Greening & Gardening

Would you like to do something to help the earth but aren’t sure where to start? There are some very easy ways that you can live a greener lifestyle. Simple changes to certain daily behaviors can have a big cumulative impact on the environment over time. Plus, many green actions save you money too! Here are ten extremely easy things you can do to make a difference this earth day and all year long. Pick at least one item from this list that you are not already doing as your gift to the earth for Earth Day 2011.
1.      Change one or more traditional light bulbs to an energy saving Compact Flourescent Light (CFL) Bulb. CFL bulbs use 75% less energy and last up to 10 times longer. Each CFL bulb you use can cut greenhouse gas emissions and save up to $50 on your energy bill over the lifetime of the bulb.
2.      Use a reusable bottle instead of a disposable water bottle whenever possible. Did you know that 60 Million plastic bottles a day are disposed of in America alone?
3.      Always turn off the TV and lights when you leave a room.
4.      Use reusable bags at the supermarket and other stores. When you purchase just one or two items, say “no bag please.”
5.      Wash your clothes in cold water. 85 – 90% of the energy used to wash your clothes is used to heat the water.
6.      Only run the dishwasher when it’s full. Did you know that running a full load of dishes uses less energy, less water, and less soap than hand washing dishes? As much as 80% of the energy your dishwasher uses goes to heat water, so the less hot water you use to wash your dishes, the more energy and money you save. For an additional 10% energy savings, select the no-heat dry cycle (or simply open the door) to air dry your dishes.
7.      Purchase napkins and/or toilet paper made from recycled paper.
8.      Never let your car idle. Just turn it off. Did you know that for every two minutes a car is idling, it uses about the same amount of fuel it takes to go about one mile. And ten seconds of idling can use more fuel than turning off the engine and restarting it.
9.      Pack lunches in a lunch box with reusable containers inside instead of using disposable bags and foil.
10. Check your tire pressure once a month. Did you know that the average person who drives 12,000 miles yearly on under-inflated tires uses about 144 extra gallons of gas, at a cost of $300-$500 a year.