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Avoid Unnecessary Store Trips

July 25, 2011 By Leave a Comment
ATM Hall

Image by xcode via Flickr

Going to stores too often can wreak a lot of damage on the environment. For one thing you’re already burning gas just to get there and back. You might also end up having to hit the ATM to get cash if you don’t have a traditional account. Sometimes things happen and such an account may not even be accessible to you.

One way you can save some gas is to order your non-perishables online and use your Reach prepaid card to save yourself some gas. While you might not think this is going to make a significant difference, cars release massive amounts of carbon dioxide every year. While some of that gas is burned because of your commute to work, a lot of it comes about because of your normal errands. Sometimes it even comes when you’re going out for groceries or to shop for clothes.

The things you do every day contribute to the earth’s pollution. When you think about how much unnecessary mileage you put on your car doing things you could have done in more efficient ways like having bulk groceries delivered, you might be able to save more than just a ton of money over time. After all, how useful could money be if we pollute ourselves out of existence? Even little things like saving that extra mile or two you used to go on for the ATM can actually make a difference after awhile. Make every mile you travel count.

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Energy Saving Tips For Apartment Dwellers

July 23, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Energy

Image by Claudio Schwarz via Flickr

If you live in an apartment, you may think that you won’t really be able to implement effective energy saving tips. How wrong you are! You can become more energy conscious as well probably saving yourself some money. You can also reduce your usage of resources. Here are a few tips and tricks for those who live in apartments and how they can save energy.

Don’t leave your refrigerator door open. If you keep your refrigerator organized, you will be able to find items quickly. Unless you have a frost-free freezer, defrost your freezer at least once a month to prevent front build up. The freezer temperature should be set a 5 degrees Fahrenheit for optimal energy savings.

When washing clothes, don’t do partial loads — wait until you have a full load. This will conserve water. Also, select the appropriate water level setting. Additionally, you can save energy by washing your clothes in cold water when ever possible. Clean the lint filter of your dryer before each and every load.

Turn off all those lights you are not using. Replace your old bulbs with more energy-efficient models. Consider installing timers and motion sensors so the lights are used only when necessary.

If you have central heating and air, try to keep the thermostat at 68 degrees during the winter months and around 78 degrees during the summer months. If you have a window-unit air conditioner make sure it is properly maintained. If there is water build up it may cause the unit to have to work harder.

Filed Under: Eco-Friendly Lifestyle, Energy Savings, Green at Home Tagged With: , ,

Going Plastic is Sometimes Going Green

July 15, 2011 By Leave a Comment

If you are constantly on the look out for ways that you can go green or simply reduce your carbon footprint, then one option that you may not yet have considered is using plastic debit cards.

Using a Reloadable Debit Card

The reach prepaid card is an example of a debit card that you can load up with funds and then spend on the go. What are the benefits of this? First and foremost, you do not have to ask for a receipt when you make purchases, because you can easily find out what your last transactions were, and this is going to save paper. By using a recyclable, reusable and reloadable plastic card, you are not worrying about paper or coin money and everything that managing it entails.

Not only is using a prepaid debit card a greener proposition because it is a reloadable card rather than a gift card that you simply throw away, but it also really simplifies the shopping process and makes it possible for you to have a single card that you can use for a myriad of different retailers and service providers. Swiping a single plastic card at your dry cleaner’s, at the doctor’s office and your local grocer really does simplify the process a lot and makes buying the things that you need to buy really easy too. Because you can reload the card as many times as you like, it is as recyclable and reusable as a shopping medium can get. Pair a prepaid debit card with reusable shopping bags and you are good to go.

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How Businesses Can Go Green the Easy Way

July 9, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Businesses can benefit from going green in a number of ways. This does not have to be an expensive venture, but one that can actually save the business money in the long run.

The first thing the business owner can do is to purchase supplies that are made from recycled products. These can include:  paper, packing material, folders, boxes and related items. These are often priced cheaper than regular products are and help to support recycling efforts. If you receive your inventory by mail, save the packing material and reuse it when sending items to customers. This will help to cut spending in your monthly budget. You can also budget your efforts with a reach prepaid card.

You can cut down on energy spending by installing lights that activated by motion sensors in bathrooms, storage rooms and other areas that are not used often. When someone leaves the room, the lights turn off automatically, saving on electricity. When you close down your business over the weekend, turn your heating and cooling system, raise or lower the temperature to keep the system from running as much. Your staff can help by turning off lights when leaving a room and shutting down equipment when it’s not in use.

The other step that businesses can take is to support local efforts to recycle products and to embrace alternative forms of energy. This will present a positive image for the company as it helps to keep the environment clean and save money at the same time.

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When You Can’t Go Green

June 23, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Trash Recycling with Disposal Containers

Image by epSos.de via Flickr

Many people would say there are no reasons why you can’t go green, but this isn’t necessarily true. In certain situations, such as those concerning health issues, it may be necessary to use commercial cleaners or disinfectants to prevent the spread of germs.

Here’s an example: children and others with compromised immune systems are more prone to contracting illnesses and infections. For some, this can be life-threatening, so caregivers and others have no choice but to use strong cleaners and disinfectants. Not to do so would literally be dangerous to the affected person.

If you are in such a situation, you probably already know this, but you still may be wondering if there is anything you can do to help the environment that won’t put your loved one in danger. The answer is “yes”, you have several options.

  • Recycle.

This is one of the best ways to help the environment. Separate aluminum cans, plastics, paper, and other recycled materials from your household trash and take it to a recycling center.

  • Use natural products whenever you can.

You may have to use strong cleaners and disinfectants on those surfaces or objects that your loved one comes in contact with, but on those in which contact is not as frequent, you may be able to use natural products on them. Look for ways to do this that won’t compromise your loved one’s health.

  • Think outside your home.

You have to keep your home scrupulously clean, but can you make changes outside? Are you driving a fuel-efficient car that has features for emissions reduction? This is one way you can help protect the environment.

 

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Going Green: Not a New Concept, But Still a Very Good One

June 7, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Going green

Image via Wikipedia

If you are like many people, you are hearing more and more about companies and industries “going green”. This means they are finding ways to manufacture their products or supply their services while protecting the environment. thegreenlife.org applauds them for their efforts.

“Going green” is not really all that new; the concept has been around for quite a while. However, probably what really brought it to everyone’s attention was the discovery that the hole in the ozone layer that makes up part of the earth’s atmosphere was growing. This discovery was made in 1985.

Although this is a naturally occurring phenomena based on weather and climate conditions during the seasons of the year and the size alternately decreases and increases based on these conditions, an “artificial” increase was occurring as a result of certain pollutants being released into the air.

One of the pollutants found to be contributing the most to the growth was chlorofluorocarbons—the stuff found in aerosol spray bottles and cans. Steps were taken to eliminate these from aerosols, and a noticeable improvement was soon apparent.

Like many things, though, the green movement was and still is considered a “fad”, and like all fads, will soon fade away. Additionally, some people believe that problems with the environment aren’t as bad as they are being reported to be, or that if they are, the Earth can essentially “repair itself.” Others believe the problems are worse.

No matter which side you fall on, the fact remains that going green is a good concept. You are urged not to just dismiss it, but to consider ways that you can help protect the environment.

 

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Environment in Business

May 9, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Being kind to the environment can also be good for your business financially.  Rainforests are being consumed as we speak and natural resources depleted, how can you help?  Below are five steps which all small businesses should implement in the step towards becoming “green”.

  1. Take a look at your suppliers.  Are they environmentally concious, is their transport energy
    rättvisemärktslogo

    Image via Wikipedia

    efficient? Do they contribute with carbon credits? Is the paper and other office consumables you purchase recycled?

  2. Recycling should be part of your daily office routine and educated throughout your staff.  recycling bins in the staff kitchen and recycling paper and cardboard waste all contribute to a more sustainable environment.
  3. Fairtrade.  Is the coffee you supply to your staff fair trade? It may cost a few dollars more but with demand comes economies of scale, we all just need to take the step to purchase.  It also sends a really positive message to your staff about how the business cares for the environment and those who live in it.
  4. Energy.  Switch off printers, computers and monitors at the end of every day along with the lights to save energy and see your electricity bills shrink too!
  5. Plant a tree or two or get some real plants for the office.  They help breed a positive working atmosphere for your staff and reduce Co2 at the same time.

A few simple steps will make a difference to the waste your business provides and also gives a morale boost to your staff.  Its also good for business as more and more customers are looking for a “green” business partner.

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Reducing Carbon Footprint

January 22, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Increasing carbon footprint is the prime reason why our planet is undergoing so many environmental problems. It seems that the planet is in the midst of huge climatic change and it falls upon its inhabitants to do everything at our disposal in order to preserve it for the next thousand of years. Minimizing our carbon footprint will induce sustainability and to create a sustainable community around, we need to make certain changes in our lifestyle. For instance, we can learn to recycle things we waste.

Most of the developed and developing countries have their own local recycling agencies. As citizens, we can participate in recycling drives and programs and make others understand its importance. We know that poverty still looms large in several countries. Homeless shelters are abounding in countries like US and UK. To help them survive, we can donate items that we no longer use but they can be useful to homeless people. Used clothes and edible items can be donated to shelters and thrift shops.

For a cleaner environment, it is essential that we keep the air clean. Reduce dependence on fuel consumption by minimizing driving. For work transportation, best way is to carpool. Moreover, if driving is necessary, use clean and fuel-efficient cars. These days’ scientists are in the process of creating cars that will one day run on water! A wrongful consumption of water is when we buy plastic bottled water. Some unscrupulous companies manufacture plastic water bottles containing harmful chemicals. These chemicals slowly contaminate the water and when someone drinks from the bottle, there is a strong possibility of getting infected.

Instead use reusable water containers and save millions of plastic water bottles from getting thrown into the dump as landfill. We know that plastic is non-biodegradable and by throwing them outside we are endangering the environment.

 

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Cut Down Your Carbon Footprint with Green Printing Options

January 21, 2011 By Leave a Comment

You have made an effort to go green in your life. Congratulations! Making sure that you leave as little of a carbon footprint as possible is something that many people today are doing. Because of this, more and more services are offering green options. Taking advantage of these options whenever possible is important, especially when trying to make an impact on the world.

Whether you have a business or not, you may find that you have paper materials that you need to print. For example, you may find that you need to print some marketing materials for your business. This can result in huge amounts of waste, especially when you are printing from virgin paper – paper that has not been used previously. Because of this, you may decide that you would rather have your flyer and booklet printing done on recycled paper. This will help cut down on the amount of waste that is the result of your printing.

Another option is to try to find paper that is manufactured from logging companies that use responsible methods and are careful about their own waste. This is a great option if you feel that you are unable to use recycled paper for one reason or another.

Many people are also looking at the option of using soy ink in printing. Since soy ink produces lest waste when it is made, this is important to many who are looking to live green. Soy ink is a growing trend in the green movement, especially for businesses.

If you are looking to go green, or have already made the move, these printing practices are important to keep in mind. Whether you are printing training materials, invitations, or even something as simple as business cards, you will find that you can keep your carbon footprint to a minimum.

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Easy Ways to Begin a Greener Lifestyle

January 18, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Repeated awareness programs and consumer awareness propagandas have started to successfully instill greener lifestyle practices in citizens all over the world. Without guidance, people are always at a loss not knowing from where to begin and even if they start, they leave it midway. Green living is quite enjoyable. You don’t need millions to live ‘green’. In fact, ‘green living’ minimizes lifestyle expenses.

Below are some easy ways which will help you preserve the environment and maintain a greener lifestyle.

For a start, consider changing every bulb in your house with CFL. CFL bulbs consume less amount of electricity and using them will save you about $3 every year for each of the CFL you use in the house. Similarly, if you spend less amount of water on showers and kitchen sinks, you can save about 10 cents per day and assuming that you control use of water considerably, you can save around $1 per day, which makes it roughly $400 you can save yearly on water consumption bills.

Like electricity and water use, you can save on car use by sending it for regular maintenance. As per estimates, you save around $600 per year. By maintenance we mean checking the oil filter, tire inflation, oil changes and others. By tuning up your car, you use fuel efficiently and you are able to save money. Best would be to reduce dependence on car use because cars use enormous amount of fuel and right now, the fuel resources in our planet is steadily decreasing.   You can also keep your car parked and shop online for your JR Dunn jewelry, books from Amazon, and home supplies from Target.

Moreover, you can choose to buying clothes made with natural fabrics rather than synthetic ones. Natural fabrics are biodegradable and hence, they do not pose any threat to the environment. Whereas synthetically manufactured clothes are harmful for the environment. Not only clothes, you can purchase most of home improvement items made of natural resources like bamboo and natural colors. Green living is healthy.

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