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One Bright Idea
If you ’re going to do just one matter for the major planet , make it the electrical switch to compact fluorescent light bulbs ( CFLs ) . Although they be several time more upfront than regularincandescent brightness level bulbs , they also last about 10 sentence farseeing , which means that for every CFL you screw in , you ’ll be saving eight incandescent light lightbulb from landfill purgatory . Plus , you ’ll save some serious cash in the long run . Because CFLs utilize 75 pct less Energy Department , trade one incandescent bulb for a CFL reduces carbon paper dioxide by 500 pounds a yr ; supercede 17 has the tantamount effect of take one car off the route for a year . Just remember to recycle spentbulbsresponsibly - CFLs hold trace amounts of atomic number 80 , which although is n’t enough to be hazardous to you , could pose a problem in landfills when mercury from multiple bulbs strip into the ground .
Seeing Stars
The average home can pump out twice as much nursery - gas emissions as the averagecar . Purchasing energy - saving Energy Star - rate appliances , electronics , and lighting can help palliate that , while strap a third of your electricbill . ( A force gulper is nobody ’s acquaintance . ) Improving the vigor efficiency of your home could even earn you tax reference from Uncle Sam .
Paper Nor Plastic
Eschew charge plate bags by bring your own reusable canvas totes the next clock time you ’re at the supermarket or store . Because petroleum - based plastic isn’tbiodegradable , it ’s certain to outlast you - by about a millenary or so . Each year , 1000 of marine animals , let in the threaten Dermochelys coriacea polo-neck , clog to death onplastic trashthey mistake for snackable morsel . Our unholy love for charge plate disposable has also bred a swirling whirl of fictile trash the size of Texas in the North Pacific Ocean - not surprising when you consider that Americans melt down through about 100 billion plastic traveling bag each year , using up an forecast 12 million bbl of oil color .
No Soliciting
Deforestation is responsible for 25 percent of all atomic number 6 emissions liberate into the air , through the burning and cutting of 34 million Acre oftreesannually . make unnecessary some pure and old - increase woods by opting out ofpapercatalogs and browsing online , or else . Why did you thinkAl Goreinvented the Internet ? Shed those excess 41 pounds of rubble chain mail the average American packs on each year by removing yourself from direct - mail mailing lists ; if you demand a tad more aid , caller such as GreenDimes and 41pounds.org have got your back .
Get Better Mileage
Who knew cauliflower were such globe - trotters ? Or that squirt - set tomatoes racked up frequent - flier knot ? But it ’s dead on target : North American garden truck typically travels a minimum of 1,500 mile . Grapes can clock 2,143 miles cruising from vineyards in Napa Valley to supermarket aisles in Chicago , gobble up barrel of crude oil and spue pollutant andgreenhouse - gasemissions in their Wake Island . By buying your produce locally , whether it ’s through the farmer ' market or a community - assisted husbandry program , you could trim your " food miles , " otherwise known as the distance your solid food has to journey to get from the farm to your plate . Now that ’s overbold .
The 3 Rs
get going rolling those Rs : Reduce , reuse , and recycle - and in that order . Let ’s face it , we ’re mired mystifying inecological debtbecause we ’re take in more resources than nature can refill . By gorging on more than our fair share of the world ’s resources , we ’re also amuse essentials such as solid food , clothing , and water from communities in greater need . So let ’s retread : It ’s practiced to foreshorten your personalconsumptionthan it is to recycle something , and it†™ s less environmentally taxing to reuse a product than to have it recycle . Separating recyclables from your regulartrash , which scarcely take any endeavor , is a no - brainer , of course ; reuse aluminium , for instance , takes as little as 5 percent of the push we ’d take to fabricate virgin aluminium .
Get Off the Grid
Opt for clean , renewable energy if it ’s bid in your area . gloomy - impact sources such aswind , solar , and hydroelectric power reduce our dependence on ember - burning office flora , a major source of greenhouse - gas emissions . And because harnessing the top executive of renewable " fuels " such assunand wind instrument are free , your electric bill is probable to descale down because of the decreased price of wholesale electricity .
Slay Energy Vampires
You may not make love it , but households across the Earth are infested with vampires . get-up-and-go vampires , that is . Cleverly mask as innocuous house contrivance ( psst , your television is one of them ) , their nasty pointed tooth plunge deep into your wall socket , drainingpowerall hours of the day and nighttime , even after you ’ve flip them off . ( Americans pay $ 1 billion a year to power our televisions and VCRs while they ’re turn off . ) Other sleeper agents of theelectricundead that take 1,000 kilowatt hours a year per household , while in standby modal value : your wassailer , coffeemaker , whisker dryer , PC , printer , cable box , and cell phonecharger . You don†™ triiodothyronine have to live in a constant state of fear , however , forever checking behind your back for that one contrivance you forgot to pull the nag of . Just plug neighboring equipment into force strip with billow shielder , and before you crawl under the refuge of your cover - or head out to oeuvre - simply flip the switch .
Go Au Naturale
Our chemical substance arsenal may be able to exterminate creepy-crawly crawlies and polish our countertop , but they ’re slowly kill us , too . The man - made chemical we prefer are like the obnoxious house guest who overstays his welcome - an average of 200 industrial compounds , pollutant and other chemical , for instance , were recently discovered in the umbilical - corduroy profligate of newborns . ( These admit seven dangerouspesticides , some of which were banned in the U.S. more than 30 years ago . ) We†™ re serving ourkidspotent chemical cocktail even before they ’re born - not quite the head start up they may have been hop to get . pesticide have also been implicated in Parkinson†™ s disease , infertility , brainiac impairment , and malignant neoplastic disease . So trench the poison and choose natural , non - toxic , and evenly effective methods of cleaning and corralling pests . You probably already have what you demand in your kitchen to get embark on . Chowing down on organically grown food will cut out pesticides from your diet , as well .
Build it Green
Tree , in a give-and-take , sway . They soak up heat - trappingcarbon dioxide , hold soil together to prevent landslides , and furnish a robust home ground for divers plants and animals . Choose article of furniture made from eco - well-disposed sources such as sustainably manage forests , bamboo , and reclaim woods . buy time of origin wherever potential , rather than tot something fresh into the wastestream , is always in style . Also , see for furniture that is durable and likely long - lived - you’ll save money on replacements in the future and prevent more wasted materials from winding up in the landfill . And , if for some reason , that dresser or dining table no longer suits your need , something in fine shape will always have takers via Craig ’s List , eBay , or Freecycle .
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