March
Thursday 27 March 2008 photo 1/4
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Det står lite samma saker.. men det skadar ju inte att tjata lite!!
(1)
Put a bleach bottle in your toilet. Fill it with water, put on the cap
tightly, and put it in the back part of your toilet. A brick inside a
plastic bag to contain all the crumbs would also work. Since the
average toilet uses 3 to 7 gallons of water per flush, the brick or
bottle will displace some water, so your toilet will use ½ - 1 gallon
less each time someone uses it!
(2) Plant a tree. There are
two ways to do this old idea. You could find a tree (like a maple) that
produces seeds every spring, collect a few, and plant them. Start them
in pots until they’re at least a foot tall, then put them in the yard.
The other way is, of course, to go out and buy a young tree to plant.
The price may vary from $20 to over $200, depending on the size or type
of tree. We know that because of the cost, not everyone can plant a
tree, but it’s a great way to save the earth’s oxygen!
(3)
Re-use your plastic sandwich bags. Plastic takes over 100 years to
biodegrade, so the less plastic we throw out, the better. After using a
plastic bag, wash it out with soapy water and let it dry. Then you can
use it over and over again, and it works just as well as a new bag!
This will also save you some money when you don’t have to buy as many
new bags!
(4) Make your meals earth-friendly. When packing a
lunch, put sandwiches, chips, etc. in reusable plastic containers
instead of sandwich bags. Carry your drink in a washable thermos
bottle, and your lunch in a reusable lunch container. For meals at
home, put leftover food in hard plastic washable and reusable
containers. (You could save glass jars and deli containers for this!)
(5)
Use both sides of paper. If you have to scribble down directions or
make a quick math calculation, don’t just throw the paper away when
you’re done! Save it for the next time you need to jot something down
quickly. Having a few pages of ”scrap” paper around is a good way to
keep yourself from wasting new sheets each time.
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(6)
Don’t give kids nice packaged computer paper to color on. Little kids
seem to love to make one line on a piece of paper and then get a new
one. Because of this, don’t use packaged printer paper (which can be $6
for 500 sheets) when cheaper notebook or recycled paper will work. If
you work in an office, bring home scrap paper that is still blank on
one side! Many network printers print out title sheets with every
printout, telling who printed it. One-sided ”junk” flyers are good
too--sometimes they even come in colors. Use these for kids’ coloring
paper.
(7) Make your house energy efficient. One visitor to
our site mentioned that after installing compact flourescent light
bulbs and other energy-efficient appliances, his electricity bill went
down 75%. Compact flourescant bulbs last ten times longer than regular
incandescent bulbs, plus they don’t produce nearly as much wasted heat.
NOTE: This imformation was updated on 7/5/01.
(8) If you
don’t need a light on, don’t use one! If it’s 1:00 on a bright sunny
day, don’t turn on a light that you don’t need. If you’re going to be
in a room for only a minute, try to go without any electric lights at
all. Most houses have enough windows that you won’t need to use lights
for most of the daytime. And if you do have to turn on a light, turn on
only as many as you need.
(9) If you have a leaky faucet,
catch the drips. If your faucet is leaking, of course you should get it
fixed. But, what about the time before it’s fixed? Put a pan, bowl, or
cup underneath to catch the water, and use it for something else like
watering a plant, cooking, making Kool-Aid, or drinking! There’s
nothing wrong with the water; it came out of the tap just like normal.
Be careful! A leaking faucet can fill a coffee cup in 10 minutes, so
watch the size of your container and how fast it fills up.
(10)
”Recycle” your clothes. Once your kids grow out of their clothes, or
you no longer like or fit into something, DON’T THROW IT AWAY! If you
want to make money, try having a garage sale. Too much work? The
Salvation Army or other clothing donation stores offer tax refunds for
donated clothes. Resale shops will pay you for clothes you give them.
Feeling moral? Donate your clothes to the needy or to other clothing
drives for the poor.
(11) Open windows instead of using air
conditioning. When the temperature outside is right around the
temperature inside, then save some money, electricity, and the earth by
opening some windows. If you do that at night, then your house will
cool down without costing you a cent!
(12) Donate to an
ecological organization. If you don’t feel like doing anything for the
earth, pay someone else to! If you have extra cash, the groups would
greatly benefit from your donation. The more money they have, the more
ways they can reach out to help our earth! To see a list of
organizations you could write to, visit our Organizations To Write To
Page.
(13) Buy organically-grown foods. Some grocery stores
now have organic sections where you can purchase all kinds of fruits,
vegetables, and cereals that have had no chemical fertilizer,
pesticides, or herbicides. Show the stores you care by buying these
things! They’ll be better for you and for the earth because no
chemicals are going into the soil or water.
(14) Snip your
6-pack holders. Countless animals and birds die from uncut 6-pack
holders and other ringed packages each year. They get caught in the
holes and are choked to death. Make it a habit to cut all the rings
apart when you throw away a 6-pack holder!
(15) Buy recycled
products! Paper, packaging, plastic containers, cardboard, and other
products are being sold that have been recycled. By all means, buy
these products, but be carful when reading the labels. Don’t confuse
”recycled” with ”recyclable”! Lots of companies will put the recycling
symbol or ”100% recyclable” on their products to appeal to ecologists.
While that is all fine and good, ”made from recycled waste” or
”post-consumer waste” is what you really want. If you buy recycled
notebook paper for school, no one will really care if your paper is a
shade greyer than the non-recycled kind.
(16) Use permanent
silverware and dishes instead of paper ones. Not only will you save the
earth, you’ll save money! Why use disposable plastic silverware when
you can buy regular ones? The last thing we need is extra garbage in
landfills, and this is a great way to cut down on some of it. Use
permanent kitchenware unless you absolutely have to use disposable
stuff!
(17) In general, don’t use disposable products at all.
Diapers, pens, razors, towels; they’re all disposable, so there are
many ways to do help the earth this way. Use cloth diapers instead of
disposable plastic ones. Don’t use paper towels--old t-shirts or towels
work fine as messy-use rags. Those multi-use paper towels that claim to
be strong enough to use again may be, but it’s still cheaper to use an
old rag, and the rag will probably work better! What’s the use of using
disposable razors if you have to buy a new bag every other week? It
will save you money just to get a good one to keep using! In other
words, don’t get sucked into the world of simple disposable items
because ”it’s easy and convenient.”
(18) Buy in bulk. One
32-ounce bottle will use less packaging than two 16-ounce ones, even
though the total size is the same. Plus, the larger bottle will
probably cost less per ounce than the other two combined! For an
example, let’s look at pop. A 2-liter bottle of pop costs $1, or about
1.5¢ per ounce (there’s 67 ounces). The packaging comes to about 163
square inches. Opposing this is the 12-pack of cans. The cost is about
$3 for 144 ounces, or 2.1¢ per ounce. The total packaging here comes to
600 square inches! The 2-liter is much better! Less cost per ounce, and
a lot less garbage in the landfill!
(19) Don’t buy products
with lots of packaging. As you can see from above, the more packaging,
the more cost. If you see a small product (for example, a toothbrush)
wrapped in five layers of plastic with a flashy cardboardy thing, all
in a box made of a foam-like plastic, chances are most of the price is
because of the packaging. Find a similar product with less packaging.
Wouldn’t a plastic wrapper or cardboard box be just as good? Also, stay
away from individually wrapped candy and other products. Also, select
fresh produce from display bins instead of the pre-packaged variety.
The more packaging, the more price, and (more importantly) the more
garbage in the landfills.
(20) Buy dolphin-safe tuna and
other eco-safe products. Every day, dolphins get caught in tuna nets.
You can do something about it! Check the label of the tuna you buy to
make sure it it dolphin-safe, that is, catching the tuna doesn’t harm
dolphins. There will be a special logo on the label to tell you if it
is dolphin-safe.
(21) Spread the word about conservation. Any
way you can, get people to think about the earth. There are almost
6,000,000,000 people on this earth, and every one of them needs to take
care of it! Always look for environment-safe products and encourage
others to do the same. From recycling to buying less packaging to
planting trees to saving water to conserving energy, keep the
environment in mind. Don’t forget to visit our Links Page for more
information on the Internet. Posters can be a great way to spread the
word, so drop by our Poster Page to look at some, print them out, or
get your own ideas.
(22) Use rechargable batteries. Although
they may cost more to buy, rechargable batteries will save you 10 or 20
times the original cost (by not buying new batteries over and over
again), and not get thrown in the trash. Prolong the life of any
batteries by using a cord (and AC adapter, if necessary) for radios and
other appliances when possible.
http://members.aol.com/Ramola15/help....
Here’s What We Can Do:
* At The Market:
-Take your grocery bags back to the store for reuse, or use a permanent bag.
-Some food is sold wrapped in 3 or 4 layers of packaging...try to buy brands with minimum packaging.
-Try not to use throwaway cameras, flashlights or shaving razors.
-Buy packaged goods in bulk.
-Buy used goods (junk yards, thrift stores, garage/yard sales).
-Buy products in recyclable and/or recycled containers.
-Avoid plastics and disposable plates, cups and utensils.
-Buy/use cloth diapers instead of disposable.
* At Home:
-Try to stop junk mail or get off as many junk mail lists as possible.Recycle used motor oil.
-Compost food wastes and yard debris.
-Mend and repair rather than discard and replace.
-Separate aluminum, glass, newspaper, cardboard, white paper and colored paper before recycling.
-Use rags instead of paper towels.
-Use a coffee mug instead of disposable cups.
-Use both sides of paper sheets.
* Home Energy Use
-Insulate, caulk and weatherstrip your home. Insulate floors with carpeting. Install double-paned windows.
-Install a timer on your thermostat.
-Wear a sweater rather than turn up the thermostat.
-Install a solar water heater.
-Insulate you water heater and storage tank.
-Keep your water heater at 120 degrees.
-Use energy-efficient appliances.
-Use fluorescent in place of incandescent light.
-Turn off lights and appliances when not in use.
-Plant trees to shade your house in summer.
-Hang your clothes in the sun to dry.
-Keep lint screen and outside exhaust on dryer clean.
* Getting Around
-Use public transportation, carpool, bike or walk.
-Drive a fuel-efficient car.
-Keep your car well-tuned.
-Live close to your place of work.
-Call ahead before you shop and consolidate errands.
* Trees
-Plant trees in your community.
-Plant fruit & nut trees in your backyard.
-Don’t buy products made from tropical hardwoods.
* Water Conservation
-Install a water-saving showerhead.
-Take showers rather than baths.
-Install a space-occupier in your toilet.
-Install sink faucet aerators.
-Turn off the water between rinses when shaving and brushing teeth.
-Use a broom rather than hose to clean walkways.
-Don’t let the hose run when you wash your car.
-Wash your car with a bucket of soapy water.
-Water plants and lawn in the morning to minimize evaporation.
-Install a drip-irrigation water system.
-Plant drought-tolerant plants.
* Pesticides/Eating Habits
-Eat lower on the food chain.
-Buy organic foods to discourage pesticide use.
-Grow your own food using alternatives to pesticides.
-Buy foods without additives and preservatives.
-Avoid highly processed foods.
-Support food co-ops and farmer’s markets.
-Buy foods grown or produced locally.
-Be creative with leftover food.
* Hazardous Products
-Use biodegradable soaps and detergents.
-Use alternatives to toxic household products.
-Dispose of household hazardous wastes properly.
-Use rechargable batteries.
-Purchase appliances with alternatives to ozone-damaging chlorofluorocarbons.
-Think about purchasing a car without air conditioning to avoid using CFC’s.
-Purchase a halon-free fire extinguisher.
* Activism
-Educate yourself and others on environmental issues.
-Purchase from environmentally responsible businesses.
-Know the voting records of your elected officials; write letters to
your representatives supporting environmental action.
-Get involved in local politics to influence local environmental policy decisions.
-Take time to learn about and enjoy nature!
http://www.livingdharma.org/Real.Worl...
In your home
1. Recycle everything: newspapers, bottles and cans, aluminum foil, etc.
2. Don’t use electrical appliances when you can easily do by hand, such as opening cans.
3. Use cold water in the washer whenever possible.
4. Re-use brown paper bags to line your trash can instead of plastic bags. Re-use bread bags and produce bags.
5. Store food in re-usable containers.
6. Save wire hangers and return them to the dry cleaners.
7. Donate used items to a charitable organization or thrift shop.
8. Don’t leave water running needlessly.
9. Turn your heat down, and wear a sweater.
10. Turn off the lights, TV, or other electrical appliances when you are out of a room.
11. Flush the toilet less often.
12. Turn down the heat and turn off the water heater before you leave for vacation.
13. Recycle your Christmas Tree. Learn how
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In the yard
14. Start a compost pile.
15. Put up birdfeeders, birdhouses, and birdbaths.
16. Pull weeds instead of using herbicides.
17. Use only organic fertilizers.
18. Compost your leaves and yard debris, or take them to a yard debris recycler.
19. Take extra plastic and rubber pots back to the nursery.
20. Plant short, dense shrubs close to your home’s foundation to help insulate your home against cold.
21. Use mulch to conserve water in your garden.
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In the car
22. Keep your car tuned up and your oil changed.
23. Carpool, if possible.
24. Use public transit whenever possible.
25. On weekends, ride your bike or walk instead.
26. Buy a car that is more fuel-efficient and produces lower emissions.
27. Recycle your engine oil.
28. Keep your tires properly inflated.
29. Keep your wheels properly aligned.
30. Save trash and dispose of it at a rest stop.
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In the office
31. Recycle office and computer paper, cardboard, etc.
32. Use scrap paper for informal notes to yourself and others.
33. Print or copy on both sides of the paper.
34. Use smaller paper for smaller memos.
35. Re-use manila envelopes and file folders.
36. Use dishes, glassware and coffee cups instead of disposible dishes and cups.
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At the store
37. Avoid buying food or products packaged in plastic or styrofoam containers since they cannot be recycled.
38. Think twice about buying ”disposable” products. (They end up in landfills.)
39. Buy paper products instead of plastic if you must buy ”disposables.”
40. Buy energy-efficient appliancess.
41.
Don’t buy products, such as styrofoam, that are hazardous to the
environment or manufactured at the expense of important habitats such
as rainforests.
42. Buy locally grown food and locally made products when possible.
43. Don’t buy products made from endangered animals.
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In your life
44.
Join a conservation organization. Browse the JustGive Guide to find an
environmental organization you would like to support.
45. Volunteer your time to conservation projects.
46. Give money to conservation projects.
47.
Switch to a vegetarian diet. (Raising animals for food consumes vast
quantities of natural resources, including water, land, and oil;
destroys habitats; and generates a tremendous amount of water and air
pollution.)
48. Encourage your family, friends, and neighbors to save resources too.
49.
Learn about conservation issues in your community or state. Write your
legislators and let them know where you stand on the issues.
50.
Teach children to respect nature and the environment. Take them on
hikes or camping. Help them plant a tree or build a birdhouse.
http://www.justgive.org/html/guide/50...
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