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Ten eco-friendly things you can do
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The other day my 11 year-old son came to me and asked, "Dad, are we dumping all our trash into the oceans and filling them up?" I would have been hard-pressed to come up with a more appropriate teaching moment. It was then that I started to tell him what we're doing for the planet instead of letting his mind be filled with what others are doing to it.
He learned about what we've done with our own home, but with the welcome wave of "green" washing over our local and national landscape, I thought it may be helpful to take some time to list some basic things homeowners can do to conserve energy, help the environment and save money. These items are on my mind all day so I tend to take for granted the fact that everyone knows them. But some don't and my passion is to do whatever I can to contribute to saving our natural resources.
Use efficient lighting: Compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) use 70% less energy and last 10 times longer than standard bulbs. A local flooring business, Alexandria Carpet One, uses these in their showroom exclusively and saves over 34 million watts per year! But your choice is not limited to CFL's. They also use LED spots in their "green" area for even greater cost savings (7 watts) and to add to the overall lighting temperature to show how colors change under different light sources.
Adjust your thermostat: Set your programmable thermostat two degrees warmer than usual in summer and two degrees cooler in winter—then watch your energy use drop. A programmable thermostat can be purchased for less than $75 and will pay for itself quickly.
Reduce phantom load: Home electronics draw 40% of the electricty they use while turned off—unplug chargers and home entertainment systems when not in use. In my home, we use power strips with on/off switches for equipment. When not watching or listening, we hit the switch and save energy.
Conserve water in- and outdoors: Treating and pumping water takes a huge amount of electricity—saving water saves money and power too. You can also go so far as to capture rainwater from your downspouts in a drum and use that for watering flowerbeds and gardens. There are also a variety of solar-powered pumps that can be integrated as well.
Plant a tree at home: Carefully chosen and planted trees soak up CO2 and shade your home for lower summer utility bills. If you plan in advance, as the tree grows it can shade the south-facing wall of your home and reduce what is called the "heat island" effect. This effect refers to how certain building materials absorb, then radiate heat back into the atmosphere, raising temperatures in the vicinity by as much as 10 degrees.
Drive less: Walk, ride a bike, carpool, take the bus, and combine trips when possible. You can even find out if your employer is willing to install bike racks and a shower facility. This is one way a business can walk the green talk.
Keep your car in tune: A poorly tuned engine wastes 10 to 20% of its fuel; a clogged air filter risks a 10% increase in fuel consumption; and low tire pressure means another 5% drop in efficiency.
Reduce, reuse, recycle: Create less waste by reusing or recycling items. I was in a DC-based architectural firm a week ago and saw the reuse of a door as a table... and with some classy, renewable and very-green linoleum installed on the top surface, it was a perfect example of resource conservation. Also, a great website - Etreev.com - specializes in sourcing of used commercial furniture. Some companies discard furniture after a few months or years when they move, are sold or just do a make-over. There are some beautiful choices at great savings and it's a very environmentally-friendly choice.
Buy local: Most food is shipped more than 1,500 miles to get to your plate—locally grown food saves fuel and tastes better. Go a step further and go organic. The production of organic foods is very earth-friendly.
Talk: Raise awareness among your friends, family, and coworkers, and tell government leaders you want meaningful climate protection planning and policies now. In that spirit, do you know what the following logo's represent? I copied them from a green convention brochure and they show that the publishers really had the environment in mind when producing their materials.
Make "green" home-improvement choices: Earth-friendly flooring can have a major impact on your home's carbon footprint. The image at the beginning of this article shows soda bottles about to be recycled into carpet. Find a sales person who knows the green side of the flooring business and do your research. Our blog is a great place to start and our sales staff is on the cutting edge of green flooring choices. Better yet, deal with a LEED AP and you'll know you're working with someone who has a breadth of knowledge far beyond your average sales person.
Check out your contractor!
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