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Here are some common sense tips for some of the most basic things you can do:
1. Recycle
Go further than just the curb when it comes to recycling, get in touch with your local recycling concern(usually in the phone book) and see what types of things they do recycle. You might be surprised to find out that they will take care of that old fridge (maybe for a fee it varies from state to state)
Maybe it’s as simple as getting a hold of your local Boy/Girl scout organization and suggesting that they do a recycling effort for oh…lets say Phone books. Or returnable cans. Or something else you see a lot of in your community. I routinely give my cans to someone else to take in for the money.
Computers are another big one, (I’ll write an article on that soon) but you can start buy searching for GREEN items..I recently bought a printer that was made of 83% recycled plastics and I use remanufactured ink cartridges in it. (hint: HP is doing good things in this field and even Google has gotten a lot greener)
2. Energy usage
We all know (or perhaps have heard) that not only do your appliances really eat up the electricity when they are running. But, A lot of them continue to draw power even just plugged in.
The coffee maker for example, or your computer, By putting some of these things on a power strip and turning them off (the power strip) while not in use can end up saving you quite a bit in the long run. You want to be careful not to do this with everything though…Some things have memory like your TV and you will probably have to reformat it every time you unplug it. so it may be a bigger hassle than it is worth.
Make it a game or contest in your home to see who can think of the most ways to save some kilowatt hours and offer a reward to your kids (or yourselves) like… You don’t have to do dishes for a week or something of the sort.
3. Transportation
OK, This is one where I am quite sure you can save money and help the environment (or at least not hurt it any more than YOU need to) Most of us drive unnecessarily.
Do you have an appointment and it’s close enough that you can walk? Or perhaps public transportation is a viable answer. How about the store? are you just going for snacks or soda or something small…How about riding a bike? Or taking the kids for a walk? How about trying to schedule your appointments so you can do them all in one trip?
A lot of the time I will try to see if someone is going the same way as me and carpool. Is your car (or van) half empty when(if) you go to church? how about setting up a ride list there? Post a bulletin and see if you can’t pick someone up on the way. You will not only help save a little chunk of the ozone and you might even make some lasting friendships. Of course this is just one example,
Think about other ways you can use this process…maybe carpooling to get groceries with a friend that lives down the street? It just takes a little time and scheduling to set it up. I’ll bet if you really think about it and put some of your practices to work you will save enough in gas for the year that you will be able to pay your car insurance for a month or even two!
4. Take a bite out of the “Grid”
A lot of times this one will cost you…But, The money you spend will eventually come back to you. Research what might work best for you.Solar power, Wind Power…or maybe Geothermic.
Say you want to cut your energy bills. How about a small solar panel? Just enough to run a few things in your house, dedicate the panel to supply energy for just your kitchen area…or just for the washer and dryer? Or even for your entertainment center or the kids’ computers? That way when they are on Facebook or Myspace or whatever it isn’t costing you anything.
The industry is really making some good headway in solar research and batteries and it’s only going to get better. I would even venture to guess that with the new Stimulus plan that just passed that Homeowners are going to be able to get grants and refunds for going GREEN. So, It really could end up costing you nothing or next to nothing to utilize some of these sources. Like I say research what might work best for you.
5. The Workplace
Now here is one I started at my last job, I was the Chef for a fairly big college. But, We were throwing away the cans that we used..We went through tons…literally TONS of cans,paper,and cardboard each year…TONS. We started looking into ways to recycle,
There were many obstacles to overcome… Who would be in charge? Who would take care of storing recyclables until they were picked up? Where would we store the recyclables? How would money (if any) be used from recyclables? What company would we use to take care of the recyclables? and a hundred more like that.
How about the company you work for…? What do they do with all their paper? Do they print on both sides? Do they ask that you save things on your hard drive till it does need to be printed? Do they even recycle?
How about your local school? Maybe it’s food service program is doing the same thing we used to do? Throwing it in the trash! Get a hold of the School Board or even better yet get on the School Board and start a committee to look into it. Get together with other parents and help get them organized to find out what the school is doing recycling wise. Have EVERY parent you can get in touch with call the school, go to the meetings(if you don’t already) hound them until they get tired of hearing it and implement a plan just to shut you up…Ha! That will show them.
Again, it’s not an easy thing to do but, if you are serious and you like a challenge try it out. and if you have others with you it makes the work load less.
I have other ideas and research going on right now that will come forward in the next weeks and months, as always if you have constructive ideas, Maybe something you did in your community or read about, send me some info and I will do my best to research it and post it here. And keep coming back for upcoming articles about Solar,Wind,product reviews and more….And as always THINKGREEN
This page made from 100% recycled Pixels
Here is a link to a GREEN forum, I recommend you take a look for yourself,
