Oprah aired a terrific show on being green earlier last year. It was repeated the other day. Here are many of the tips and facts that were shared by guests and experts on that program.
Things to Keep in Mind When Grocery Shopping:
- Look for minimal packaging. You don't need fancy wrapping. It doesn't make the food any better.
- Instead of buying plastic or paper plates, use reusable dishes
- When and if you absolutely must buy plastic, look for 100% recycled/recyclable plasticware
- When and if you absolutely must buy paper, look for 100% recycled products
- Use 100% recycled aluminum foil. It requires 1/20 of the energy to produce traditional foil
- Recycle your foil!
- Organic produce = no pesticides = less energy to harvest and healthier for you and the planet
- Bring your own bags - including produce bags
Things You Should Know About Drinking Water:
- It takes five liters of water energy to make one liter of bottled water - USE SIGG!
- If you must use a plastic water bottle (and you really shouldn't), please use a refillable one and make sure it has a number 2 on it so you know it's safe for drinking water. Also, if you need to throw it away for any reason, RECYCLE it!
Paper Waste:
- An estimated 100 million trees are chopped down each year and 28 billion gallons of water are used to produce America's junk mail
- Check out http://www.greendimes.com/ for ways you can help
- We use an average of 2200 napkins per year, per person
- Use one less napkin a day to help save a billion pounds of paper waste from going to landfills each year
- Better yet, use cloth napkins!
- Opt out of your ATM receipts to help save 2 billion feet of paper
House Cleaning:
- Many common household cleaners contain chemicals that can cause asthma
- Real clean doesn't have a scent - no pine, no bleach, no chemical smells
- Real clean won't make you cough, sneeze or wheeze
- Try products like Method, Seventh Generation or Shaklee or try making your own with vinegar and borax
- Use microfiber cloths when cleaning instead of paper towels. You can wash them and use them again and again.
Daily Living:
- Use the same cup or glass all day
- Only run the dishwasher when it is completely full
- Never throw away clothing. Donate it to a charity, friend or family member
- Shop at thrift stores. You never know what you can find.
- Plug all electronics into power strips. Turn the strip off at night to reduce standby power.
- Use CFLs (Compact Flourecent Lightbulbs). They are 70-75% more efficient than traditional bulbs and will last longer. You will see the savings the very month you make the switch.
- Wash your clothes in cold water
- Take shorter showers
- Install an energy efficient shower head
- Clean the lint trap on your dryer after each use
- Take a reusable mug to the coffee shop
- Install a ceiling fan to circulate the air in your home
- Keep your water heater temperature at a maximum of 120 degrees
- Install gaskets behind your electrical outlets to reduce drafts coming through
- Check the caulking around your windows to be sure you are properly insulated
Something to Ponder:
Throwing something away doesn't really make it go away. Away is a place - a landfill. Visit a landfill to see the impact of your trash.
RECYCLE, RECYCLE, RECYCLE:
- It takes 100 years for glass to break down in a landfill - recycle it!
- Recycle all aluminum cans, containers and foil
- Recycle plastic containers but check the number on the bottom and make sure your municpality recycles those types of plastic
- Recycle your newspapers. One 4ft high stack of newspapers = one 40ft high fir tree.
- Donate packaging peanuts to a local packaging store like the UPS store
- http://www.earth911.com/ will tell you what you can and cannot recycle in your area.
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