How to Go Green

Simple tips that everyone can apply to their lives to help protect the environment and save money at the same time. Let's "Go Green!"

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

1. Lights out! Turn off your lights and televisions when you leave a room. In the summer keep the shades open and try not to turn on the lights until nighttime. It is now a habit of mine to not turn lights on at all during the summer days. It is reducing my electric bill and protecting the environment.
2. Start recycling plastic bottles instead of just throwing them away. You can also recycle paper, like newspapers. Always make sure you recycle cans and glass bottles also. Some states give you your 10 cent deposit back for them.
3. Reduce emissions from your automobile by tuning up your car, inflating your tires, and taking it easy on the brake and gas. Check out my other articles to find out how to reduce automobile emissions even more so.
4. You can change all of your regular incandescent light bulbs with a compact fluorescent light bulb which are more efficient.
5. Move your thermostat up 2 degrees in the summer and down 2 degrees in the winter. You can save 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide each year.
6. Clean or replace filters on your furnace and air conditioner.
   This can save 350 pounds of carbon dioxide a year.
7. New energy efficient appliances are out there that keep food at the perfect temperature and wash your dishes using the perfect amount of water.
8. You can wrap your water heater in an insulation blanket
   This will help you save 1,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year.
9. Wash your clothes in cold or warm water instead of hot water because this can save you 500 pounds per year.
10. Use a clothesline to dry your clothes instead of a dryer. 700 pounds of carbon dioxide can be saved for half a year of air drying.
11. Try and use less hot water; limit your time in the shower.
    It takes a lot of energy to heat water. Install a low flow shower head which will save 350 pounds of carbon dioxide per year.
12. Programmable thermostats can lower heat at night and raise it in the morning automatically which can save you around $100 a year off of your bill.
13. Buy recycled paper products.
14. More major steps could include switching to solar energy or wind energy.
15. Unplug electronics when not in use. Yea, a small amount of electricity is used even when a device is not on but still plugged in.
16. Plant a tree.
17. Buying locally grown food will support your local market and reduce transportation costs to transport goods from other states and/or countries. Buy fresh foods because frozen foods take 10 times more energy to produce.
18. When getting ready to buy a new car, check into any hybrids being offered. The Toyota Prius and Honda Civic hybrids are among the most fuel efficient cars offered as of right now.
19. Remove yourself from mailing lists to save on paper.

Tips & Warnings

• Rent the documentary "An Inconvenient Truth" with Al Gore.
• Check out climitecrisis.org for more information on going green
• Buy organic and avoid anything with harsh chemicals
• You don't have to rush out and do all of these things. Making slow changes rather than rapid changes can often lead to sticking with those changes for longer terms.