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Everyone Doing Something – Ten Ways to be Green
October 20th, 2008
Dominique Lummus asked:
Everyone doing something – ten ways to be green
Laurie David, who produced Al Gore’s documentary “An Inconvenient Truth,” once stated that saving the planet is not about everyone doing everything, rather, “It is about everyone doing something.”
Some scientists are predicting that unhindered, human-caused, global warming over the next century is expected to raise sea levels and cause extremes in temperatures. Thankfully, there is a great deal we can all do to counter this and the impact of small actions by millions of people promises to be huge.
When it comes to the environment, being a good global citizen starts at your doorstep. From recycling to using alternative cleaning materials, minor changes at home can add up to real benefits for the planet, not to mention your own health and happiness. Being earth-friendly does not necessarily require major changes to your life such as growing all your own vegetables, there are plenty of little and very easy ways to make a big difference -here are just ten of them.
1. Toilet paper and paper towels are commonly made of virgin wood. When a 100-year-old tree is cut down, just so that we can have disposable paper products, is this okay? Switch your home and your business paper products to 100 percent post-consumer recycled paper, saving countless trees and five pounds of carbon dioxide per ream of paper.
2. Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs (CFLs) use 66 percent less energy than a standard incandescent bulb and last up to ten times longer. Replacing a 100-watt incandescent bulb with a 32-watt CFL can also save you money in energy costs over the life of the bulb.
3. Use cold water in the washer whenever possible.
4. Unplug electronics and chargers. Mobile phones, Blackberry devices, MP3 players, digital cameras and other electronics use energy if their charger is still going, even if the gadget itself is turned off.
5. Use less water by adding aerators (available for a few dirhams at your local hardware store) to your sink taps and change over to a low-flow showerhead. Take shorter showers too and remember that water for bathing accounts for two-thirds of all water-heating costs.
6. Use cloth bags to the supermarket. Think of all the plastic bags we have used on this planet in the last few decades, and then imagine this – not one of them has yet started to decompose. It takes 10,000 years for a plastic bag to even just begin to break down.
7. Do not use electrical appliances for things you can easily do by hand, such as opening cans.
8. Filter your tap water for drinking rather than using bottled water. Not only is bottled water expensive, but it produces large amounts of container waste. Next, buy reusable water bottles that you can take to the office or pack in your family’s lunch boxes.
9. Store food in re-usable containers, instead of using plastic wrap or aluminium foil.
10. Take unwanted, re-usable items to a charitable organisation or thrift shop.
The responsibility for sustaining our world as a healthy environment for future generations rests with us all. By implementing even just a few of these ideas, you will not only reduce your ecological footprint, but in many cases, you will save money too.
green gadgets
Everyone doing something – ten ways to be green
Laurie David, who produced Al Gore’s documentary “An Inconvenient Truth,” once stated that saving the planet is not about everyone doing everything, rather, “It is about everyone doing something.”
Some scientists are predicting that unhindered, human-caused, global warming over the next century is expected to raise sea levels and cause extremes in temperatures. Thankfully, there is a great deal we can all do to counter this and the impact of small actions by millions of people promises to be huge.
When it comes to the environment, being a good global citizen starts at your doorstep. From recycling to using alternative cleaning materials, minor changes at home can add up to real benefits for the planet, not to mention your own health and happiness. Being earth-friendly does not necessarily require major changes to your life such as growing all your own vegetables, there are plenty of little and very easy ways to make a big difference -here are just ten of them.
1. Toilet paper and paper towels are commonly made of virgin wood. When a 100-year-old tree is cut down, just so that we can have disposable paper products, is this okay? Switch your home and your business paper products to 100 percent post-consumer recycled paper, saving countless trees and five pounds of carbon dioxide per ream of paper.
2. Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs (CFLs) use 66 percent less energy than a standard incandescent bulb and last up to ten times longer. Replacing a 100-watt incandescent bulb with a 32-watt CFL can also save you money in energy costs over the life of the bulb.
3. Use cold water in the washer whenever possible.
4. Unplug electronics and chargers. Mobile phones, Blackberry devices, MP3 players, digital cameras and other electronics use energy if their charger is still going, even if the gadget itself is turned off.
5. Use less water by adding aerators (available for a few dirhams at your local hardware store) to your sink taps and change over to a low-flow showerhead. Take shorter showers too and remember that water for bathing accounts for two-thirds of all water-heating costs.
6. Use cloth bags to the supermarket. Think of all the plastic bags we have used on this planet in the last few decades, and then imagine this – not one of them has yet started to decompose. It takes 10,000 years for a plastic bag to even just begin to break down.
7. Do not use electrical appliances for things you can easily do by hand, such as opening cans.
8. Filter your tap water for drinking rather than using bottled water. Not only is bottled water expensive, but it produces large amounts of container waste. Next, buy reusable water bottles that you can take to the office or pack in your family’s lunch boxes.
9. Store food in re-usable containers, instead of using plastic wrap or aluminium foil.
10. Take unwanted, re-usable items to a charitable organisation or thrift shop.
The responsibility for sustaining our world as a healthy environment for future generations rests with us all. By implementing even just a few of these ideas, you will not only reduce your ecological footprint, but in many cases, you will save money too.
green gadgets
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