Green Tips To Share

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learn ways to reduce their environmental impact.

CFL equivalency
Be a part of the solution to help slow global warming

Change your lightbulbs - If every American swapped just ONE bulb for an ENERGY STAR labeled CFL (Compact Fluorescent Light bulb), it would collectively save more than $8 billion in energy costs, prevent burning 30 billion pounds of coal, and remove 2 million cars worth of greenhouse gas emissions from our atmosphere. Just imagine the difference we could make if we replaced all of the lights we use most! Source:(Yahoo! Inc. & 18 Seconds.org) To see the video 18 Seconds of Time Can Save Billions of Dollars in energy Costs click here

Sign up for green power
Getting green power may be as easy as checking a box on your energy bill. About 600 of the U.S.’s 6,000 power utilities offer a green power option of one kind or another. In this sort of program, the local utility buys renewable energy (wind, solar, etc.) and then passes it along to customers. It often costs a bit more, but not much, and it helps support the industry for clean, green power.

Bottled Water: To drink or not to drink?
Globally, bottled water is now a $46 billion industry. Why has it become so popular? Much bottled water is, in any case, derived from municipal water supplies, though it is sometimes filtered, or has additional minerals added to it. (NY Times) An estimated 47 million gallons of oil are used to produce the bottles that Americans drink each year. You can invest in a water filter at home/work and also drink out of a reuseable container. Most Bottled Water Containers never make it to a recycling bin and therefore millions of plastic bottles end up in landfills.

Rubber Ducky, Soap up, Get Clean
Shave your ten-minute shower to a few minutes per day by getting wet first. After your get wet, turn off the water, get lathered up and then rinse off. You will save approximately 14 Gallons of Water per shower. Most showers use 2 gallons of water per minute. You can also buy a water saving shower head for under $10 from a hardware store to conserve even more water.

Water your Grass? Maybe let the rain do it...
According to the EPA, landscape irrigation is estimated to account for almost one-third of all residential water use, totaling more than 7 billion gallons per day. So as summer arrives and temperatures rise, resist the temptation to keep your lawn golf-course green with constant watering.

You can Stop Chopping Down Trees by Eliminating JUNK MAIL
The average American receives 11 pieces of unsolicited junk mail each week, according to the Center for a New American Dream, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting responsible consumerism. Tallied up, that bulk accounts for 100 million trees lost each year. By reducing the amount of junk mail you receive each year, you personally will save two trees and prevent some 92 pounds of carbon dioxide from being released into the air. Here is what you can do: De-list your name Most senders of unsolicited junk mail get your name and address from one of three sources: Abacus Catalog Alliance (catalogs), Direct Marketing Association (fliers, brochures, etc.), or the credit bureaus (credit card and insurance offers), says Paul Stephens, a policy analyst with Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, a consumer advocacy group. If you do nothing else, take the time to wipe your name from these lists. "That'll get rid of most of your junk mail," he says. Here's how to do so:
Abacus Catalog Alliance: Signing up permanently halts the catalog mailings from association members. Email optout@abacus-direct.com with your full name and current address.
Direct Marketing Association: Stops direct mail marketing from association companies for five years. There is a $1 fee. Access forms at here for online or mail-in submission.
OptOutPrescreen.com: This joint venture of the three credit bureaus puts a stop to prescreened credit and insurance solicitations. Sign up to halt these mailings for five years, or stop them permanently. Call 1-888-5-OPTOUT, or fill out a form here.

Outsource Junk Mail Downsizing
Sign up with 41pounds.org and have the work done for you. For $41, 41pounds contacts 20 - 35 marketing companies, plus the catalogs you specify, to stop 80-95% of your junk mail for five years. Plus, 41pounds.org donates more than 1/3 of the fee to its nonprofit partners like www.StopGlobalWarming.org , www.Carbonfund.org and American Forests. - Debbie (Mill Valley, California)

Save Energy, Save Money When buying an appliance, remember that it has two price tags: what you pay to take it home and what you pay for the energy and water it uses. ENERGY STAR qualified appliances incorporate advanced technologies that use 10–50% less energy and water than standard models. The money you save on your utility bills can more than make up for the cost of a more expensive but more efficient ENERGY STAR model. Simple actions can make a big difference. If just one in 10 homes used ENERGY STAR qualified appliances, the change would be like planting 1.7 million new acres of trees. (Energy Star)

TOU: stands for "time of use." It's a simple way to save energy and save money on your monthly electric bill. The ultility company charges you a base. Go over the base and your kW charge goes up 100%...to 300%. Agree to TOU and use as little energy as you can between 10am and 6 pm, Monday - Friday. Mornings before 10am, Nights after 10am, and weekends and holidays are all charged at a lower rate. Simple. You save money, you conserve energy. What could be better? Add solar to your home or business and now you're talking big savings. - Bill (Los Angeles, California)