and reusable water bottles.

Avoid individual bottled beverages, use pitchers of tap water instead.

March 12, 2012

• When dining out in a cafeteria style restaurant, take only what you can eat in the restaurant to reduce your food waste

• Bring your own cutlery and dishware to the office instead of using disposable tableware.

March 5, 2012

    Go for glass. The energy required to produce a single 12-ounce aluminum can from virgin ore is enough to produce nearly two 12-ounce glass bottles. So the next time you buy a six-pack of beer, opt for glass bottles over aluminum cans.    

Buy a power strip. Did you know that your appliances use electricity even when they are turned off? It's called a phantom load, or vampire power. As much as 75 percent of the electricity used to power home electronics and small appliances is used while they're turned off, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. The Ohio Consumers Council estimates that it costs consumers $40 to $100 a year.

February 27, 2012

Unplug the charger on your cell phone: When portable devices such as a Blackberry(TM), cell phone, or iPod(TM) are finished charging, disconnect the device and unplug the charger. Even if the device isn't connected, energy continues to seep out through the charger itself.

Zap your meals.  Microwaves are between 3.5 and 4.8 times more energy efficient than traditional electric ovens. Cooking and reheating with a microwave is faster and more efficient than the stovetop or oven.

Maximize when needed, reduce when not

Unplug power adapters, chargers and appliances (coffee makers, heaters, radios) when not in use, or use a power strip that can be switched off.

Keep your freezer full for optimal power use.

Set thermostat to 68 F in the winter and turn down heat when not in room.

Set thermostat to 74 F in the summer and turn up cooling when not in room.

Make sure your dishwasher and clothes washer and dryer are full before using them. The aforementioned major appliances consume large amounts of energy, so reduce their use as much as possible by only running them with full loads.

Refrain from using push-button automated door-opening mechanisms when not neeed.

Jan 25, 2012

Insulate your attic and basement to save as much as 20 percent of your heating and cooling costs.


Wrap your hot water pipes with pre-formed, pre-fit insulating tubes


Wrap your water heater with an insulation blanket