Our Green Dream Home

Green Lifestyles at Yahoo.com have wonderful information.  This is where I am getting most of the tips listed here.

Here is the link http://apps.yahoo.com/canvas/2stfYQ7g/YahooFullView/funfacts.php?pq=312

Addional Tax credit information: 

With the Tax Credit for windows there are requirement of  ----

a U-Factor equal to or less than 0.30 and a Solar Heat Gain Coefficient (SHGC) equal to or less than 0.30.

Satterwhite was able to uprade their windows to this standard for only $15 dollars a piece.  I was thrilled. ********

My Tip for this week :

1)  Leaving a photocopier on overnight uses as much energy as making 1,500 copies.

2)  It takes a pound of chemical fertilizers to produce the cotton to make a t shirt and a pair of jeans

3) When buying plastic, be sure its HDPE, LDPE or PP so it can be recycled.

4) Servicing your furnace every two years could save you 10% each year on your heating bill.

5)  Using a commercial car wash uses the least amount of water.

6) Putting your computer on sleep or hibernate reduces 95% of its energy consumption.

7)  It takes 1,900,000,000 liters of oil to produce the 100 billion plastic bags used in the US annually

8)  Air pollution kills 2-3 million people every year.

9)  If we increased our public transit ridership by just 10% it would save 135 million gallons of gas.

10) A mineral based sunscreen is a more environmentally friendly option, and better for your health.  (This is funny information since at the moment we are buried in snow lol)

11) It takes 5 refrigerators worth of power to power a Sony Playstation 3. (Make sure not only to turn it off during non usage, but unplug it)

12) Making paper from recycled sources produces 35% less water pollution.

13) Ensuring that all equipment is off or in sleep mode after work can reduce energy consumption by 80%.

14) The average American uses 100 gallons of water just in the morning.

15) If every American replaced one roll of toilet paper with 100% recycled, it would save 423,900 trees.

16) If you replaced your 5 most frequently used light bulbs with CFLs you could save $60 a year.

17) 80% of the energy required to run a dishwasher is used to heat the water.

18) By reusing just a single paper bag, you save 17 trees.

19) 525 lbs of trash produced per person each year is just from product packaging.

20) You can stop the deliver of your newspaper while on vacation to reduce waste and fuel consumption.

21) The average person can save 250 gallons of gas by carpooling each year.

22) One tree provides $31,250 worth of oxygen over a 50 year period.

23) Americans currently recycle about 30% of our garbage, although most could be recycled.

24)Dryers use a lot of energy, if you do need to use one use the moisture sensor so you don't over dry.

25)A residential wind turbine can create energy from just a 7-10 mph wind.

26)Using a solar water heater can save you two thirds over a conventional system.

27) Removing your roof rack from your vehical when not in use can increase gas mileage by 5%

28) We emit 3 million tons of toxic chemicals into the environment each year.

29) Replacing one bulb with a compact flourescent is like taking 1 million cars off the road.

30) Repairing and reusing clothes is a good way to preserve resources.

31) The average person products 1,609 lbs of trash each year.

32)  You can save 10% on heating and cooling by insulting the ducts in your home.

33) It takes 95% less energy to produce recycled aluminum than it does to produce aluminum orginally

34) LOWES is selling Solar panels that produces AC Current (built in DC converter) and can be wired directly to a homes Breaker Box. Each panel produces 175 watts a piece. I do not know how many can be daisy chained together on one breaker.You would have to contract an Electrician for advice in this area.  Current only available in select California locations.

 

Prior Tips:

Things companies can do:

* Energy Star 

Buying office equipment that is Energy Star rated ensures your office can be more energy efficient. 

-- Always Learning something new.  I had no idea that Office equipment was also being energy star rated.

* Paper recycling bins 

The break/lunch rooms.  Many Many of the lunches we buy come in paper boxes that can be recycled.

* Eliminate Paper coffee cups

Give all of the employess reusable coffee cups

* Biodegradable trash bags

How many times does a company throw away have filled trash bags from out desk area.  At least if they are biodegradable, they will break down in the land fill. 

 

Water bottles

Kids are the worst for throwing away items without even thinking about where they end up.  You can go to any soccer field in America after a day of play and find the trash barrel overflowing with plastic water bottles. 

I propose that we make keeping the bottles fun and personal.

Take a printer label that you can buy at any office supply store, have the kids decorate them with whatever they want and attach them to a water bottle.  This will encourage the kids to reuse this bottle and it will also help prevent the passing of germs.

  

Shopping bags

Make yourself some grocies bags.  You don't have to pay designer prices! 

Go to the fabric store and pick up some cheep or discontinued fabric.  I good inexpensive fabric is Muslin

Making the bag takes basic sewing skills.  If you don't have a sewing machine you probally know someone that does or maybe you could contact your local school about making these bags for a Home Economics project.  They still have home Economics in school don't they?