Simple ideas to save our environment

Simple ideas to save our environment

Using home water instead of plastic bottle

Hi there..it will be better to use home water! There was a lot of plastic waste and energy consumption into making plastic bottles (also for recycle them)

Please donnot purchase water bottle when travel, instead of that please use home water to reduce the plastic waste

If you purchase water bottle every time when you travel, our earth will become earth of plastic

Compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFL) are seen as an environmentally friendly product compared to incandescent lamps. According to the Department of Energy, CFLs use approximately 75 percent less energy than standard incandescent bulbs to produce the same light output, yet can last up to 15 times longer.

Switch off your Mobile phone chargers when you unplug the charger from phone and switch off your lights and fan when you leave the room. When not using your computer frequently and you want the computer to be on, just switch off the monitor and donot use stand by mode

Think before you print - save energy and paper

A Letter from CPU

I am with you all day long, whenever you look at me, i do give a bright radiation in response, i don’t mind you being with me for more than 11 hrs on some days though i don’t understand y u stare at me continuously. Still i continue to expect you to be back and stare at me when u go for your tea breaks, lunch / dinner but sometimes you don’t tell me that you are leaving home and i end up waiting for you to be back for a long time. Sometimes even 2 or more days. My vision and brain get tired. Please switch me off when you leave for the day so that i will be able to get up cheerfully to welcome you when you wake me up the next morning.

From the heart of computer

Yours sincerely,

your System's CPU :-)

Note: "Let your computer too have its nights and weekends.".

Start today!! Do switch off your CPU’s towards end of the day everyday!

1. Save energy to save money.

• Set your thermostat a few degrees lower in the winter and a few degrees higher in the summer to save on heating and cooling costs.
• Install compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) when your older incandescent bulbs burn out.
• Unplug appliances when you're not using them. Or, use a "smart" power strip that senses when appliances are off and cuts "phantom" or "vampire" energy use.
• Wash clothes in cold water whenever possible. As much as 85 percent of the energy used to machine-wash clothes goes to heating the water.
• Use a drying rack or clothesline to save the energy otherwise used during machine drying.

2. Save water to save money.

• Take shorter showers to reduce water use. This will lower your water and heating bills too.
• Install a low-flow showerhead. They don't cost much, and the water and energy savings can quickly pay back your investment.
• Make sure you have a faucet aerator on each faucet. These inexpensive appliances conserve heat and water, while keeping water pressure high.
• Plant drought-tolerant native plants in your garden. Many plants need minimal watering. Find out which occur naturally in your area.

3. Less gas = more money (and better health!).

• Walk or bike to work. This saves on gas and parking costs while improving your cardiovascular health and reducing your risk of obesity.
• Consider telecommuting if you live far from your work. Or move closer. Even if this means paying more rent, it could save you money in the long term.
• Lobby your local government to increase spending on sidewalks and bike lanes. With little cost, these improvements can pay huge dividends in bettering your health and reducing traffic.

4. Skip the bottled water.

• Use a water filter to purify tap water instead of buying bottled water. Not only is bottled water expensive, but it generates large amounts of container waste.
• Bring a reusable water bottle, preferably aluminum rather than plastic, with you when traveling or at work.
• Check out this short article for the latest on bottled water trends.

5. Think before you buy.

• Go online to find new or gently used secondhand products. Whether you've just moved or are looking to redecorate, consider a service like craigslist orFreeSharing to track down furniture, appliances, and other items cheaply or for free.
• Check out garage sales, thrift stores, and consignment shops for clothing and other everyday items.
• When making purchases, make sure you know what's "Good Stuff" and what isn't.
• Watch a video about what happens when you buy things. Your purchases have a real impact, for better or worse.

6. Borrow instead of buying.

• Borrow from libraries instead of buying personal books and movies. This saves money, not to mention the ink and paper that goes into printing new books.
• Share power tools and other appliances. Get to know your neighbors while cutting down on the number of things cluttering your closet or garage.

7. Buy smart.

• Buy in bulk. Purchasing food from bulk bins can save money and packaging.
• Wear clothes that don't need to be dry-cleaned. This saves money and cuts down on toxic chemical use.
• Invest in high-quality, long-lasting products. You might pay more now, but you'll be happy when you don't have to replace items as frequently (and this means less waste!).

8. Keep electronics out of the trash.

• Keep your cell phones, computers, and other electronics as long as possible.
• Donate or recycle them responsibly when the time comes. E-waste contains mercury and other toxics and is a growing environmental problem.
• Recycle your cell phone.
• Ask your local government to set up an electronics recycling and hazardous waste collection event.

9. Make your own cleaning supplies.

• The big secret: you can make very effective, non-toxic cleaning products whenever you need them. All you need are a few simple ingredients like baking soda, vinegar, lemon, and soap.
• Making your own cleaning products saves money, time, and packaging-not to mention your indoor air quality.

Avoid using use and throw glasses

We should all avoid using Use and Throw glasses for serving water and juices. Rather we should replace those with Steel tumbles. People call these as Disposable Glasses but these are non bio-degradable. I have attached the image.

Stop Global Warming

Problem----We are all personally responsible for releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere by burning fossil fuels for transportation (driving and flying) and home energy (electricity, heating, and cooling). This leads to global warming, which is destroying Earth's biodiversity and native ecosystems.

Solutions

1. Reduce your use of fossil fuels
2. Protect native forests as "carbon storehouses"
3. Help plant native trees in urban and deforested areas

Benefits of planting native trees

1. They help stop global warming by reducing greenhouse gases
2. They reduce soil erosion and water pollution
3. They provide habitat for native wildlife (including songbirds)
4. They improve human health by producing oxygen and improving air quality
5. They reduce home energy needs by providing shade in summer and a windbreak in winter

Facts about the benefits provided by planting one tree

1. Absorbs over a ton of harmful greenhouse gases over its lifetime (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency)
2. Produces enough oxygen for four people every day (Tree Canada Foundation)
3. Provides the equivalent cooling effect of ten room-size air conditioners operating 20 hours a day (U.S. Department of Agriculture)
4. Provides an estimated $273 of environmental benefits in every year of its life (American Forests)

Polythene bags pollution

Every year, around 500 billion (500,000,000,000) plastic bags are used worldwide. So many that over one million bags are being used every minute and they're damaging our environment. India's plastics consumption is one of the highest in the world. Yet, precious little has been done to recycle, re-use and dispose of plastic waste. Plastic bags are difficult and costly to recycle and most end up on landfill sites where they take around 300 years to photo degrade. They break down into tiny toxic particles that contaminate the soil and waterways and enter the food chain when animals accidentally ingest them. But the problems surrounding waste plastic bags starts long before they photo degrade.

Our planet is becoming increasingly contaminated by Plastic pollution and by our unnecessary use of plastic carry bags. Big black bin liners, plastic carrier bags carrying advertising logos, clear sandwich bags, vegetable bags and a variety of other forms used to carry our daily food items and other items are all polluting our environment. Just take a look around you. Plastic bags can be seen hanging from the branches of trees, flying in the air on windy days, settled amongst bushes and floating on rivers. They clog up gutters and drains causing water and sewage to overflow and become the breeding grounds of germs and bacteria that cause diseases.

Animals and sea creatures are hurt and killed every day by discarded plastic bags - a dead turtle with a plastic bag hanging from its mouth isn't a pleasant sight but mistaking plastic bags for food is commonplace amongst marine animals. Plastic clogs their intestines and leads to slow starvation. Others become entangled in plastic bags and drown. Because plastic bags take hundreds of years to break down, every year our seas become 'home' to more and more bags that find their way there through our sewers and waterways. Given India's poor garbage collection facilities, tons of plastic bags litter the roads, preventing rainwater from seeping into the ground. Hundreds of cows die in New Delhi alone every year when they choke on plastic bags while trying to eat vegetable waste stuffed in the garbage.

Every bag that's washed down a drain during rainfall ends up in the sea every bag that's flushed down a toilet (many mall bags are), ends up in the sea - every bag that’s blown into a river will most likely end up in the sea. Besides choking drains, plastics are highly toxics. When burned they release cancer-causing gases. Lying in the garbage, polythene bags also find their way in gut of cattle, asphyxiating the animals. The cheap bags contain chemicals such as cadmium- or lead- based chemicals that are harmful to health. They leach into vegetables, meat and food. An estimated 15 lakh computers and 30 lakh mobile phones are disposed of every year in India. “Computers, mobiles and other electronic items generate hazardous e-waste like lead, brominated flame retardants and chromium which can cause cancer,” There is another problem: India has more to deal with than just the waste generated at home. The Environment Protection Authority of Britain recently said 23,000 tonnes of e-waste was dumped in India, China and Pakistan. Several countries have already banned their use and more will doubtless follow. Several Indian states such as Maharastra, Dehli, Punjab, Rajasthan, Himanchal Pradesh, Goa , West Bengal etc. banned their use. Mumbai's storm water drainage choking with accumulated plastics waste, making the floods unmanageable, is an old story. The Environment Ministry has banned manufacture and use of plastics carry bags less than 8 inches X 12 inches in size 20 micron in width. The ministry has also asked State Governments to register all plastics manufacturing unit, so that these can be regulated. However, the implementation of the order has been tardy, evident from the large number of polythene bags strewn in every major town and city. The alternative to plastic bags are paper bags, jute bags and cloth bags. Paper, Jute and Cloth are eco-friendly. Jute bags are most suitable substitute then paper and cloth, because it is cheaper then cloth and reusable. Though paper bags are cheaper then jute bags but less durable. The Rajasthan Government, has put a ban to use plastic bags for food stuffs in Rajasthan. A Mumbai resident who lived in the United States for many years says every grocery store there offers the option of paper or plastic carrybags. Besides, “large bins are kept outside the stores to collect used plastic bags’’ . Closer home, Delhi’s Shyamala Mani, programme director, waste and resource management, Centre for Environment Education (CEE), advises : “Malls are the best places to easily promote paper, jute, even non-woven cloth bags and other materials which are biodegradable.’’ The main reason of plastic bag pollution is that the poly-bag comes free. Shop-keepers blindly hand out polythene carry-bags, even if you buy just a tube of toothpaste or a pencil, little caring that the bag will be in the dustbin after some time. The shopkeepers should include the cost of poly bags in the bill, along with other billed products. People will then finally take some steps to reduce the dependence on polythene and try and reuse them or carry cloth bags. The Government will be able to generate extra revenue through polythene tax and the environment will be less polluted with polythene.

100 Ways to Save The Environment

In Your Home – Conserve Energy

1. Clean or replace air filters on your air conditioning unit at least once a month.
2. If you have central air conditioning, do not close vents in unused rooms.
3. Lower the thermostat on your water heater to 120.
4. Wrap your water heater in an insulated blanket.
5. Turn down or shut off your water heater when you will be away for extended periods.
6. Turn off unneeded lights even when leaving a room for a short time.
7. Set your refrigerator temperature at 36 to 38 and your freezer at 0 to 5 .
8. When using an oven, minimize door opening while it is in use; it reduces oven temperature by 25 to 30 every time you open the door.
9. Clean the lint filter in your dryer after every load so that it uses less energy.
10. Unplug seldom used appliances.
11. Use a microwave when- ever you can instead of a conventional oven or stove.
12. Wash clothes with warm or cold water instead of hot.
13. Reverse your indoor ceiling fans for summer and winter operations as recommended.
14. Turn off lights, computers and other appliances when not in use.
15. Purchase appliances and office equipment with the Energy Star Label; old refridgerators, for example, use up to 50 more electricity than newer models.
16. Only use electric appliances when you need them.
17. Use compact fluorescent light bulbs to save money and energy.
18. Keep your thermostat at 68 in winter and 78 in summer.
19. Keep your thermostat higher in summer and lower in winter when you are away
20. Insulate your home as best as you can.
21. Install weather stripping around all doors and windows.
22. Shut off electrical equipment in the evening when you leave work.
23. Plant trees to shade your home.
24. Shade outside air conditioning units by trees or other means.
25. Replace old windows with energy efficient ones.
26. Use cold water instead of warm or hot water when possible.
27. Connect your outdoor lights to a timer.
28. Buy green electricity - electricity produced by low - or even zero-pollution facilities (NC Greenpower for North Carolina - www.ncgreenpower.org). In your home-reduce toxicity.

In Your Home – Reduce Toxicity Eliminate mercury from your home by purchasing items without mercury, and dispose of items containing mercury at an appropriate drop-off facility when necessary (e.g. old thermometers). Learn about alternatives to household cleaning items that do not use hazardous chemicals. Buy the right amount of paint for the job. Review labels of household cleaners you use. Consider alternatives like baking soda, scouring pads, water or a little more elbow grease. When no good alternatives exist to a toxic item, find the least amount required for an effective, sanitary result. If you have an older home, have paint in your home tested for lead. If you have lead-based paint, cover it with wall paper or other material instead of sanding it or burning it off. Use traps instead of rat and mouse poisons and insect killers. Have your home tested for radon. Use cedar chips or aromatic herbs instead of mothballs. In Your Yard Avoid using leaf blowers and other dust-producing equipment. Use an electric lawn- mower instead of a gas-powered one. Leave grass clippings on the yard-they decompose and return nutrients to the soil. Use recycled wood chips as mulch to keep weeds down, retain moisture and prevent erosion. Use only the required amount of fertilizer. Minimize pesticide use. Create a wildlife habitat in your yard. Water grass early in the morning. Rent or borrow items like ladders, chain saws, party decorations and others that are seldom used. Take actions that use non hazardous components (e.g., to ward off pests, plant marigolds in a garden instead of using pesticide). Put leaves in a compost heap instead of burning them or throwing them away. Yard debris too large for your compost bin should be taken to a yard-debris recycler. In Your Office Copy and print on both sides of paper. Reuse items like envelopes, folders and paper clips. Use mailer sheets for interoffice mail instead of an envelope.Use mailer sheets for interoffice mail instead of an envelope. Set up a bulletin board for memos instead of sending a copy to each employee. Use e-mail instead of paper correspondence. Use recycled paper. Use discarded paper for scrap paper. Encourage your school and/or company to print documents with soy-based inks, which are less toxic. Use a ceramic coffee mug instead of a disposable cup. Ways To Protect Our Air Ask your employer to consider flexible work schedules or telecommuting. Recycle printer cartridges. Shut off electrical equipment in the evening when you leave work. Report smoking vehicles to your local air agency. Don't use your wood stove or fireplace when air quality is poor. Avoid slow-burning, smoldering fires. They produce the largest amount of pollution. Burn seasoned wood - it burns cleaner than green wood. Use solar power for home and water heating. Use low-VOC or water-based paints, stains, finishes and paint strippers. Purchase radial tires and keep them properly inflated for your vehicle. Paint with brushes or rollers instead of using spray paints to minimize harmful emissions. Ignite charcoal barbecues with an electric probe or other alternative to lighter fluid. If you use a wood stove, use one sold after 1990. They are required to meet federal emissions standards and are more efficient and cleaner burning. Walk or ride your bike instead of driving, whenever possible. Join a carpool or vanpool to get to work. Ways to Use Less Water Check and fix any water leaks. Install water-saving devices on your faucets and toilets. Don't wash dishes with the water running continuously. Wash and dry only full loads of laundry and dishes. Follow your community's water use restrictions or guidelines. Install a low-flow shower head. Replace old toilets with new ones that use a lot less water. Turn off washing machine's water supply to prevent leaks. Ways to Protect Our Water Revegetate or mulch disturbed soil as soon as possible. Never dump anything down a storm drain. Have your septic tank pumped and system inspected regularly. Check your car for oil or other leaks, and recycle motor oil. Take your car to a car wash instead of washing it in the driveway. Learn about your watershed. Create Less Trash Buy items in bulk from loose bins when possible to reduce the packaging wasted. Avoid products with several layers of packaging when only one is sufficient. About 33 of what we throw away is packaging. Buy products that you can reuse. Maintain and repair durable products instead of buying new ones. Check reports for products that are easily repaired and have low breakdown rates. Reuse items like bags and containers when possible. Use cloth napkins instead of paper ones. Use reusable plates and utensils instead of disposable ones. Use reusable containers to store food instead of aluminum foil and cling wrap. Shop with a canvas bag instead of using paper and plastic bags. Buy rechargeable batteries for devices used frequently. Reuse packaging cartons and shipping materials. Old newspapers make great packaging material. Compost your vegetable scraps. Buy used furniture - there is a surplus of it, and it is much cheaper than new furniture. Source:www.seql.org/100ways.cfm