12 Easy Green Tips from Green Planet Paradise

Energy | Green Planet Paradise | January 18, 2011 3:39 pm

1. Energy-proof your home. Make sure all of your windows close properly. Keep your heating and cooling systems properly maintained, and switch to reusable filters when possible. Switch from incandescent to compact florescent light bulbs.

2. Use Paints & Sealants with Low-VOC’s. Concentrations of many VOCs are consistently higher indoors (up to ten times higher) than outdoors. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are emitted as gases from certain solids or liquids. Examples include: paints and lacquers, paint strippers, cleaning supplies, pesticides, The EPA considers indoor pollution to be one of the top 5 hazards to human health.

3. Travel Sustainably. Choose accredited ecotourism companies and destinations. If possible flying direct or use eco-friendly airlines like Continental and United. Rent a hybrid or a flex fuel vehicle. Stay at an eco-friendly hotel and praise their green efforts.

4. Drive green. Replace your old gas-guzzler SUV or sedan with a hybrid or flex fuel car. Ride a bike, walk , car pool or use public transport as much as possible. .

5. Inflate your tires. You get better gas mileage when the tires are fully inflated. Try this and save!

6. Unplug it! Unplug appliances that you don ‘t use frequently because the current is still using energy even when you ‘re not. If you just unplugged your cell phone chargers after use it would save the equivalent of almost 500 football fields ‘ worth of forest every year. Just think of your laptop charger!

7. Buy organic and local. When possible, buy organic or fair trade. There ‘s a better chance the food was grown in an eco-friendly way, and if it ‘s locally grown, it didn’t have to travel that far

8. Reduce your consumption of meat. The United Nations report has identified the world’s rapidly growing herds of cattle as the greatest threat to the climate, forests and wildlife. They contribute to acid rain, creating dead zones in the oceans, poisoning rivers and drinking water even coral reefs.

9. Avoid Plastic Bottled water. A traditional plastic bottle will never biodegrade. And are made from petroleum. Try buying a reusable water bottle or canteen for your water. Look for new biodegradable plastic products.

10. Go native. Plants will grow better in their native environment. They also get shipped a shorter distance.. Trees absorb carbon dioxide from the air and use it as their energy source, producing oxygen for us to breathe.

11. Look at the packaging. Chose to buy the loose lemons rather than plastic-wrapped ones. Purchase the new reusable grocery bags.

12. The Three Rs: Reduce, Reuse, Re-cycle. Try buying less, recycling and fixing things.