Where do you start making changes that are easy and sustainable? Think of your home and office as the first place where you can identify and evaluate the eco-impact of the products you use. When we minimize waste by reducing, reusing and recycling we change the course of events that have caused the negative side effects like pollution and global warming. We can all start today making a positive impact on our future.
When you're printing out that next document, ask yourself, "Do I really need to print that?" The less paper we use and waste the more trees remain standing, converting carbon dioxide back into oxygen. According to EnviroZine, It takes 1000 average trees to convert the carbon footprint of an average car traveling 12,500 miles per year. Before you make your next printing paper purchase check out the post consumer (recycled) versions of paper and look for the percentage of reuse. 100% post consumer content paper is twice the price of virgin paper at this time, but by using half as much you can justify the cost and save more trees. You can also reuse paper by printing on both sides or by cutting them into scrap paper.
As we realize the advantages of conservation on a personal level and we start changing one thing at a time like incandescence light bulbs to Compact Fluorescent Lights - CFL. That one change provides a huge savings in resources. If every American home replaced just one incandescence light bulb with an ENERGY STAR qualified bulb, we would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes for a year, more than $600 million in annual energy costs and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of more than 800,000 cars. Energy Star qualified bulbs use about 75 percent less energy than standard incandescent bulbs and last up to 10 times longer.
Before you make a purchase of your next appliance, printer or electronics, research and ask for energy efficient and energy saving ratings. As you start to replace old items with new that lessen energy consumption, you're doing your part to conserve. Refrigerators, freezers, washers, dryers, TV's and electronics, manufactured before 2001, use much more energy than the new Energy Star rated appliances do today.
Encourage and promote ideas for improving energy conservation. It starts with small changes that add up to big savings. The addition of protection power outlet strips for all your electronics and appliances that can be turned off when you leave for the day. One button per strip turns everything off. It's an amazing way to conserve energy and a noticeable savings on your energy bill.
How can we protect and improve our water and air quality? If businesses are dumping in your area, make that information known to the proper stewards. Our natural resources are too precious to pollute along with the wildlife and fish that become contaminated, endangering life cycles that throw off the natural balance we have on our planet. Anyone dumping chemicals or waste into the air or water would want to start looking for alternative ways for disposal. Start the process by asking your company what changes they are making to ensure the future of our planet. Small things like batteries and toner need recycled not thrown out, Styrofoam and certain plastics are not biodegradable, so we need to stop using them.
As we're all making a conscious effort to conserve energy and our natural resources, think reduce, reuse and recycle with everything you do. These small changes activate our awareness to find more eco-friendly behaviors that will continue to sustain our planet and make it healthier for all the inhabitants.
http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=cfls.pr_cfls
http://www.ec.gc.ca/EnviroZine/English/issues/02/any_questions_e.cfm
Susan Elaine Wheeler's fascination with human nature started at a very young age, always asking the question why. Why do people do the things they do? The cause and effect of our behaviors determine our environments with the decisions we make. Susan's career successes include owning her marketing company AMPS, National Sales for Kramer Guitars, creating Professional Accounts in Hollywood, CA and this year starting a new company, Creative Perspective Solutions, CPS working with individuals and companies that want to accelerate their excellence while maximizing their talents, qualities and vision through effective communications.
(c) 2008 Creative Perspective Solutions
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