Tips on Reducing Electricity

Here are some green electricity tips that I have compiled from various sources:

First you may want to check out your Carbon Footprint. There are some easy and cheap things you can do right away to save money and even see a difference. Once you get your carbon footprint, then start on this list and the list that it provides for you. Once you accomplish some items, check them off and you will see the improvement right away on your saved profile of your carbon footprint.

1. Replace all your light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) or with the newest ones light emitting diodes (LEDs).
2. Turn off your appliances and lights when you are not going to be utilizing them within the next 10 minutes.
3. Eliminate any electronics that are in "sleep mode". They are still pulling a current even when they are plugged in and in standby mode. You may even pull the cord on appliances that do not need to be plugged when not in use. If it's plugged and turned off, there is still electricity running through it.
   
4. Utilizing a flat screen monitor with your computer will use 1/3 the energy of the old CRT monitor.
   
5. Clothes driers eat up a lot of electricity, so hanging your clothes outside is a good way to energy saver.
   
6. In the winter months, try grabbing another layer of clothing before turning up the heater.
   
7. Seal your home in the winter months, by covering windows with plastic, sealing doors with door snakes, and by insulating your hot water tank.
   
8. The more people you have over in the winter, the warmer your place gets and you can turn down the heater by a notch or two, and let the body heat do the trick.
   
9. Make sure there is a little room around your refrigerator so that it's heat can escape, and not make it work so hard. Also make sure light fixtures are not near anything that needs to be cooler, like the refrigerator, freezer, fans, or air conditioners. They produce heat, and can these items to work overtime.
   
10. Contact your local electric company to see what alternative power supplies they offer.
    

Plastic Bags

I think this is a good idea that Delhi has come up with , and knowing that other countries have already banned the plastic bags is interesting to know. Our western style in shopping isn't very environmentally good, and for other countries to realize this is awesome and the action they are taking to remedy the situation.

100,00 Rupees (2,047.53 US Dollar as of 1-20-08) is a rather large fine, but at least they are taking the situation seriously. I think that our government should do something along these lines, but then I'm sure that many Americans would not be able to afford that fine. If they would impose such a ban here in the United States, then they would have to make the cost of the biodegradable bags responsibly priced so that everyone will be able to afford them.

At least the Environmentalists were able to convince the government that even though the plastic bags are cheaper and can be conveniently disposed of, it's healthier for their country to stop utilizing them. To know that Malaria and the dengue fever are breeding among these bags and spreading to their people, is a huge health risk for everyone.

Wonder if our landfills are being polluted with these diseases or other ones due to everything that we throw away instead of recycling. It would be interesting to know what diseases are breeding in our landfills. Maybe this will help our government to take a more active role in the recycling issues and help clean out our landfills.

Coke opens world's largest bottle recycling plant

Coke stages a grand opening for the world's largest bottle-to-bottle recycling plant in South Carolina this week. The plant will have the capacity, when fully operational, to produce 100 million pounds of recycled PET plastic chips—enough to produce 2 billion 20-ounce bottles of Coke or Dasani or whatever.

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