Going Green

I was reading an article last night that gave very simple suggestions on leading a more eco-friendly life. Here are some of the suggestions that I found to be the easiest things to do, to help the environment:

* Every time you log onto the Internet, go to www.therainforestsite.com. All you need to do is click on the big green button, and the sponsors make a donation to help protect natural landscapes. And it's free. To date, visitors to the website have helped conservation organizations save over 43,000 acres of rain forests. Plus, their online store is a great place to find fair-trade gifts.

* Charger cords for cell phones, ipods, batteries, etc., whether they are in use or not, if they are plugged into the wall outlet they are using electricity. You can save electricity by simply unplugging your charger cords (and all other electronic devices and appliances) when you are not using them.

Editor's note: Have you ever noticed that your charger stays warm even when you are not charging something with it? That's because it is still draining electricity. According to Future Forests, only 5% of the power drawn by chargers are actually used to charge something. The other 95% is wasted when you leave it plugged into the wall, but not into your electronic device. The lesson? Unplug it when you're not using it! Or plug everything on a power strip and use the switch to turn it off instead of manually plugging and unplugging things. If you don’t, it’s just wasting your money and adding to the pollution created by burning fossil fuels.

* Turn off your engine... Ever find yourself sitting in your car in a long line, just idling? Bank lines, fast food restaurant lines, and after school carpool lines are perfect examples. By simply turning off your car when it's idling, you can help reduce the amount of carbon dioxide and other pollutants that go into the air. Ten minutes less of idling per day per car would help save 550 pounds of carbon dioxide. And if you multiply that by 10, 20, or even more cars, the benefits become really impressive. One lady in Illinois decided to do something about this problem in her own community. She created signs and posted them in the school carpool lines, encouraging others to turn off their engines when idling. To see the signs she made, go to www.enginesoff.blogspot.com. She also has lists of idling myths and facts on there, that I found quite helpful.

I find information like this to be really helpful, because these are things that are so simple to do (and free!). For one or two people to do it, it might not seem like all that much of a difference is being made. But when multiple people start making simple, every day changes like these, that's when things can truly begin to change for the better.