GREEN LIVING TIPS

On April 20th 2010 our country suffered from the greatest oil spill it has ever known. The Transocean Ltd exploded into flames releasing hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil into the Gulf. This catastrophe alone should teach about how fragile our resources can be. Making small lifestyle changes from the products that we buy to certain decisions that we make in our homes and businesses can greatly improve the environment. Here I will discuss some of the changes that we can make to improve our health and environment.

Recycle:
-Aluminum Cans
-Newspapers
-Plastics
-Steel
-Organic Waste
-Glass
-Other paper Products
-Toner Cartridges

All of these items can be recycled instead of ending up at a dump and withering the environment. You can usually find a recycling center for these items in your town but if not check with your city waste department for more information.

-Turn down your hot water heater. Your hot water heater accounts for 20-30% of your homes energy. Turn your hot water heater down to around 130 degrees. Turning your hot water heater down could save somewhere from 7-8% on your energy use age (which saves you money).

-Use latex paint instead of oil based paint.Oil based paints are toxic and produce nasty pollutants into the atmosphere. Use latex paint and let the excess evaporate outside for one year. Then dispose of the rest in your trash or donate it to someone who could use it.

-Use rechargeable batteries. Batteries are made of heavy metals and mercury. Both of these materials are major contaminants at dump sites. Rechargeable batteries extract the mercury and cadmium for reuse.

-Use low flush toilets. Forty percent or the pure water in your household is flushed down the toilet.

-Recycle your motor oil. 350 million gallons of motor oil in up in the environment every year. A good portion of that ends up in our rivers and streams. When you get your oil changed ask them if they recycle old motor oil. If you change your own oil; take your old oil to a oil station that recycles old motor oil.

-Switch to fluorescent lighting. Fluorescent bulbs last longer that traditional bulbs and use 1/4 of the energy.

-Use Cloth Diapers. Cloth diapers take up 1-2% of American landfills. Disposable diapers are made from pulp wood; which means more trees are getting cut down to make the diapers. There are also several hundred known diseases from human excrement that end up in our landfills and into the environment.

These are just a few helpful tips to change your home or business to a more healthy environment for you and for your family or colleagues. These simple changes may not seem like much but when everyone pitches in and decides to make their environment a more healthy one; they can do wonders for the environment.