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Other Ways to Help Save the Planet
# 1: Vote for politicians who care about this issue.
At Home / Office
- Switch to efficient lighting systems.
- Buy green power from your utility. In many states you can opt for purchasing renewable energy from your local power company for a few extra dollars a month. Visit Green Power Network's U.S. map at www.eere.energy.gov/greenpower/ to get started.
- Apply the "recycle - reduce - reuse" motto.
- Get off the Junk mail lists.
- Pay your bills online.
- Use a tap filter or water pitcher filter - Stop buying plastic water bottles. Bottled water is not necessarily better or cleaner than tap water. Save money!
- Clean up your dishwasher. Switch to a dishwashing powder that is biodegradable and plant-based.
- Install a better showerhead. This helps to preserve diminishing water supplies and reduced hot water used. Over a years time, an aerator can save between 1000 and 8000 gallons of water.
- Turn off the tap when brushing your teeth. The average tap uses 3 gallons of water a minute.
- Turn down your thermostat a degree or two and set a programmable thermostat. This will automatically adjust the heat or air conditioning to match your daily program.
- Clean the lint in your dryer. The average US household spends up to $135 on energy costs drying clothes. A dirty lint filter uses 30% more energy.
- Plug in a laptop; they use half the energy of a desktop counter part. Choose Energy Star and they use 70% less energy than non-certified.
- Stop using fertilizer. The U.S. spends more than 5 billion on fossil-fuel derived fertilizer that leak chemicals into the ground and release nitrous oxide - a greenhouse gas. Try composting, or grass clippings.
- Get rid of the leaf blower.
On the Move / At Play
- Drive less and use public transportation (bus, train) when possible. Walk or bike when you can.
- Offset the driving that you need to do.
- Drive the most fuel efficient car you can.
- Avoid idling. When you stop, turn off your engine. Idling for any length of time take more energy than stopping.
- Fly as direct a route as possible. Takeoffs and landings are where most of the fuel is burned. For short trips these can be as much as 25%.
- Offset your air travel.
- Rent a hybrid or bio-diesel while touring. Zip car-sharing service rents hybrids in 5 US cities: www.zipcar.com and Bio-beetle rents eco-friendly cars in Los Angeles and Hawaii www.bio-beetle.com.
- When travel planning, make your reservations with a tour operator/travel provider that 1) is a member of the Ecotourism Society and 2) off-sets their trips.
- Book with a tour operator/travel provider who off-sets their trips. If the provider does not do this, ask why!
- When looking for hotels, keep conservation in mind. (Starwood Hotels recently enlisted the National Resources Defense Council to help set up a new brand of eco hotels called "1". The first hotel opened in Seattle in 2008.)
- Try to keep your regular activities local. Less time in the car, more time for fun!
- Make your next event/party/wedding a green event.
At the Store
- Buy recycled paper products. If every American purchased one packet of recycled napkins, we would save 1 million trees. Seventh Generation and Whole Foods' are made from nearly all post-consumer recycled paper.
- Buy organic-cotton. Cotton is the second-most chemically sprayed crop in America (corn is first).
- Buy food grown locally and frequent farmers markets.
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