GOING GREEN - WHAT'S ALL THE HYPE ABOUT?

What have you done to go GREEN and help save the environment? Every ton of paper saves 17 trees, 7,000 gallons of water, 380 gallons of oil, 60 pounds of air pollution and enough electricity to power the average house for 6 months. HYPE: If every American home replaced just one light bulb with an ENERGY STAR qualified bulb, we would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes for a year, more than $600 million in annual energy costs and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of more than 800,000 cars. Not only does going green save energy and our planet, it also contributes to your personal savings and improved health! What are some of the changes I have made? *I have replaced all of the lights in my house with compact fluorescent light bulbs. Fact: ENERGY STAR qualified light bulbs use 75% less energy than standard incandescent light bulbs and last 10 times longer. They also save $30+ in electricity costs in each bulbs lifetime. *Eating organic fruits and vegetables Fact: Purchasing from local farmers keeps money in the local economy. Health Benefit: Organic food is free of pesticides and antibiotics. * Recycling scrap paper at work and recycling cans and bottles at home. Fact: It takes 2-3.5 tons of trees to make 1 ton of paper. The recycling of paper will save 60% energy. If offices across the country increased 2-sided photocopying, 15 million trees could be saved. Fact: The recycling of aluminum will save 95% energy and reduce pollution by 95%. The recycling of one aluminum can will save enough energy to run a TV for 6 hours. Fact: The recycling of glass will save 50% energy, generate 20% less air pollution and 50% less water pollution * Turning off the lights and the fans when I am not in the room. Fact: By turning off and un-plugging non essential lights and appliances, the electricity generated by fossil fuels for a single home puts more carbon dioxide into the air than 2 average cars. * Driving my car less Fact: Saves money on gas. Health Benefit: Biking, rollerblading and walking to nearby stores and restaurants improves cardiovascular health. * I just moved into a new place, so for large pieces of furniture I have been searching Craigslist.com. On the weekends, I wake up early to take my dog for a walk, in search of some cool garage sales too! Fact: Buy used. Buy Local. Know where your money is going and what it is being spent on. *I went and got a library card. I also rent DVD’s from the library. They have some really good movies in stock and they’re free! Fact: This saves money, ink and paper that go into printing new books. What I intend to do: *Buy a water filter to purify tap water and pour it into reusable water bottles when I’m on the go! Fact: Bottled water is expensive and generates large amount of container waste. Fact: We create enough plastic water bottles to give each American 167 bottles each. Fact: Only 23% of water bottles are recycled, leaving 38 billion bottles to landfills. Fact: It takes 700 years for a plastic bottle to start to decompose. Fact: We create enough plastic water bottles to use 1.5 million barrels of oil per year. That’s enough oil to fuel 100,000 cars per year! Fact: We use enough plastic to wrap all of Texas every year. *Make my own toxic free cleaning products with vinegar, baking soda, lemon, soap and water. Fact: Making your own cleaning products saves money, time and packaging and improves indoor air quality. By starting small you can make a BIG difference!