LOOKING FOR SIMPLE — and cheap — ways to save the planet this Earth Day? We've got 20. Follow just a few of these tips, and you'll earn a green star.
1. Clean Out Your Mailbox
The average American receives 11 pieces of unsolicited junk mail each week — accounting for 100 million trees cut down annually, according to the Center for a New American Dream, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting responsible consumerism. Reducing your junk mail is easy, click here for instructions on how to do it. It takes just a few minutes of your time.
Impact
This government-run program puts its stamp of approval on products that meet strict energy-efficiency guidelines. It's become a given to look for the Energy Star label on big appliances like refrigerators, where the distinction means one model is at least 15% more energy-efficient than the federal standard. But you'll also find the Energy Star label on smaller purchases, including DVD players, dehumidifiers, battery chargers and cordless phones.
Impact
Keeping your cellphone, iPod, PDA, digital camera, laptop computer and other portable electronic devices charged is a full-time job — for your electrical outlets. So long as they're plugged in, battery chargers keep drawing power, even if there's no device to charge (or the battery is already at full capacity). Get your gadgets off the grid with a SolarStyle SC002-Charger FK ($56). Its seven connectors can adapt any of your devices. Just plug 'em into the checkbook-size device and place it in a sunny spot.
Impact
Most toilets use 3.5 gallons of water per flush; low-flow models use just 1.6 gallons. Make your porcelain throne run like one that's more energy-efficient by placing a gravel-filled gallon milk jug inside the basin. That causes the basin to fill more quickly, and with less water.
Impact
It takes one-third of a pound of chemical fertilizers and pesticides to produce enough cotton for one T-shirt, according to TreeHugger.com, a site dedicated to promoting sustainability. Go a greener route — without giving up brand names — by looking for organic cotton at your favorite retailer. A pair of women's Levi's eco skinny jeans goes for $65; conventional pairs range from $48 to $182. In March, Gap began offering organic cotton tees for men. At $16.50 each, they're priced the same as other plain T-shirts offered.
Impact
Picking the right brand of coffee can be as energizing for the planet as for your brain. Peace Coffee sells only beans that are organic, fair trade and shade grown. Put plainly, they support small farms that don't use chemicals or clear the land of trees to make room for more coffee plants. You'll pay $10 to $12 per pound. For an extra jolt, try the new "Sow the Seeds" blend of beans from Ethiopia, Colombia and Sumatra — $2 of the $12 purchase price go to conserve farmland in the Midwest.
Impact
This Mother's Day, show Mom how sensitive and caring you are. You didn't just remember to send flowers, you also helped the planet at the same time! Organic Bouquet, a national delivery service, sends eco-friendly blooms fresh from growers. A 35-bloom bouquet of organic stargazer lilies is $60. Bonus: A free reward program lets you earn one point per $1 spent, with points redeemable for discounts of future orders.
Impact
Each time you drive, fly or switch on your kitchen lights, you're using energy — and producing harmful greenhouse gases as a result. In this case, every little bit hurts. A family of four that drives two cars, spends $274 a month on electricity/gas; one cross-country flight for that family produces a whopping 53,766 pounds of harmful emissions annually, according to estimates from Terra Pass, a company that invests in clean energy projects.
But you can make less of an impact without giving up your car. Several companies, including Terra Pass and Driving Green help counterbalance emissions with contributions to projects producing clean energy (say, building wind-power turbines) or reducing emissions (harnessing harmful methane gas for energy production).
Impact
Picking the right airline is another way to reduce the harmful carbon gases produced during flight. New airline SilverJet is carbon neutral, which means it offsets the greenhouse gases emitted during flight by investing in projects that produce clean energy. A fee to offset carbon emissions is built into each fare. British Airways offers, but does not require, a similar fee add-on. Depending on the distance between your departing and arriving airports, the fee could be as little as $10.
Impact
Nearly 95% of dry-cleaners use the chemical perchloroethylene, or "perc," to clean your clothing, notes the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The problem? It's a known carcinogen, and a common soil contaminant when it leaches into the soil from dry-cleaning facilities. Alternative dry-cleaning methods that use water or liquid carbon dioxide are no more expensive, and much better for you and the environment. OXXO, a Florida-based chain that uses environmentally-friendly solvents, has begun expanding nationwide. You can also search for your nearest wet dry-cleaners here and here.
Impact
Instead of kicking your old dinosaur of a computer to the curb, take the time to dispose of it properly. Electronics account for 4% of all solid waste, according to the EPA. A hefty portion of that is the lead, mercury and other hazardous materials found in circuit boards. Even the plastic cases of some devices can become toxic over time. Happily, most sanitation departments and electronics manufacturers have recycling programs in place. Hewlett-Packard's Recycling Center, for example, charges $48 to dispose of a desktop computer, but gives you a $50 coupon on your next purchase. For more tips, click here.
Impact
There's a big difference between a hot shower and one that's scalding. You can prevent the latter and save energy by lowering your hot water thermostat to about 120 degrees, notes Consumer Reports' Greener Choices. Bonus: Less heat will escape from the boiler, which means you'll spend even less on cooling your home during the summer.
Impact
Add some oomph to your charitable donations by making every mouse click count. From search engines to shopping portals, there are plenty of free ways to send a little more to nonprofits in need. Link to the Barnes & Noble web site through iGive.com, and you can send 2% of your purchase to the Sierra Club (or any other of thousands of eligible nonprofits). Conduct your web searches through GoodSearch.com (instead of, say, Google) and generate 10 cents each search for Action for a Clean Environment. For more sites to try, click here and here.
Impact
Paper or plastic? If you really want to make an impact, "neither" is the right choice. Although producing plastic bags uses 40% less energy than paper ones, they also take 12,000 times as long to decompose, according to the EPA. The best solution is to provide your own bags, be they reusable totes or plastic picked up during an earlier shopping trip. Plenty of grocers give discounts for reusing bags. At Whole Foods, you'll save five cents for every bag you provide; ShopRite knocks off two cents per bag.
Impact
If you've been putting off buying a new water heater or replacing those old windows, this year is the year to make it happen. Not only will eco-friendly home renovations give your home a facelift, but done right, they also reduce energy bills and qualify you for a tax break next April.
Impact
OK, so you're not the camping type. That doesn't mean you can't have an environmentally friendly — and luxurious — vacation. At the four-star El Monte Sagrado in Taos, N.M., for example, your room includes a private patio, gas fireplace and hot tub. But the resort is also geothermally-heated and solar-powered. Wastewater is purified and used to irrigate ponds on the property.
Impact
Improving your gas mileage is beneficial to your wallet and the environment — you'll spend less on gas, and your car will emit fewer greenhouse gases. The simplest way to improve your mileage is to check your tire pressure. Properly inflated tires improve gas mileage by 3.3%, according to the Alliance to Save Energy.
Impact
Staying warm and increasing your home's energy efficiency during the winter don't have to be mutually exclusive propositions. One way to do both is to blend your petroleum home heating oil with biodiesel made from animal fat or vegetable oil. You'll pay more at the outset — a blend of oil and biodiesel is usually just two to three cents more than regular oil alone, according to the National Oilheat Research Alliance, a trade group. But making the switch doesn't require any additional home modifications, and you'll reduce your carbon emissions by 20%. To find a supplier, click here.
Impact
The benefits of saving energy and using less gas aren't limited to owning a hybrid vehicle. They're just as helpful to the world — and even more so for your wallet — when you're renting. While some rental companies have a few hybrids (Enterprise, for example, offers the Toyota Prius), EV Rental offers only environmentally friendly vehicles. They have counters at airports in 12 states, as well as in 12 countries abroad, including the United Kingdom, Mexico and Costa Rica. (For the latest in hybrids from the New York International Auto Show, click here.)
Impact
In 2006, Americans spent a record $11 billion on bottled water, according to the Earth Policy Institute. Hydration is good, but all those bottles require a liquid fuel of a different kind to produce — 1.5 million barrels of crude oil. Go bottle-less and fill up a reusable container with filtered water from your sink. For $125, the Aquasana Water Filter hooks up to your tap and provides up to 30 gallons of filtered water an hour.
Impact
1. Clean Out Your Mailbox
The average American receives 11 pieces of unsolicited junk mail each week — accounting for 100 million trees cut down annually, according to the Center for a New American Dream, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting responsible consumerism. Reducing your junk mail is easy, click here for instructions on how to do it. It takes just a few minutes of your time.Impact
Cut the amount of junk mail you receive, and each year you'll save two trees and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 92 pounds.
2. Look for the Energy Star Label
This government-run program puts its stamp of approval on products that meet strict energy-efficiency guidelines. It's become a given to look for the Energy Star label on big appliances like refrigerators, where the distinction means one model is at least 15% more energy-efficient than the federal standard. But you'll also find the Energy Star label on smaller purchases, including DVD players, dehumidifiers, battery chargers and cordless phones.Impact
You'd pay the same — $30 — for a cordless phone, whether it had the Energy Star label or not. But according to Energy Star estimates, the energy-efficient version would save you $84 in energy costs each year, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 578 pounds.
3. Solar Charge Your Gadgets
Keeping your cellphone, iPod, PDA, digital camera, laptop computer and other portable electronic devices charged is a full-time job — for your electrical outlets. So long as they're plugged in, battery chargers keep drawing power, even if there's no device to charge (or the battery is already at full capacity). Get your gadgets off the grid with a SolarStyle SC002-Charger FK ($56). Its seven connectors can adapt any of your devices. Just plug 'em into the checkbook-size device and place it in a sunny spot.Impact
By Energy Star estimates, if Americans switched their estimated 230 million portable electronic devices to more energy-efficient chargers, each year we'd prevent the release of one million tons of greenhouse-gas emissions. Someone switching over three devices — say, a digital camera, a cellphone and an MP3 player — would personally reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 26 pounds.
4. Flush Out Wasteful Habits
Most toilets use 3.5 gallons of water per flush; low-flow models use just 1.6 gallons. Make your porcelain throne run like one that's more energy-efficient by placing a gravel-filled gallon milk jug inside the basin. That causes the basin to fill more quickly, and with less water.
Impact
A filled gallon jug displaces a gallon of water in your tank. You'll save one gallon of water with every flush. Assuming you flush twice a day at home, that's 730 gallons over the course of a year.
5. Pick Organic Cotton
It takes one-third of a pound of chemical fertilizers and pesticides to produce enough cotton for one T-shirt, according to TreeHugger.com, a site dedicated to promoting sustainability. Go a greener route — without giving up brand names — by looking for organic cotton at your favorite retailer. A pair of women's Levi's eco skinny jeans goes for $65; conventional pairs range from $48 to $182. In March, Gap began offering organic cotton tees for men. At $16.50 each, they're priced the same as other plain T-shirts offered.Impact
Buy one organic T-shirt, and that's one-third of a pound less chemicals making it into the soil. Jeans? Depending on the cut, that's at least a whole pound less.
6. Supercharge Your Coffee
Picking the right brand of coffee can be as energizing for the planet as for your brain. Peace Coffee sells only beans that are organic, fair trade and shade grown. Put plainly, they support small farms that don't use chemicals or clear the land of trees to make room for more coffee plants. You'll pay $10 to $12 per pound. For an extra jolt, try the new "Sow the Seeds" blend of beans from Ethiopia, Colombia and Sumatra — $2 of the $12 purchase price go to conserve farmland in the Midwest.Impact
For the same price per pound as conventional blends from Starbucks, Peet's Coffee & Tea and others, you're getting the added benefit of supporting sustainable growing methods.
7. Say It With (Organic) Flowers
This Mother's Day, show Mom how sensitive and caring you are. You didn't just remember to send flowers, you also helped the planet at the same time! Organic Bouquet, a national delivery service, sends eco-friendly blooms fresh from growers. A 35-bloom bouquet of organic stargazer lilies is $60. Bonus: A free reward program lets you earn one point per $1 spent, with points redeemable for discounts of future orders.Impact
Prices are competitive with, and often beat, those of other national flower delivery services. (Those stargazer lilies, for example, are $70 at ProFlowers.com.) You'll simultaneously save $10 and promote eco-friendly growing methods.
8. Offset Your Emissions
Each time you drive, fly or switch on your kitchen lights, you're using energy — and producing harmful greenhouse gases as a result. In this case, every little bit hurts. A family of four that drives two cars, spends $274 a month on electricity/gas; one cross-country flight for that family produces a whopping 53,766 pounds of harmful emissions annually, according to estimates from Terra Pass, a company that invests in clean energy projects.But you can make less of an impact without giving up your car. Several companies, including Terra Pass and Driving Green help counterbalance emissions with contributions to projects producing clean energy (say, building wind-power turbines) or reducing emissions (harnessing harmful methane gas for energy production).
Impact
Driven 12,000 miles annually, a 2006 Mercedes-Benz S500 emits 13,200 pounds of carbon dioxide. A $48 Drive Green pass counterbalances that amount in clean energy production.
9. Fly Emission-Free
Picking the right airline is another way to reduce the harmful carbon gases produced during flight. New airline SilverJet is carbon neutral, which means it offsets the greenhouse gases emitted during flight by investing in projects that produce clean energy. A fee to offset carbon emissions is built into each fare. British Airways offers, but does not require, a similar fee add-on. Depending on the distance between your departing and arriving airports, the fee could be as little as $10.Impact
A round-trip ticket from New York to London Sept. 1-8 would cost you $993 on either British Airways or Continental Airlines. But only the British Airways fare includes a $20 fee to counterbalance the 2,957 pounds of greenhouse gases emitted during the trip.
10. Try "Wet" Dry-Cleaning
Nearly 95% of dry-cleaners use the chemical perchloroethylene, or "perc," to clean your clothing, notes the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The problem? It's a known carcinogen, and a common soil contaminant when it leaches into the soil from dry-cleaning facilities. Alternative dry-cleaning methods that use water or liquid carbon dioxide are no more expensive, and much better for you and the environment. OXXO, a Florida-based chain that uses environmentally-friendly solvents, has begun expanding nationwide. You can also search for your nearest wet dry-cleaners here and here.Impact
Not only will you reduce your exposure to a toxic chemical, but you'll also be preventing the release of more harmful perc into the soil.
11. Recycle Your Electronics
Instead of kicking your old dinosaur of a computer to the curb, take the time to dispose of it properly. Electronics account for 4% of all solid waste, according to the EPA. A hefty portion of that is the lead, mercury and other hazardous materials found in circuit boards. Even the plastic cases of some devices can become toxic over time. Happily, most sanitation departments and electronics manufacturers have recycling programs in place. Hewlett-Packard's Recycling Center, for example, charges $48 to dispose of a desktop computer, but gives you a $50 coupon on your next purchase. For more tips, click here.Impact
By EPA estimates, properly disposing a desktop computer keeps about three pounds of hazardous materials (from the computer's components) out of landfills.
12. Cool Down
There's a big difference between a hot shower and one that's scalding. You can prevent the latter and save energy by lowering your hot water thermostat to about 120 degrees, notes Consumer Reports' Greener Choices. Bonus: Less heat will escape from the boiler, which means you'll spend even less on cooling your home during the summer.Impact
Lowering your boiler from high to medium heat can chop your bill by as much as 10%, according to Consumer Reports. For someone spending $300 a month, that's an annual savings of $360. You'll also reduce greenhouse-gas emissions by 2,474 pounds.
13. Click Here to Do Good
Add some oomph to your charitable donations by making every mouse click count. From search engines to shopping portals, there are plenty of free ways to send a little more to nonprofits in need. Link to the Barnes & Noble web site through iGive.com, and you can send 2% of your purchase to the Sierra Club (or any other of thousands of eligible nonprofits). Conduct your web searches through GoodSearch.com (instead of, say, Google) and generate 10 cents each search for Action for a Clean Environment. For more sites to try, click here and here.Impact
In March 2006 alone, 2.3 million free click-throughs on The Rainforest Site generated enough contributions from advertisers and other sponsors to save 616 acres of rainforest. An individual clicking through every day for a year could fund preservation for 4,161 square feet.
14. Eschew Plastic Bags
Paper or plastic? If you really want to make an impact, "neither" is the right choice. Although producing plastic bags uses 40% less energy than paper ones, they also take 12,000 times as long to decompose, according to the EPA. The best solution is to provide your own bags, be they reusable totes or plastic picked up during an earlier shopping trip. Plenty of grocers give discounts for reusing bags. At Whole Foods, you'll save five cents for every bag you provide; ShopRite knocks off two cents per bag.Impact
If every person in New York City used one fewer plastic bag each year, it would reduce waste by five million pounds and save 22 barrels of oil, according to the EPA. You, individually, would save 0.02 ounces of oil for every plastic bag reused, refused or recycled.
15. Eco-Renovate Your Home
If you've been putting off buying a new water heater or replacing those old windows, this year is the year to make it happen. Not only will eco-friendly home renovations give your home a facelift, but done right, they also reduce energy bills and qualify you for a tax break next April.Impact
Buying an energy-efficient water heater would net you a tax credit of up to $300. It would also cut your annual utility bill by about $64 and reduce greenhouse-gas emissions by 440 pounds.
16. Stay at an Eco-Resort
OK, so you're not the camping type. That doesn't mean you can't have an environmentally friendly — and luxurious — vacation. At the four-star El Monte Sagrado in Taos, N.M., for example, your room includes a private patio, gas fireplace and hot tub. But the resort is also geothermally-heated and solar-powered. Wastewater is purified and used to irrigate ponds on the property.Impact
Say you were looking for a beach-front villa at an all-inclusive resort on Andros Island in the Bahamas. You'd pay $495 per night at Emerald Palms, $430 per night at Tiamo Resorts. But only the latter uses 100% solar power. A solo traveler would save $65 a night and promote sustainability on the island.
17. Check Your Tire Pressure
Improving your gas mileage is beneficial to your wallet and the environment — you'll spend less on gas, and your car will emit fewer greenhouse gases. The simplest way to improve your mileage is to check your tire pressure. Properly inflated tires improve gas mileage by 3.3%, according to the Alliance to Save Energy.Impact
For the expense of a quarter or two at the local gas station, someone driving a 2007 Ford Focus 12,000 miles annually would save $35 in gas and reduce greenhouse-gas emissions by 254 pounds.
18. Blend Home Heating Oil
Staying warm and increasing your home's energy efficiency during the winter don't have to be mutually exclusive propositions. One way to do both is to blend your petroleum home heating oil with biodiesel made from animal fat or vegetable oil. You'll pay more at the outset — a blend of oil and biodiesel is usually just two to three cents more than regular oil alone, according to the National Oilheat Research Alliance, a trade group. But making the switch doesn't require any additional home modifications, and you'll reduce your carbon emissions by 20%. To find a supplier, click here.Impact
For a household that spent $1,118 to heat their home last winter, switching to a mix of home heating oil and biodiesel reduces greenhouse-gas emissions by 1,537 pounds. They'd see their bill go up $14.
19. Rent a Hybrid
The benefits of saving energy and using less gas aren't limited to owning a hybrid vehicle. They're just as helpful to the world — and even more so for your wallet — when you're renting. While some rental companies have a few hybrids (Enterprise, for example, offers the Toyota Prius), EV Rental offers only environmentally friendly vehicles. They have counters at airports in 12 states, as well as in 12 countries abroad, including the United Kingdom, Mexico and Costa Rica. (For the latest in hybrids from the New York International Auto Show, click here.)Impact
Say you're driving 500 miles over the course of a weeklong rental in Phoenix. Renting a Toyota Prius from EV Rental would reduce greenhouse-gas emissions by 143 pounds, compared with a Chevy Aveo from Alamo Rent-A-Car. (You would, however, pay $100 more for the weeklong rental; $64 when you factor in fuel savings.)
20. Skip Bottled Water
In 2006, Americans spent a record $11 billion on bottled water, according to the Earth Policy Institute. Hydration is good, but all those bottles require a liquid fuel of a different kind to produce — 1.5 million barrels of crude oil. Go bottle-less and fill up a reusable container with filtered water from your sink. For $125, the Aquasana Water Filter hooks up to your tap and provides up to 30 gallons of filtered water an hour.Impact
By switching to a water filter or drinking from the tap, someone who drank a $1.50 bottle of water a day could save 2.3 liters of oil annually — not to mention a whopping $547.50 ($447.50, after purchasing the filter).
Source: www.smartmoney.com
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