So I am not officially a "tree hugging hippie" but sometimes the ideal is very appealing to me. I do recycle and I try to make the small changes in my home that I think everyone can do to help make a difference. It has only been in the last few years that I have become very observant to the fact that we need to do something or we are going to be in serious trouble. I think I have noticed this since I live by a lake that is rapidly draining... RAPIDLY!Here is a small sample of some of the VERY EASY things that we can all do to make a huge difference....
*Only run the dishwasher and washing machine when you've got a full load.
*Use alkaline manganese batteries because they are free of toxic heavy metals. Better yet, use rechargeable batteries and save some money.
*Recycle cans, bottles, plastic bags and newspapers. Support recycling by purchasing items that are reusable and/or recyclable. When you recycle, you send less trash to the landfill and you help save resources that would be used in manufacturing non-recycled products.
*Switch to cold water washing and save 80 percent on energy used for laundry and save an estimated $60 a year. Hang dry your clothes instead of using the dryer and save 700 pounds of C02 a year.
*Turn off the lights when you aren't using them and reduce your direct lighting energy use by 45 percent.
*Switch to compact fluorescent from regular incandescent bulbs and use 60 percent less energy per bulb and save 300 pounds of C02 a year.
*Take shorter showers. Showers account for 2/3 of all water heating costs. Save 350 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $99 per year.
*Choose products that come with little packaging and buy refills when you can. You will also cut down on waste production and energy use!
These are all great and easy ideas and thing that we can ACTUALLY DO! Think about it and think about this great EARTH that we have been blessed with and been blessed to live on. Here are some other great websites that have awesome information... take a look at some of these too....
One site that I want to tell you about for sure I saw on an episode of Oprah and it is called greendimes.com. I signed up myself. It is sponsored by Matt Damon and what it does is takes your name off of all of the "junk-mail" lists and in your name plants a tree. I think it is a great cause and who doesn't want their name off of those crazy lists. Take a look and see for yourself!
2 comments:
Good ideas you've got there. I too am brainstorming on how I can be more green. I think I'm going to make a reusable grocery bag... *B
thanks for the great tips! and thanks for stopping by blog. i'm glad to have found my way over to yours....
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