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Remember,
little things add up. Turn off extra lights. Put recycling wastebaskets
throughout your home and office. Turn off office equipment overnight and on
weekends. Wear a sweater when you're cold and open a window when you're warm.
Here
are other quick and easy tips. |
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Replace high-energy-use light bulbs, fixtures, and equipment. The
quickest thing you can do is to switch to low-energy use light
bulbs. Next, if you have old equipment, it may be time to upgrade.
And there may be money available to help. Check with your local
utility company for rebates, loans, or grants to enable you to
transition to energy-efficient equipment.
Buy environmentally-friendly products. The market for non-toxic supplies has
exploded, giving you more affordable choices in items such as cleaning supplies,
inks, and other materials.
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Buy recycled products. Look for "post-consumer waste" products,
including stationery, packaging materials, paper towels and other kitchen and
bathroom supplies. This keeps waste from ending up in landfills.
Reduce commutes. For most businesses the biggest energy impact comes from
commuting. Encourage carpooling. Perhaps some employees could telecommute
work from home a few days a month or work four 10-hour days instead of five
eight-hour days. When relocating, look for sites near your home or public
transportation and where employees can be recruited nearby.
Conduct more of your business online. Do you really need to take the trip to the
bank to transfer funds? Can you send a document via e-mail rather than by
delivery service? That's a lot less expensive as well as reducing overall fuel
consumption.
Open the windows or doors. When the weather permits, before turning on the air
conditioning, do something as simple as opening the windows and doors.
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Buy hybrid cars. When buying a new vehicle for yourself or for your business,
look for cars or trucks that are energy-efficient, especially hybrids.
Regardless of the vehicle, make sure your cars and vans are well maintained and
tires are properly inflated. That reduces energy use.
Fly rather than drive. Driving emits twice the CO2 that flying does. Sometimes
its actually cheaper to fly to places nearby rather than paying for the
gasoline to drive there.
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Reuse your junk mail. Use the envelopes to write your grocery lists on.
Plant a tree or have someone else do it for you. The average person is responsible for emitting 94 pounds of carbon
dioxide every day. It takes four trees, which act as natural air filters, to
offset the carbon dioxide each person generates in a month. For each dollar
donated, American Forests plants a tree. For more information and to plant
trees, visit www.americanforests.org.
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Engines Off. Instead of idling your car while your waiting on someone
outside, turn your engine off. Idling 10 minutes less per day can keep
550 pounds of carbon dioxide out of the air every year.
Bring a shopping bag - Bringing your own
bag when shopping saves plastic bags. Dr. Delphinium provides reusable jute
bags.
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