Going Green Tips: 5 Easy Things You Can Do at Home

Going green, also known as eco friendly living, is a growing trend around the world.  Now more than ever, people are beginning to realize the impact their actions and decisions have on the world around us.  Every time we get in a car, ride on a plane, or make a purchase at the grocery store, we know that energy is consumed, greenhouse gasses are created, and landfills get a little fuller.  It’s easy to become overwhelmed by the vastness of it all, but relax and take a step back.  No one of us has to save the world alone.  But what we can do is each take a few small steps every day.  Small changes make a big difference in the grand scheme of things.  With that in mind, we’re going to discuss a few easy things that you can do at home to make a big difference in the world around you.

1. Recycle.  Experts agree that recycling is one of the best and easiest ways to make a difference.  If every person on the planet recycled, we could reduce landfill waste and greenhouse gasses in a very significant way.  Most communities have recycling programs in place already, making it easy to participate.  If your city doesn’t, inquire with local officials about starting a program.

2. Don’t throw it away!  We have a tendency not to think about items we throw away.  They disappear from our sight, so they are out of our minds.  But all those things that the garbage truck hauls away every week do have to go somewhere, and that place is a landfill.  Landfills are a major cause of greenhouse gasses and ozone depletion.  So next time you get ready to throw something away, ask yourself if you could possibly use the item in another way or donate it.

3. Turn off the water.  U.S. households waste thousands of gallons of water every year.  A significant amount of this water goes down the sink while we are brushing our teeth, washing our hair, or soaping up in the shower.  Turning off the water during these activities can save a huge amount of water, which not only helps the environment, but also saves you money.

4. Ride your bicycle.  For short trips around town, air up the tires and ride your bike.  It will save you gas and give you some good exercise.  If you don’t have a bicycle, you can walk, ride rollerblades, or even a skateboard.

5. Install low flush toilets and showerheads.  This is another way to consume less water in the bathroom.  Even better yet, if you’re getting ready to put in a new toilet fixture, look into composting toilets.  These fixtures are clean and odorless, and will save you a significant amount of money in water and sewer costs.

While the suggestions above may seem like really small things, don’t underestimate the impact these changes can make.  If every person in the United States made a conscious effort today to turn off the water while brushing their teeth or shampooing their hair, think how many millions of gallons of water would be saved!  Now multiply that over the course of fifty years, and the result is astronomical.  So what are you waiting for?  Now is a great time to jump on the going green bandwagon by recycling, saving some water, and using less energy.  The environment will benefit, and in many cases, your pocketbook will, too.

20 green things in 20 minutes

Carlisle man honored for riding his bike to work
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A Few Things That you Can Do to Increase Gas Mileage of your Car

People today are immensely troubled by the rising gas prices. So many of them want to get the best mileage out of their vehicles. Nearly all of us have a fantasy of getting into a powerful car and drive thousands of miles without having to frequently stop for gas. However, you can now get great gas mileages from your car. However, there are a few things that can be done to increase gas mileage of your car.

Its a proven fact today that if you Tun your engine according to your owner’s manual you can increase gas mileage by a very high percentage whether you do it or you let your mechanic do it. You cannot control all the factors that affect the gas mileage of your car. To increase the mileage of your car by significant levels you must follow the following steps:

For the increasing the gas mileage of your car, you will need the following tips:

* Automotive Parts

* Automotive Repair Manual

* Car Oil

* Car Jacks

* Tire Gauges

Take the following precautions to increase gas mileage of your car:

* Take care of your vehicle. You must clean the interior parts of the engine like the spark plugs, put clean engine oil and have a well-tuned motor that is more efficient than a run-down system.

* You must check your old air filter. If the air filter is clogged and dirty, then you must immediately change the air filter. This will reduce the unnecessary wastage of fuel for the acceleration.

* You must make minimal use of the air conditioner system of your car. This helps in reducing the amount of power that is used in the running of the Air conditioning system.

* You must use the correct fuel in the car. The recommended fuel is the fuel that contains the octane that has a rating of 86. It is observed that the cars that have very powerful engines require the high-octane gas. If your car is emitting funny noises like shaking uncooked popcorn, then you should use the higher-octane gasoline.

* You must always keep your tires properly inflated. That is you must always check the air pressure in the tires. You must maintain the air pressures in the tires as per recommended by the manufacturer. This helps in reducing the friction between the road and the tires and thus the power used for the acceleration and running smoothly is reduced. Thus, it improves the mileage of your car.

* You must drive at even speeds whenever possible. It is more convenient and improves the mileage of the car.

* You must avoid rushing on a highway. You must use cruise control that saves a lot of fuel.

* You must choose the road that has a flat terrain and requires few stops.

* You must drive on a highway whenever possible. A car driving on a city street consumes more fuel than on highway because of stops and accelerations.

* Once you have started doing some errands, try not to stop for long periods as a cold engine consumes more fuel than a warmed up engine.

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(FIRST OF TWO PARTS)

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Don’t Throw It Out: Recycle, Renew and Reuse to Make Things Last

• ISBN13: 9781594865770
• Condition: USED – VERY GOOD
• Notes:

Product Description

What are different things that I could recycle for money?

I’m realing determined to raise two hundred dollars in a few days.
I would consider recycling, but I’m not sure what kind of things I could recycle. Anyone have any ideas?

Top 10 Easiest Things to Recycle

Just about everything is recyclable. One way or the other everything will return to dust at some point in the future. The only differences are how quickly and in what form will they get there. Recycling is a process that helps the products along their path in the right way. The mantra of “reduce-reuse-recycle” is all tied up in the recycling process regardless of the fact that “recycle” is used in the mantra. Unfortunately, some items shoot right through the recycling process to turn to dust after only a few product life cycles. Others, however, take longer to get through the recycling process –which is where reduce, reuse parts come in- and stick around for a second, third fourth and more lives. These are the products environmentalists like and are often the easiest to recycle.

The most and easiest material to recycle

The most recycled material on the planet is steel. For the most part, this is due to the number of cars manufactured and the amount of commercial construction waste generated each year. Steel is a great reuse item because it can be melted and recast without losing integrity. In many cases, the next printer case you see may be recycled steel or something close to it. Printers are notoriously associated as a price loss leader so cheap steel and components need to be found; used and recycled again if they are to be considered viable recycled products.

Aluminum

Aluminum cans are a recycled product that most will be familiar with. They may not be the most recycled product but they can be considered one on the most beneficially recycled where trash and aluminum prices are concerned. Your next printer likely won’t have much aluminum from cans in it but it will help with other areas of printing like markers in the ink cartridges.

Recycled printers

We’ve seen the recycled products being used in components of a printer, but what about recycling the printer as well. You may not think about it all that much, but there are quite a few minerals in computer peripherals like printers, towers and monitors.

Maybe not steel

In many printers, there is a good amount of steel included. For the most part, however, they are comprised of plastic. Plastic makes up the most waste by volume in our waste stream and is readily recyclable into computer shells and more specifically printer components.

Although there are many products that may not be the most recycled, in whatever measured you might consider, the world’s population is starting to recycle just about anything they can think of. Yard waste is a very big category; glass is a large category while paper and cardboard are perhaps the most profitable categories. When you look around, you may also consider; the carpet you’re standing on, the filters your furnace uses and the waste fluids you use every day when recycling.

What are some basic, practical things I can do while driving to increase my fuel economy?

I’ve heard accelerating slower, keeping the RPMs low, turning off the A/C, keeping windows rolled up, and many different other things help increase fuel economy. Is this true? And what are some other techniques I can implement to get better gas mileage.

What are the three simplest, biggest things I can do to “green my life”?

I want to make big eco gains without **too much** money or effort (i.e., doesn’t impede my current lifestyle)

What I do now: I generally use an eco bag, reusable Starbucks mug. I also ride a scooter or take a train rather than drive a car for most travel, and just replaced my old CRT (which is going for recycling at a thrift store) with a top-rated energy efficient LCD TV.

Please give your suggestions for more eco gains I can easily make, with your reasons.

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