Electronics: Many of your household appliances are using energy even when they are not turned on. For instance, approximately 1/4 of the energy consumed by your TV each year is used when it is turned off. Any piece of office equipment that has a remote control, battery charger, internal memory, AC adapter plug, instant-on feature, permanent display (such as a clock), or sensor (such as a security alarm), will use electricity even when it is switched off. An easy way to fix this for equipment such as TVs, VCRs, computers, and stereo systems is to plug them all into a power strip ($6 investment), then turn it off when you are not using the equipment. That will also protect your equipment from a power surge. If 100,000 people plugged in their VCR's or DVDs only when watching a movie, they would prevent 5,000 tons of CO2 from being emitted every year!
Have you heard about "phantom loads"? This is the electricity that is used by electrical appliances even when they are turned "off." A significant proportion of the electricity that you pay for each year is being hogged by appliances that are off! Newer appliances tend to be more efficient, and particularly ones that have the Energy Star Logo. Battery-operated appliances aren't necessarily better, as disposable batteries contain toxic chemicals that are hard to get rid of. Manufacturing a disposable battery uses 50 times more energy than it will provide when it is used, and the energy that comes from it is approximately 1,000 times more expensive than the electricity from your outlet!
Driving: The way you drive affects your fuel efficiency tremendously. The more smoothly you drive, the less gas you use. Braking or accelerating rapidly at highway speeds can decrease fuel efficiency by 30%. Letting your car idle for just 20 seconds produces more CO2 than turning your car off and then on again, and is harder on your car. And slow down - fuel efficiency plummets above 60 mph! If the whole country went back to driving at 55 mph we could save the amount of oil that we import from the Persian Gulf each year. "Drive 55, keep the Earth alive!"
Planes: Planes are the single biggest way that we contribute to climate change. A single round-trip flight from Seattle to New York spews out 6,450 pounds of CO2 per passenger. That is as much CO2 emissions as you save in an entire year by upgrading to a new gas-electric hybrid! Airplane travel is responsible for 8% of the world's global-warming emissions, and we Americans are the biggest users. If you can, catch a bus or a train. Even taking your car is much more fuel efficient! Hopefully in the future we will have more efficient high-speed trains available to us.
Landscaping: You can reduce your use of irrigation water significantly - and even reduce your household cooling and heating needs - with thoughtful landscaping. Tall, leafy deciduous trees can shade your house and garden in the hot summer months and, when they drop their leaves in the winter, light and heat will be allowed in. Native gardens with layered vegetation including tall trees, short trees and shrubs, and ground cover prevent evaporation and erosion and also provide homes and food for small mammals and birds. You can help provide a better planet for more than just the human species!
Heating: Heating our homes in the U.S. produces 310 million tons of CO2 per year. Here's how you can help, and stay warm at the same time. Use your programmable thermostat, and buy one if you don't have one. They can save you up to 30% annually by automatically decreasing the temperature while you are asleep or gone at work. They can be programmed for every day of the week. DOE recommends 68 degrees or lower when you are at home during the day, and 60 degrees or lower when you are gone or sleeping. If you are gone more than three days during the winter, decrease it to 55 degrees. When you are choosing your thermostat, look for the Energy Star logo, and don't install it near a hot lamp or a cold window - watch the savings roll in!
Insulating: More on staying warm. When it's cold outside, take the time to walk through your house and attic and check your windows and doors - and wherever pipes, ducts, or wiring come into your walls - for cold air leaking in (and warm air leaking out!). Weather stripping, caulk, and foam sealants can be amazing. While you're at it, get a professional to give your furnace a tune-up once every year or two, and remember to change your filters once a month during the winter. You can reduce your costs by greater than 10%, a real savings!
Heating and cooling ... your home represents approximately 50% of your annual energy bill, so anything you can do to lower energy consumption in this area is important. In particular, preventing the escape of heated or cooled air through poorly insulated attics, ceilings, walls, floors, and ducts can improve the efficiency of your system significantly. Read up on insulation on the internet or go to your local home improvement store for help. Insulating a 600 square foot attic to an R value of 38 can save you $225 annually including the cost of the insulation. In addition, improving your home insulation will make your home more comfortable in both winter and summer!
Because heating and cooling your home is up to 50% of your annual energy bill, making sure that heated or cooled air is not leaking out is very important. In addition to assessing your insulation, take a little time to check your house for leaks wherever pipes, vents, or electrical wires come through walls, around all windows and doors, and around fireplace flues. Don't forget to check for gaps in your foundation going into your crawl space, as they can be an access point for small animals, too! Now ask your friendly home improvement store for tips on sealing those leaks with weather stripping, foam sealents, gaskets, etc., and get to it!
The average U.S. home has 180 feet of ducts that transport heated and cooled air throughout the house. You don't think of them much because they are hidden in the walls, crawl space, or attic. If your ducts were installed poorly and have gaps at the seams, you may be heating and cooling areas you don't care about! Duct leaks cost Americans up to 10.2 billion dollars per year. There are some interesting and new high-tech ways to seal your ducts, and it may be worth your while to have a professional assess and seal your ducts for you. If you are willing to do it yourself, you may be able to save up to $100 annually, and prevent 2,250 pounds of CO2 production! (Tip: despite its name, don't use duct tape, as this is just a temporary fix and will dry and pull away!)
Lawns: 70% of our good drinking water is used to water lawns in the summer. You can reduce your water bill and save time in mowing by letting your lawn "go to sleep" over the summer. It will perk back up with the rains in the fall. If you don't like the way that looks, consider changing some of your unused grassy areas to gardens using native and drought-resistant plants. The birds and the bees will love you!
Travel Mugs: There are coffee/hot drink cups you can purchase that will fit in your car's cupholder and be used for years. They are insulated so that your coffee will stay hot longer and you won't burn your hands. Why not take one with you to your latté stand in the morning, and use it for the office coffee, too? You'll save lots of disposable cups over the lifetime of your mug. The water you use washing it is nothing compared to the energy used creating and disposing of all those cups!
Packaging: Pay attention to packaging. Fully a third of all the trash thrown away in the u.s. Is packaging materials - 532 pounds of it per person per year. Some of it is recycleable, some is not. Try to buy things in recycleable or reusable containers, or if possible, without packaging. Do you really need the plastic bags that come with every little purchase? Just say "no bag, please" and carry it away in your purse or tote!
Lighting: Compact fluorescent light bulbs last for up to 10 years and use 75 percent less energy than incandescent bulbs. Although they cost more initially, you will save money over time. If every household in the U.S. replaced its next burned out lightbulb with a compact fluorescent, we would prevent more than 13 billion pounds of CO2 from being emitted, equivalent to taking 1.2 million cars off the road for an entire year. Give compact fluorescent lightbulbs a try!
Fluorescents: Fluorescent lightbulbs are extremely efficient. Use them in areas where you tend to have the lights on for long periods of time. If you have incandescent bulbs on a dimmer, use it, as it will make bulbs last longer and use less energy. Even if you dim your lights to 90% of their full power, they will last significantly longer. Remember to turn off your lights when you leave a room. Turning them off and on again when needed does not wear the bulb out, or use more energy - either for incandescent or fluorescent bulbs. Open your curtains and use sunlight when available! Every little thing you do helps!
Refrigeration: One of the biggest household energy users is your refrigerator. If you have an old refrigerator that you use sporadically or only for drinks, but keep plugged in year round, it could be costing you more than a hundred dollars and giving off up to a ton of carbon dioxide a year. Recycle it, and if you still need one, get a newer, more energy-efficient model. Look at your refrigerator's thermostat. It should be between 37 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit. That is plenty cold to prevent bacterial growth. Your freezer should be at 0 to 5 degrees. If it's colder, you are wasting that energy.
Drying clothes: A huge source of CO2 production is the clothes dryer. If you can avoid using it by drying your clothes on a line or rack, inside or outside, you will save money, make your clothes last longer, prevent shrinkage, and prevent CO2 production! If you have a large family and not enough time to put your clothes on a line, always dry a full load, don't mix heavy and very lightweight cottons, use a moisture sensor so as not to over dry, and clean the lint trap before each load.
Hot water: One of the biggest sources of energy waste is hot water use. The first thing that you can do to prevent wasting energy is to lower the thermostat on your water heater to 120 degrees. This is plenty hot for any household purpose. Make sure your water heater and its connections are insulated. If you are building a new house or remodeling, look into on-demand water heaters - which heat only what you need when you need it - solar water heaters, which are used throughout Europe, or geothermal heat-pump water heaters. Although they are all more expensive initially, over time they should make up for their costs in energy savings, and help our planet at the same time!
Washing: Do you really need to do your laundry on the hot setting? 80% of the electricity your washing machine uses is for heating the water. Cold water detergents are available - and work very well. You will also prevent shrinkage and your clothes will last longer. Showering and bathing is an even bigger hot water hog. An older showerhead can use 4 to 6 gallons per minute, whereas the newer and more efficient low-flow showerheads use one to 2.5 gallons per minute. By aerating the water they achieve almost the same water pressure, using a lot less water. Change your showerhead today – it’s cheap and easy!
Bottled water: Before you buy your next bottle of water, think about this: up to 40% of bottled water is simply bottled tap water. We have remarkably safe tap water in the U.S. Why should we pay someone to bottle it for us, then transport it, when we could get it for free from our tap? If you need to take water in the car, just re-use your last bottle. Bottles last a long time. In fact, they fill our landfills, and, even if you recycle them, that takes energy too! If you want filtered water, use a replaceable filter in a sports bottle, or put a filter on your sink faucet! You'll save hundreds of dollars a year!
Fuel efficiency: Your car emits as much CO2 per year as your house with all its appliances. The most significant way for you to help prevent climate change is to improve your vehicle's fuel efficiency. Keep your car tuned and your tires properly inflated - you'll use less gas. Letting your car idle for more than 20 seconds uses more gas than turning it off and on again. Reduce your fuel consumption by driving 55 miles per hour on the freeway, and avoid braking and accelerating. If you can afford it, get a car that gets better gas mileage! You may be able to make your monthly payment in savings on gas!
Beef: You may be aware that beef causes lots of greenhouse gas emissions, but do you know why? One of the reasons is that cows have four stomachs and produce prodigious amounts of methane when they burp! Methane is 23 times worse than CO2 at causing global warming. Of all the methane produced, 24% of it is from cattle burps and manure. If you buy one less pound of beef a week, in one year you will save 109 dollars, 364 pounds of grain, 130,000 gallons of water, and decrease CO2 production by 546 pounds!
Cooling: Cooling your home can be expensive. There are ways that you can make your air conditioner more efficient! Have a certified service person clean your air conditioner coils every year, replace disposable filters, and clean reusable ones. If there is a room you don't use, close the vents and doors. You can save $18 and 348 pounds of CO2 by simply not cooling one room for the summer! Instead of your air conditioner, or in conjunction with your air conditioner, use fans and dehumidifiers - they make the perceived temperature cooler and more tolerable. You can raise the set temperature and still be comfortable. If one quarter of the people who use air conditioners used theirs 25% less, it would prevent three million tons of CO2 from being emitted each year!
Food: The food in an average meal travels more than 1000 miles before it reaches you. Try to eat as much locally grown food as possible, and you will prevent thousands of pounds of CO2 production, support your local economy, promote Washington State’s small farms, and get better-tasting and fresher foods! Think about joining one of the many CSAs (consumer supported agriculture) in the area. Ask about these at your farmer's market.
Articles taken from mixx96.com
Showing posts with label Tips. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tips. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Drive Smart: Fuel Savings Add Up
Drive efficiently
Watching how you drive can improve your car's mileage per gallon, cutting global warming pollution and saving you anywhere from $200 to $500 each year.
*
Travel light and pack smart. Extra weight decreases fuel economy. Hauling an extra 100 pounds in your vehicle reduces fuel economy by up to 2 percent. Place luggage inside rather than on the roof or trunk to minimize drag and increase mileage.
*
Drive less aggressively. Aggressive driving—rapid acceleration and braking—can lower gas mileage by as much as 33 percent on the highway and 5 percent in town. Aggressive drivers are using an extra 125 gallons of gas and spending over $250 more than average drivers each year.
*
Slow down. In highway travel, exceeding the speed limit by a mere 5 mph results in an average fuel economy loss of 6 percent.
*
Know when to use the air. Air conditioning can decrease your fuel efficiency by as much as 12 percent in stop-and-go traffic, so consider cracking the windows. But at high speeds, driving with the windows open can decrease the overall efficiency of the vehicle.
*
Don't idle. If you are stopping for more than ten seconds—except in traffic—turn off your engine. Idling for more than ten seconds uses more gas and creates more global warming pollution than simply restarting your engine.
Maintain your car
Keep your vehicle operating in peak performance by following these recommendations.
*
Keep your engine tuned properly. Checking spark plugs, oxygen sensors, air filters, hoses and belts are a few examples of maintenance that can save a vehicle owner up to 165 gallons of gas per year, resulting in potential savings of $380.
*
Check the tires. Have your wheels aligned and keep your tires properly inflated. Low tire pressure wastes over two million gallons of gasoline in the United States—every day. For every pound of pressure below recommended levels, fuel economy drops 1 percent. Keeping your tires properly inflated means saving about a tank of gas a year.
Drive less
No matter how smart you drive, leaving the car parked always saves more gas and pollution.
*
Combine trips. Consider running all your errands in the same area at once, rather than making separate trips. Cutting a 20 mile trip out of your schedule each week can reduce your global warming pollution by more than 1,200 pounds a year and save you over $100 in gas expenses.
*
Telecommute once a week. Americans traveled 614.5 billion miles to and from work in 2001. If all commuters worked from home just one day a week, we could save 5.85 billion gallons of oil and cut over 65 million metric tons (roughly 143 billion pounds) of carbon dioxide each year.
*
Carpool and use public transportation when possible. An average 2005 passenger car costs about 31 cents per mile in fuel, maintainance and depreciation to drive. If you share rides and use other means to get to work, you'll save yourself money, reduce congestion on the roads and cut your global warming pollution.
Send this page to a friend »
More ways to fight global warming »
Sources
AAA. 2005. Your Driving Costs 2005. Heathrow, FL: American Automobile Association. www.aaawa.com/news_safety/pdf/Driving_Costs_2005.pdf (16 Feb. 2006). Assumes costs of gasoline at $1.939 per gallon, and fuel economy at 23 mpg.
FuelEconomy.gov's Gas Mileage Tips: www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/drive.shtml
Federal Trade Commission: Good, Better, Best -- How to Improve Gas Mileage [PDF], September 2005.
Hu P. and T. Reuscher. December 2004. Summary of Travel Trends - 2001 National Household Travel Survey [PDF]. Washington, DC: Federal Highway Administration.
Watching how you drive can improve your car's mileage per gallon, cutting global warming pollution and saving you anywhere from $200 to $500 each year.
*
Travel light and pack smart. Extra weight decreases fuel economy. Hauling an extra 100 pounds in your vehicle reduces fuel economy by up to 2 percent. Place luggage inside rather than on the roof or trunk to minimize drag and increase mileage.
*
Drive less aggressively. Aggressive driving—rapid acceleration and braking—can lower gas mileage by as much as 33 percent on the highway and 5 percent in town. Aggressive drivers are using an extra 125 gallons of gas and spending over $250 more than average drivers each year.
*
Slow down. In highway travel, exceeding the speed limit by a mere 5 mph results in an average fuel economy loss of 6 percent.
*
Know when to use the air. Air conditioning can decrease your fuel efficiency by as much as 12 percent in stop-and-go traffic, so consider cracking the windows. But at high speeds, driving with the windows open can decrease the overall efficiency of the vehicle.
*
Don't idle. If you are stopping for more than ten seconds—except in traffic—turn off your engine. Idling for more than ten seconds uses more gas and creates more global warming pollution than simply restarting your engine.
Maintain your car
Keep your vehicle operating in peak performance by following these recommendations.
*
Keep your engine tuned properly. Checking spark plugs, oxygen sensors, air filters, hoses and belts are a few examples of maintenance that can save a vehicle owner up to 165 gallons of gas per year, resulting in potential savings of $380.
*
Check the tires. Have your wheels aligned and keep your tires properly inflated. Low tire pressure wastes over two million gallons of gasoline in the United States—every day. For every pound of pressure below recommended levels, fuel economy drops 1 percent. Keeping your tires properly inflated means saving about a tank of gas a year.
Drive less
No matter how smart you drive, leaving the car parked always saves more gas and pollution.
*
Combine trips. Consider running all your errands in the same area at once, rather than making separate trips. Cutting a 20 mile trip out of your schedule each week can reduce your global warming pollution by more than 1,200 pounds a year and save you over $100 in gas expenses.
*
Telecommute once a week. Americans traveled 614.5 billion miles to and from work in 2001. If all commuters worked from home just one day a week, we could save 5.85 billion gallons of oil and cut over 65 million metric tons (roughly 143 billion pounds) of carbon dioxide each year.
*
Carpool and use public transportation when possible. An average 2005 passenger car costs about 31 cents per mile in fuel, maintainance and depreciation to drive. If you share rides and use other means to get to work, you'll save yourself money, reduce congestion on the roads and cut your global warming pollution.
Send this page to a friend »
More ways to fight global warming »
Sources
AAA. 2005. Your Driving Costs 2005. Heathrow, FL: American Automobile Association. www.aaawa.com/news_safety/pdf/Driving_Costs_2005.pdf (16 Feb. 2006). Assumes costs of gasoline at $1.939 per gallon, and fuel economy at 23 mpg.
FuelEconomy.gov's Gas Mileage Tips: www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/drive.shtml
Federal Trade Commission: Good, Better, Best -- How to Improve Gas Mileage [PDF], September 2005.
Hu P. and T. Reuscher. December 2004. Summary of Travel Trends - 2001 National Household Travel Survey [PDF]. Washington, DC: Federal Highway Administration.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
How to Have a Car without Owning It
Why do people buy cars? I don't think anyone buys them just for the sake of owning a one-ton mass of iron, aluminum and plastic. We buy them for other reasons, such as to go out with our family or go shopping, don't we?
We buy cars because we want to have the freedom to travel conveniently whenever we like. In other words, we want the service provided by the car, not the product itself. It's important to understand the difference between the service of a product versus the product itself.
Another example is a TV. We don't want a TV just to have a big, black box sitting in our living room! We buy a TV because we want to enjoy TV programs and to find out about topics we can talk about with our friends. If you didn't have a TV, would you be happy just having a clear screen on the wall? Wouldn't it be nice that even if we didn't watch TV programs, we could still have a good time with our friends?
Let's go back to talking about cars. Most people buy and use a car as a means of transportation from here to there. Wouldn't it be great if there were other ways to travel easily without owning a car?
In recent years, the concept of "car sharing" has become popular in Europe and the United States. Car sharing is a system where a group of people shares the use of a few cars, rather than each person owning one. Think about it--although most of the families in Japan today have at least one car of their own, a lot of them don't actually use it everyday.
Some cars spend most of their time sitting in garages. On average, we drive our own cars as little as one hour a day. That's a waste of money, isn't it? To save costs, some people came up with the idea of "car sharing." Instead of owning our own car, which costs money everyday, we can share cars and only pay money when we use them. This is the car sharing system.
In Switzerland, a leader in car sharing, almost 40,000 people have joined a car share system, and borrow and return cars at 800 places across the country. In this system, people who drive less than 10,000 kilometers a year can reduce their driving costs. This is because they only have to pay for the basic fees and charges based on the actual travel distance. Meanwhile, when people own their own cars, they need to pay taxes, car inspection fees, parking fees, repair costs and so on. Since this system reduces household expenses, more and more people are starting to do car sharing.
Recently in Japan, efforts to promote car sharing have been seen throughout the country. After all, the main point is not having a car but being able to use a car when we want to, isn't it?
Car sharing is the beginning of a new idea in transportation in which we can use a service we need, without buying a product--a car.
From kidsforfuture.net
We buy cars because we want to have the freedom to travel conveniently whenever we like. In other words, we want the service provided by the car, not the product itself. It's important to understand the difference between the service of a product versus the product itself.
Another example is a TV. We don't want a TV just to have a big, black box sitting in our living room! We buy a TV because we want to enjoy TV programs and to find out about topics we can talk about with our friends. If you didn't have a TV, would you be happy just having a clear screen on the wall? Wouldn't it be nice that even if we didn't watch TV programs, we could still have a good time with our friends?
Let's go back to talking about cars. Most people buy and use a car as a means of transportation from here to there. Wouldn't it be great if there were other ways to travel easily without owning a car?
In recent years, the concept of "car sharing" has become popular in Europe and the United States. Car sharing is a system where a group of people shares the use of a few cars, rather than each person owning one. Think about it--although most of the families in Japan today have at least one car of their own, a lot of them don't actually use it everyday.
Some cars spend most of their time sitting in garages. On average, we drive our own cars as little as one hour a day. That's a waste of money, isn't it? To save costs, some people came up with the idea of "car sharing." Instead of owning our own car, which costs money everyday, we can share cars and only pay money when we use them. This is the car sharing system.
In Switzerland, a leader in car sharing, almost 40,000 people have joined a car share system, and borrow and return cars at 800 places across the country. In this system, people who drive less than 10,000 kilometers a year can reduce their driving costs. This is because they only have to pay for the basic fees and charges based on the actual travel distance. Meanwhile, when people own their own cars, they need to pay taxes, car inspection fees, parking fees, repair costs and so on. Since this system reduces household expenses, more and more people are starting to do car sharing.
Recently in Japan, efforts to promote car sharing have been seen throughout the country. After all, the main point is not having a car but being able to use a car when we want to, isn't it?
Car sharing is the beginning of a new idea in transportation in which we can use a service we need, without buying a product--a car.
From kidsforfuture.net
Saturday, April 26, 2008
What Can Be Done
What can an individual do to reduce harmful emissions and other pollutants.
Making the right choices in everyday life will help save our planet.
Reducing your Ecological Footprint can also have the added benefit of saving money.
Where To Start
Start from within the home, like below method :
1. Room Lighting
Change the standard incandescent tungsten light globes to the efficient (electronic ballast) compact fluorescent light (CFL).
The highest efficient domestic lighting is the electronic ballast tube (Fluorescent Tube). One 15 watt electronic ballast compact fluorescent light has the
same light output as one 60 watt incandescent (tungsten) light globe.
2. Rechargeable Batteries
Normal batteries only last a relatively short time and usually end up in land fill.
Use re-chargeable batteries and dispose of them after their useful life at a collection point that can usually be found by making an enquiry to the local city office.
3. Use Eco Friendly Cleaners
Use environmentally friendly cleaners and that will not put harmful chemicals down the drain and into the air.
Find out what cleaners to avoid and purchase "green" cleaners or make your own.
4. Insulate Your House
Install or increase your house insulation. Not just filling the roof with insulation but install double glazed windows and reduce drafts by sealing doors.
5. Efficient Air Conditioning
Do not use wood burning fires or fuel oil heaters. Change to gas if available or reverse cycle inverter air-conditioners that have a high efficiency star rating.
Maintain your air-conditioner, cleaning filters and checking for leaks. Adjust the thermostat to maintain temperatures higher in summer and lower in winter.
6. Waste and Recycling
Donate unwanted furniture, clothes and appliances to charity so it lasts longer before being sent to landfill. Purchase second hand for those items not regularly used, or hire equipment instead of purchasing items that are only occasionally used.
If household waste is put through single bin recycling then ensure you are placing waste correctly. Food scraps wrapped in paper, tins and bottles washed and loose, papers bundled. Check with your local government waste collection service on correct placement of waste.
If household waste is put in dual bins, recycle and non-recycle, then ensure you are putting waste in the correct bin.
If your household waste is not put through recycling plants then accumulate cans, bottles and paper/cardboard and locate a waste recycle location in your area for proper disposal.
7. Lower Water Use
Install a dual flush toilet. If you have one already, then adjust the cistern float to a lower level to use less water.
Check for water leaks. Turn off all water then read the water meter. Read the meter one hour later.
Install water saving shower heads and time showers to 3 minutes.
Do not flush the toilet for small items such as tissues.
Re-use the wash cycle water from automatic clothes washers, this will reduce detergent use by half.
Wash small quantities of dishes by hand, or wait until the dish-washer is full before using.
8. Pharmaceuticals
Dispose of un-used medication by returning to the pharmacy. Pouring drugs down the drain or disposing in a garbage bin will release chemicals into land fill, water ways and eventually the ocean. These may alter the biology of animals in nature much the same way livestock are fed antibiotics.
There is increasing evidence of pharmaceuticals being detected in drinking water.
9. Donate Discarded Mobile Phones
There are some charities that take working discarded mobile phones for use in third world countries. Do not keep updating to the latest and greatest gadgets, they usually end up in land fill.
10. Standby Power Usage
Turn off all lights and your refrigerator, air-conditioning, washers, electric water heater etc. Then read the electrical meter, and again 1 hour later. Then turn your refrigerator back on! The power usage is all your non-essential stand-by power appliances such as televisions, stereos and computers. Now multiply that by 24 (hours in a day) and then by 365 (days in a year).
11.00No Junk Mail Please
Reduce paper usage by refusing junk mail in your mail box. This lowers the demand for printed paper advertising material.
12. Using Solar
Install a solar water heater on the roof if that is practical for your type of climate.
Retro-fit your existing gas or electric storage water heater with a solar conversion kit. This consists of solar panels, valves, brackets, pump and pump controller. The controller monitors the difference between the panel water temperature and the gas storage water temperature. When the solar panel water is hot, the pump circulates it into the tank. Solar powered low voltage pumps and controllers can also be used instead of mains power.
Have a solar power generating system installed in your home. Any excess energy produced can be fed back into the power grid and you get credit for that power.
from Lonely Blue Planet
Making the right choices in everyday life will help save our planet.
Reducing your Ecological Footprint can also have the added benefit of saving money.
Where To Start
Start from within the home, like below method :
1. Room Lighting
Change the standard incandescent tungsten light globes to the efficient (electronic ballast) compact fluorescent light (CFL).
The highest efficient domestic lighting is the electronic ballast tube (Fluorescent Tube). One 15 watt electronic ballast compact fluorescent light has the
same light output as one 60 watt incandescent (tungsten) light globe.
2. Rechargeable Batteries
Normal batteries only last a relatively short time and usually end up in land fill.
Use re-chargeable batteries and dispose of them after their useful life at a collection point that can usually be found by making an enquiry to the local city office.
3. Use Eco Friendly Cleaners
Use environmentally friendly cleaners and that will not put harmful chemicals down the drain and into the air.
Find out what cleaners to avoid and purchase "green" cleaners or make your own.
4. Insulate Your House
Install or increase your house insulation. Not just filling the roof with insulation but install double glazed windows and reduce drafts by sealing doors.
5. Efficient Air Conditioning
Do not use wood burning fires or fuel oil heaters. Change to gas if available or reverse cycle inverter air-conditioners that have a high efficiency star rating.
Maintain your air-conditioner, cleaning filters and checking for leaks. Adjust the thermostat to maintain temperatures higher in summer and lower in winter.
6. Waste and Recycling
Donate unwanted furniture, clothes and appliances to charity so it lasts longer before being sent to landfill. Purchase second hand for those items not regularly used, or hire equipment instead of purchasing items that are only occasionally used.
If household waste is put through single bin recycling then ensure you are placing waste correctly. Food scraps wrapped in paper, tins and bottles washed and loose, papers bundled. Check with your local government waste collection service on correct placement of waste.
If household waste is put in dual bins, recycle and non-recycle, then ensure you are putting waste in the correct bin.
If your household waste is not put through recycling plants then accumulate cans, bottles and paper/cardboard and locate a waste recycle location in your area for proper disposal.
7. Lower Water Use
Install a dual flush toilet. If you have one already, then adjust the cistern float to a lower level to use less water.
Check for water leaks. Turn off all water then read the water meter. Read the meter one hour later.
Install water saving shower heads and time showers to 3 minutes.
Do not flush the toilet for small items such as tissues.
Re-use the wash cycle water from automatic clothes washers, this will reduce detergent use by half.
Wash small quantities of dishes by hand, or wait until the dish-washer is full before using.
8. Pharmaceuticals
Dispose of un-used medication by returning to the pharmacy. Pouring drugs down the drain or disposing in a garbage bin will release chemicals into land fill, water ways and eventually the ocean. These may alter the biology of animals in nature much the same way livestock are fed antibiotics.
There is increasing evidence of pharmaceuticals being detected in drinking water.
9. Donate Discarded Mobile Phones
There are some charities that take working discarded mobile phones for use in third world countries. Do not keep updating to the latest and greatest gadgets, they usually end up in land fill.
10. Standby Power Usage
Turn off all lights and your refrigerator, air-conditioning, washers, electric water heater etc. Then read the electrical meter, and again 1 hour later. Then turn your refrigerator back on! The power usage is all your non-essential stand-by power appliances such as televisions, stereos and computers. Now multiply that by 24 (hours in a day) and then by 365 (days in a year).
11.00No Junk Mail Please
Reduce paper usage by refusing junk mail in your mail box. This lowers the demand for printed paper advertising material.
12. Using Solar
Install a solar water heater on the roof if that is practical for your type of climate.
Retro-fit your existing gas or electric storage water heater with a solar conversion kit. This consists of solar panels, valves, brackets, pump and pump controller. The controller monitors the difference between the panel water temperature and the gas storage water temperature. When the solar panel water is hot, the pump circulates it into the tank. Solar powered low voltage pumps and controllers can also be used instead of mains power.
Have a solar power generating system installed in your home. Any excess energy produced can be fed back into the power grid and you get credit for that power.
from Lonely Blue Planet
Friday, April 25, 2008
5 Anti Global Warming Tips You Can Do
Al Gore is doing the right thing: global warming is a glaring problem these days. It’s getting hotter year after year! The weather patterns are changing, ocean levels are rising, everything is spewing out destructive gases, and it’s already a disaster! We may soon find New York and a lot of places close to water several meters under that water. The government spends millions doing what they can, but we ordinary people can contribute in a small way. How? Do the following! Unless you and your family want to shop in the Big Apple wearing scuba gear, that is.
1. Car? What car? Try to avoid using it! Use buses or trams. Bicycles will do. You can always hike if it’s close by. Sometimes it’s dangerous not to be in a car, but at least you’ll be spending less and helping the environment at the same time! I ride my bicycle to places I need to go. It’s good exercise, keeps me slim, and is free of carbon monoxide! If you really have to, use cars and light vehicles instead of fuel-guzzling SUVs. You can also promote a carpool for your co-workers, to save gas and build camaraderie.
2. Save paper! Trees help absorb greenhouse gases. Millions of acres are lost every year. What can we do? Use both sides of the paper, of course. Use the back when possible, not take out a new sheet! Use reusable cloth bags or plastic bags when shopping, not paper bags which are easily thrown away. Saving a few pieces of paper isn’t much, but if more people do it, we can save a lot!
3. Turn off the lights! Many power plants still use coal and oil, which spew out harmful gases. Observe Earth Day. Use florescent and low-energy bulbs and turn them off when you don’t need them! Use that blow-dryer only when you need to! Try to buy energy-efficient appliances, which are usually labeled. Insulate your rooms so you use your heater less. If you go out for a while, like if you won a free trip or something, power down your house completely. Not only will you lower your bill, but you’ll help the environment out, too!
4. Vote wisely. If the guy running for the Senate emphasizes on environment-friendly measures, and he means well, vote for him! If he wins, he’ll help the environment. Try to avoid voting candidates who don’t have even a shred of concern about nature. Vote for those who care about the planet. Don’t just think about the planet though. If he’s only caring about the planet and nothing else, he probably doesn’t care about the planet anyway.
5. Spread the word! Tell everyone all the things above. Tell your friends, family, relatives, coworkers, and more. Post it on forums, message boards, and blogs. If even ten out of a hundred listen to you, and one of that ten actually does something, it makes a difference!
See? Saving the environment is easy, keeps you fit, and saves you money! It’s worth it. What environment-friendly tips can you share? Speak up!
1. Car? What car? Try to avoid using it! Use buses or trams. Bicycles will do. You can always hike if it’s close by. Sometimes it’s dangerous not to be in a car, but at least you’ll be spending less and helping the environment at the same time! I ride my bicycle to places I need to go. It’s good exercise, keeps me slim, and is free of carbon monoxide! If you really have to, use cars and light vehicles instead of fuel-guzzling SUVs. You can also promote a carpool for your co-workers, to save gas and build camaraderie.
2. Save paper! Trees help absorb greenhouse gases. Millions of acres are lost every year. What can we do? Use both sides of the paper, of course. Use the back when possible, not take out a new sheet! Use reusable cloth bags or plastic bags when shopping, not paper bags which are easily thrown away. Saving a few pieces of paper isn’t much, but if more people do it, we can save a lot!
3. Turn off the lights! Many power plants still use coal and oil, which spew out harmful gases. Observe Earth Day. Use florescent and low-energy bulbs and turn them off when you don’t need them! Use that blow-dryer only when you need to! Try to buy energy-efficient appliances, which are usually labeled. Insulate your rooms so you use your heater less. If you go out for a while, like if you won a free trip or something, power down your house completely. Not only will you lower your bill, but you’ll help the environment out, too!
4. Vote wisely. If the guy running for the Senate emphasizes on environment-friendly measures, and he means well, vote for him! If he wins, he’ll help the environment. Try to avoid voting candidates who don’t have even a shred of concern about nature. Vote for those who care about the planet. Don’t just think about the planet though. If he’s only caring about the planet and nothing else, he probably doesn’t care about the planet anyway.
5. Spread the word! Tell everyone all the things above. Tell your friends, family, relatives, coworkers, and more. Post it on forums, message boards, and blogs. If even ten out of a hundred listen to you, and one of that ten actually does something, it makes a difference!
See? Saving the environment is easy, keeps you fit, and saves you money! It’s worth it. What environment-friendly tips can you share? Speak up!
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