GREEN RESOURCES

The following article was excerpted from "NRDC's Guide to Greener Living" as posted on Natural Resources Defence Council website .

Home Energy Saving Tips

1. Buy energy-efficient products - When buying new appliances or electronics, shop for the highest energy-efficiency rating. Look for a yellow and black Energy Guide label on the product. It compares the energy use for that model against similar models. New energy-efficient models may cost more initially, but have a lower operating cost over their lifetimes. The most energy-efficient models carry the Energy Star label, which identifies products that use 20-40 percent less energy than standard new products. According to the EPA, the typical American household can save about $400 per year in energy bills with products that carry the Energy Star.
     
   
2. Set heating and cooling temperatures correctly - Check thermostats in your home to make sure they are set at a level that doesn't waste energy. Get an electronic thermostat that will allow your furnace to heat the house to a lower temperature when you're sleeping and return it to a more comfortable temperature before you wake up. In the winter, set your thermostat at 68°F in the daytime and 55°F at night. In the summer, keep it at 78°F. Remember that water heaters work most efficiently between 120°F and 140°F. In your refrigerator, set the temperature at about 37°F and adjust the freezer to operate at about 3°F. Use a thermometer to take readings and set the temperatures correctly.
   

Road Energy Saving Tips

1. Look for more fuel-efficient, less polluting cars - Think about trading in that old gas guzzler for a more fuel-efficient car. A car that gets 20 miles to the gallon will emit about 50 tons of carbon dioxide over its lifetime. Double the gas mileage and you cut the emissions by half. Investigate the many new ultra-clean alternative fuel vehicles available. Reconsider extra features such as automatic transmission and 4-wheel drive — they are often unnecessary and eat into gas mileage.
   
   
2. Keep your car in good condition - Get your engine tuned up regularly, change the oil, and keep your tires inflated properly — proper maintenance can increase your car's fuel efficiency by 10 percent and reduce emissions.
   
   
3. Cut driving miles - Each gallon of gas your car burns releases about 22 pounds of atmospheric-warming carbon dioxide. Cutting your driving by just five miles each day would contribute to keeping tons of carbon dioxide from entering the air.

Save Resources at Home

1. Recycle materials - Recycling saves resources, decreases the use of toxic chemicals, cuts energy use, helps curb global warming, stems the flow of water and air pollution, and reduces the need for landfills and incinerators. Make an effort to participate fully in your town's or your building's recycling program. If there's no recycling program where you live, encourage local officials to start one. If you have a recycling program where you live, work to expand it. In the meantime, learn where you can take items such as paper, cardboard, glass, aluminum, plastic, and tires to be recycled, then make an effort to go there.
   
   
2. Buy recycled products - Look on the label for the products or packaging with the greatest percentage of post-consumer recycled content, which ensures that the materials have been used before. Try to buy paper products that have more than 50 percent post-consumer content.
   
   
3. Compost - Composting reduces the burden on overcrowded landfills and gives you a great natural fertilizer for plants and gardens. Buy a composting setup at a garden supply or hardware store. Start with yard trimmings, fruit and vegetable food scraps, and coffee grounds. If you don't know how to compost, check out this handy guide.
   
   
4. Buy products with less packaging - A large percentage of the paper, cardboard, and plastic we use goes into packaging — much of it wasteful and unnecessary. When you buy a product, look at the packaging and ask: Can it be reused? Is it made of post-consumer recycled materials? Is it necessary at all? Reward those companies that are most enlightened about their use of packaging by purchasing their products. Contact companies that overpackage and tell them you will be more likely to buy if they change this policy.
   
   
5. Leave grass clippings on the lawn - Grass clippings make good fertilizer when they decompose. Leaving them on your lawn keeps them from occupying limited space in the local landfill.
   

Save Resources at Work

1. Buy energy-efficient office equipment - Energy Star-rated equipment is an option at work as well as at home. Energy Star equipment has power management features that allow it to reduce its power use or turn itself off when not in use. According to the EPA, Energy Star-labeled equipment can save up to 75 percent of total electricity use.
   
   
2. Recycle - If your office doesn't have a recycling program, work with your office manager and custodial staff to set one up. Paper, aluminum cans, and plastic bottles are easy to start with, and additional materials can be added as the staff gets used to recycling. Set up bins in convenient areas to collect each type of material your office recycles, and make sure everyone knows they are there.
   
   
3. Commit to environmentally friendly purchasing practices - Encourage your company to make a commitment to purchasing paper and plastic materials made with post-consumer recycled content. Companies should avoid paper products made from 100 percent virgin fiber content, and switch to paper that is 30 percent post-consumer content at minimum. Also look for plastic and metal products made with recycled or scrap material.
   
   
4. Be thrifty with paper - Don't print out each memo or email you receive. Read and delete the ones you don't need to save and electronically file others you might refer to later. Make sure your office copier can make two-sided copies, and badger everyone to get into the habit of doing so. If people don't take the hint, arrange to have your copier's default set to the two-sided rather than one-sided option. High-speed copiers that are set to automatically make two-sided copies reduce paper costs by $60 per month — and, of course, save paper. Save even more paper by using the blank sides of used sheets of paper for note-taking and printing drafts.
   
   
5. Use reusable utensils for office parties - If you work in one of those offices where there's no excuse too small for a mid-afternoon get-together, encourage the office manager to invest in a set of dishes, cups, and utensils that can be used each time, rather than breaking out plastic utensils and paper plates.
   
   
6. Bring a waste-free lunch - Store your food in reusable containers rather than wrapping it in foil or plastic. Keep a knife, fork, spoon, and cloth napkins at work to avoid the need for plastic utensils and paper napkins. Bring your hot or cold drinks in a thermos, and drink them from a mug you keep at your desk or in your work area.
   

Water Conservancy

1. Landscape in tune with the natural environment - If you're landscaping, use plants that are native to your area. Growing native plants can save more than half the water normally used to care for outdoor plants. Raising thirsty plants in arid areas means having to drown them almost daily in gallons of sprinkler or irrigation water. In dry areas, xeriscape landscaping uses plants that need little water, thereby not only saving water and labor, but also preventing pollution from the use of fertilizers. If you must water your lawn, water early or late in the day or on cooler days to reduce evaporation. Allow your grass to grow a bit taller to reduce water loss by providing more ground shade for roots and promoting soil water retention.
   
   
2. Use water wisely in everyday activities - Water is wasted more quickly than you might think. An open faucet lets about 5 gallons of water flow every 2 minutes. In the kitchen, you can save between 10 and 20 gallons of water a day by running the dishwasher only when it's full. You can save even more by washing dishes by hand in a sink or dishpan containing water, rather than running the tap continuously as you scrub. Run the clothes washer only when full as well. Taking a shorter shower (turn off the showerhead while soaping) will also save a lot of water. Sweep sidewalks and driveways instead of hosing them down — washing a sidewalk or driveway with a hose uses about 50 gallons of water every 5 minutes.
   

Organic & Sustainable Farming Support

1. Ask for organic produce - Often, organic produce costs more and is more difficult to get, but many supermarkets and greengrocers are willing to stock organic food if they know customers will buy it regularly. Talk to your friends and neighbors about their willingness to buy organic and then let your produce manager know that many customers are interested.
   
   
2. Deal directly with organic food growers and suppliers - If you can't find a local grocer who will stock organic food, contact organic growers and suppliers directly.
   
   
3. Become a Community Supported Agriculture supporter - Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) cooperatives bring together local farmers and consumers. As a member of the cooperative, you pledge to cover farm operation costs for the season. In return, you share in the harvest. CSA farms are not all organic, but they all strive to operate sustainably.
   

Responsible Investing

1. Investigate investment portfolios with a conscience - Socially responsible portfolios have more than tripled since 1995, with more than one in ten dollars invested in the U.S. estimated to be part of such portfolios (some resources to check out include Calvert Group, Pax World Fund and the Coop America Guide). Insist on entrusting your funds to companies that use your personal and social values as a measure when making decisions about where to invest your money.
   
   
2. Pay your phone bill and do a good deed - Some companies donate a percentage of their profits to environmental, civil rights, educational, and social justice organizations. Working Assets Long Distance gives millions of dollars each year to non-profits. Earth Tones directs all of its profits to environmental groups, and even allows free calls to elected representatives in Congress.
   

Environmental Act

1. Contact your elected representatives - Whether it's on the local, state, or national level, let the people who represent you in government know what you think — and what you expect — concerning issues that are important to you. Write, phone, and email your mayor, governor, and state and national legislative representatives to let them know you're watching — and that you vote.
   
   
2. Report the polluters in your community - Do your part to make sure that local industries comply with regulations on discharging waste into air or water, or onto land. Join a local clean water or environmental group that monitors industries and sewage treatment plants that are discharging wastes in your water or air. Familiarize yourself with the procedures for reporting violations to the local and county environmental and health authorities.