Simple Change, Huge Impact
Read Handle with Care
• If every American home replaced just ONE standard lightbulb with a CFL, it would reduce greenhouse gasses equivalent to the emissions of nearly 800,000 cars.
• CFL’s generate 70% less heat than regular bulbs, making them safer to operate and keeping your home cooler in the summer months.
• The average CFL lasts nine times longer than a normal bulb, most more than 10 years.
• A CFL bulb draws just 18 watts of power, but puts out 60 watts worth of light.
• Toxic? There is a bit of mercury in CFLs, although it is minimal and there is far more coming out of a smokestack of a power plant that is generating electricity to power a standard incandescent bulb.
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What is Green Switch?
We all know our homes quietly drain electricity that we pay for but don’t actually get to use. There are those lights in the basement that we always forget to turn off, or thermostats that are heating or cooling unused spaces, or doing so at the wrong time of the day.
And there is “phantom power”– electricity flowing to electronics that are in stand-by or “off” mode. GreenSwitch offers a simple and affordable way to control household energy that saves you time and money!
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GREEN Resources
Every Day Tips (short videos) from Ed Begley, Jr.
Make Your Home More Eco-Friendly by RealSimple
100 Ways to Conserve Water
Flip and Tumble Bags
What One Thing Should I Recycle?
GREEN Sites
You Don't Want to Miss!
Take a bus. Walk. Ride a bike.
• In 2006, Americans took 10.1 billion trips on public transportation, the highest ridership in 49 years.
• Public transportation in the United States saves 1.4 billion gallons of gasoline each year, or nearly 4 million gallons of gasoline per day. That eliminates the need for 34 super tankers of oil to make their way to the US each year.
• It also eliminates 140,769 local fuel deliveries, those big tanker trucks that clog our streets on their way to local gas stations, not to mention the wear and tear they exact on our roads.
Source: Living Like Ed.
Read more green transporation tips from Ed.
ED BEGLEY JR.'S GUIDE TO SUSTAINABLE LIVING is full of practical, straightforward advice and how-to guidance, answering all of your questions about greening your home and your lifestyle.
First, Ed reminds us that the conservation of resources - ours and the planet’s - is our ultimate goal. When we conserve we all benefit and you will find that less really is more, and more sustainable.
The book is divided in three sections: Conserve, Produce, and Manage. Ed says, “The first thing any good climber knows is to lighten their load before they take the first step. Likewise, before you even consider your first solar panel or wind turbine, you must lighten your energy load. This book is a simple guide to the three steps to energy independence that really MUST be done in the following order: Conservation, Production and Management.”
1. CONSERVATION: The first step involves taking a look at the resources you’re using and drawing up a game plan for efficiently using them. Chapters included are: The Green Home Audit, Electricity, Lighting, Insulation, Windows and Doors, Water Usage.
2. PRODUCTION: Having done all of the conservation work possible, the next step to sustainability is producing your own energy. The chapters cover: Solar Power, Wind Power, Building and Remodeling, Garden and Compost
3. MANAGEMENT: The final section helps readers make informed lifestyle choices by providing information on some of the most recent advances in home maintenance, and more.. Chapters cover: Heating Your Home, Cooling Your Home, Heating Water, Decorating and Cleaning Your Home, Babies and Nurseries.
Printed on 100 percent recycled paper and printed on soy-based inks, ED BEGLEY, JR.’S GUIDE TO SUSTAINABLE LIVING is environmentally conscious from beginning to end. With Ed’s personal accounts of his own experiences greening his home, instructive diagrams, sample costs and paybacks sidebars, and illustrative photos, ED BEGLEY JR.'S GUIDE TO SUSTAINABLE LIVING will be a helpful guide and an exhaustive collection of ideas, advice, and information to make an eco-friendly lifestyle attainable for you and your family.
Read excerpts from the book here.
The Power of ONE
• If every household in the US bought just ONE box of 100% recycled tissue (175 sheets) instead of one box of virgin-fiber facial tissue, we could save 163,000 trees.
• If every household in the US bought just ONE roll of 100% recycled toilet paper (500 sheets) instead of one roll of virgin-fiber toilet paper, we could save another 423,900 trees.
• If every household in the US bought just ONE roll of 100% recycled paper towels (70 sheets) instead of one roll of virgin-fiber, we could save another 544,000 trees.
• If every household in the US bought just ONE package of 100% recycled paper napkins (250 count) instead of virgin-fiber, we could save another one million trees.
ONE little thing below can make a difference!
Try ONE today.
• Change the furnace filter every 60 days.
• Set your thermostat cooler/warmer in the winter/summer.
• Wash clothes in cold water.
• Skip the dishwasher’s heat cycle.
• Run full loads in of dishes.
• Clean the refrigerator coils.
• Switch to compact fluorescent bulbs. (CFLs)
• Use the dryer’s moisture sensor instead of a timed dry.
• Draw the drapes to seal out drafts and keep in/out the heat.
• Get Energy-Star qualified appliances.
• Fix a leaky toilet.
• Take shorter showers.
• Sweep the sidewalk instead of hosing.
Ed recommends the book "50 Simple Things You Can Do to Save the Earth". Remember, simplicity is the key.
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