15 Earth Day Tips to Make Our World a Greener Place

In celebration of Earth Day, here are 15 ways to make our world a greener place:

1. Turning off your computer when it’s not in use is a smart way to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and help fight against the effects of climate change.
   
   
2. Turn off all unnecessary lighting. When you leave a room, be sure to turn off the lights.
   
   
3. Switch all your bills to paperless or e-statements and consider canceling unwanted catalog and magazine subscriptions.
   
   
4. Buy recycled paper. Purchasing 100% post-consumer office paper lightens your carbon footprint by 5 pounds of carbon dioxide per ream. It also causes 35% less water pollution, uses 40% less energy, and produces 74% less air pollution according to the EPA.
   
   
5. Bring your own reusable grocery bags to the store. Paper and plastic grocery bags can hurt the environment. It take about 12 millions barrels of oil and 14 million trees to produce plastic and paper bags each year.
   
   
6. Use the dishwasher. Doing a full load in your machine is more efficient than washing the same number of dishes by hand. This is especially true if you have an Energy Star dishwasher, which requires an average of 4 gallons of water per load, compared with the 24 gallons it takes to do them in the sink. You can save 5,000 gallons of water, $40 in utility costs, and 230 hours of your time each year.



7. Buy local. Shop at your local farmers’ market. Not only will you receive a higher quality product, the entire purchase price goes directly to the farmer. Also buying any product locally saves energy by reducing the fossil fuels needed to transport food and other items across the country and around the globe.
   
   
8. Setting your thermostat a few degrees lower in the winter and a few degrees higher in the summer can translate to substantial savings on your utility bills.
   
   
9. Spruce up your home with plants. Not only are plants a colorful compliment to your home decor, some indoor plants can filter toxins like benzene and formaldehyde that often exist in our homes because they are used in the manufacturing of materials found in most households.
   
   
10. Use rechargeable batteries wherever possible. Save money and cut down on batteries and hazardous waste in landfills.
    
    
11. Unplug household appliances and electronics (like the coffee maker, toaster, and cell phone charger) when they're not in use. Even if they're not on, appliances that are plugged in use energy. In fact, as much as 40 percent of all electricity is used to power home appliances that are turned off!
    
    
12. Replace burned out lightbulbs with CFLs. These fluorescent bulbs use about 75 percent less energy than standard incandescents and last up to 10 times longer. You can save $30 or more in electricity costs for each bulb over its lifetime!.
    
    
13. Select Energy Star appliances when it's time to purchase new ones. Clothes washers, dishwashers, refrigerators and freezers, dehumidifiers, and more with the Energy Star label incorporate advanced technologies that use 10 to 50 percent less energy and water than standard models-and they work well too!
    
    
14. Cell Phone Battery Recycle: Cell phones batteries, just like other batteries, are toxic and should not be thrown into the curbside trash. If you have an old cell phone you're not using anymore, you can just donate it. Companies such as AmericanCellPhoneDrive.org make it simple to donate your old cell phones, plus it is free. They restore the repairable cell phones and raise money for charities. and the unsellable phones are broken down and recycled in accordance with all state and federal regulations.
    
    
15. Fix leaks! As soon as you spot a leak at your house, fix it or contact your plumber to do so. A Leaky toilet can waste 30 to 50 gallons per day per toilet, and leaky faucets can waste 15 to 20 gallons per day.
    
    

Every person can make a difference, so please make an effort to do your part and help make our planet a “greener” place.