Save Green By Being Green: Plant Some Trees & Bushes Around Your House
Is your air conditioning bill off the charts during the summer months? Try planting some trees and bushes around your house. Bushes will provide insulation around your house by preventing hot air from entering and cold air from escaping through the foundation. Planting trees on the southeast and southwest sides of your house will decrease the amount of direct sunlight that hits your house by creating some shade. The end result is that your house will stay cooler in the summer and you won’t need to keep the AC blasting all day. You can probably even turn up the thermostat a few degrees and still stay as cool since your house will be more insulated from the bushes and stay cool from the shade provided by the trees. You’re doing something good for the earth, making your house and yard look better and saving some scratch. Not too shabby!
Save Green By Being Green: Plant a Tree For Home Insulation
Planting a small tree or trees in your backyard and around your home can not only help insulate the house but also give you a return on your investment when you sell.
Select a young ‘high-return‘ tree. As the tree grows in size, it will grow in value.
A large Curly Willow, which started out as a lowly sapling bought for tens of dollars. The sapling was but a wisp of a stick with some tendrils at the end. Today, proudly it stands, three years later, soon to be a commanding presence.
Not only can you make some green with your tree, its presence will help block the sun in the summer and keep heat in during the winter.
Trees improve air quality, with one huge 30 foot tree providing an average household a clean source of air and enough oxygen for a whole day.
Also, by keeping your bedroom doors shut, installing a power save, and tearing your paper towels in half, you can help save even more trees.
Save Green By Being Green: Texas Passes Legislation Requiring Computer Companies to Offer Free Recycling
In most parts of the United States you’ll have to dish out some time and gas to get your computer disposed of in an eco-friendly manner. Texas recently passed legislation that forces computer companies operating in the state to provide a “reasonably convenient” way for consumers to recycle their computers and components.
If signed, the Texas bill would join similar initiatives already passed in more liberal states like Minnesota and California. Robin Schneider, executive director of the Texas Campaign for the Environment, wants Texas to show that a Republican-leaning state can also care about the environment. “Governor Perry must seize the opportunity to be the first Governor of a so-called ‘red state’ to sign a computer recycling bill that requires producers to provide free and convenient recycling for consumer’s old computers,” he said in a recent statement.
Those of you living in the other 47 states without such services should consider putting your used computers and computer hardware on FreeCycle or Craigslist. Computer parts are highly toxic and are often dumped in third-world countries (mostly in Africa and southeast Asia) contaminating drinking water and causing birth defects. The Texas law goes into effect September 1, 2008.
Save Green By Being Green: Use Less Water To Flush
Most modern toilets in America use 1.6 gallons per flush. Before 1982, toilets were using up to 5 gallons per flush! Despite the drastic reduction in gallons per flush, 1.6 gallons is still a lot of water! You can adjust the water level in your toilet tank yourself very easily.
There is a screw, located at the top of the ballcock which is attached to the float ball. The float ball determines how much water to fill the tank with before closing the water valve. By tightening the screw a few turns, you can make the float ball rise sooner and reduce the amount of water that fills the tank. I did it myself recently and I estimate I have reduced the amount of water per flush by about 20% at least. I also don’t flush at night, and that also saves a few gallons of water per day.
Save Green By Being Green: Enable Computer S3 Sleep Mode
Increase the efficiency of your machine at sleep by enabling S3 Sleep Mode.
If you are lucky, your computer might already be configured properly to enter S3 Standby mode. Why don’t you check and see. Click your standby button (Start - Shutdown - Standby). Now, once the computer is in standby, check the fans on your computer. Are they still spinning? If so, you are not taking full advantage of S3 standby mode. S3 standby mode turns off all the components inside your system except the memory using as little as 1.8 watts. S1 standbymode just puts your components in low power modes and uses only slightly less power than a computer that is in the on state.
S3 Sleep Mode can help you save an average of 720 kilowatt hours per month, an equivalent of $35. If you haven’t already, enable Sleep Mode on your Windows computer (Macs do by default) or download the Snap CO2 Saver to do it for you.
Save Green By Being Green: CO2 Saver By Snap
The Snap CO2 Saver is a small free application that automatically adjusts the energy settings on your computer. The CO2 Saver makes your machine runs more efficiently and use less electricity.
CO2 Saver also displays how many tons of CO2 you individually have saved, as well as the total for all CO2 saver users. CO2 Saver is available for download on Windows machines only and does not contain any added spyware or advertisements.
Less CO2 is generated by the lower power consumption and you do your part for Ma Nature and your pocketbook at the same time.
Save Green By Being Green: Compact Fluorescent Lamps
Compact Fluorescent Lamps, or CFLs, have been available for use in the home for about 30 years. The life of a typical CFL bulb ranges from 6,000-10,000 hours as opposed to an incandescent, or standard bulb, which will has a life of 750-2,500 hours. Despite this fact, CFLs do not enjoy the popularity of standard bulbs, which were invented by Thomas Edison over 125 years ago. The reason is that the initial investment in a CFL bulb is significantly greater than that of a standard bulb. A standard 100-watt bulb usually falls around the $1 mark, a bit cheaper even if you buy a multi-pack. A 23-watt CFL, which produces the same amount of light as a standard 100-watt bulb, costs about $7.99 at a hardware store but lasts up to 10 times longer. To sum up, CFL bulbs lasts up to 10 times longer and are close to 10 times more expensive. You may be wondering, why even bother switching to CFLs? Two big reasons: long-term savings and the environment. According to the CFL fact sheet from Energy Star, you can save $30 or more in energy costs for each CFL bulb’s lifetime. CFL bulbs produce 70% less heat than a standard bulb, resulting in less energy needed to cool your home. Each CFL bulb also prevents 450 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions during its lifetime. So make the initial larger investment in CFL bulbs and save money and the environment in the long run.Save Green By Being Green: 10 Tips from Home Depot
The Home Depot [via Treehugger] offers 10 environmentally conscious tips for the home designed to save you money. One tip I especially like discusses replacing outdated bathroom fixtures:
Lower the Flow
Your old shower head probably delivers a lot more water than you really need. Reduce that to 2.5 gallons a minute or less with today’s standard shower head – it can make a difference in your water bill. For even greater savings, replace your old toilets with today’s standard low flush models that use 1.6 gallons or less per flush.
Being environmentally conscious doesn’t always have to cost more money as many people incorrectly believe. Sometimes doing your part for your environment can save you money at the same time. Feels pretty good, doesn’t it?