Thursday Thirteen #14
Posted in Thursday Thirteen on 10/18/2007 12:11 am by Grace
13 WAYS TO BE ENVIRONMENT FRIENDLY
October 15 was Blog Action Day with the theme: Environment so here are 13 things I commit myself to do whenever possible.
1. Purchase a vehicle that uses less of the earth’s limited petroleum resources. By choosing a car with the most fuel efficient engine in its class, drivers could reduce their engine CO2 emissions and potentially save on fuel costs.
It doesn’t have to be a hybrid Toyota Prius, there are lots of alternative eco-friendly cars available that’s easy on gas.
2. Take the public transport if you have easy access to it. By joining other commuters and travelers rather than cruising in individual cars, you can save money on parking fees and gas.
If Dubai’s public transport system is as efficient as that of Japan’s, I wouldn’t mind taking it everyday.
3. Make it an effort to recycle. May it be yard wastes, newspapers, aluminum cans, pet bottles or plastic bags.
We make it a point not to buy small bottles of water when we go out. We fill our own water bottles before going out.
4. Reduce plastic waste. Did you know that it takes 20 years for a plastic bag to decompose and 250 years for a plastic cup?
We take our own grocery bag when we shop to reduce the use of plastic bags.
5. Recycle paper. Avoid hitting the print key when you can. Transmit information electronically and only print when you truly need it.
I bring papers printed on one side home, so my daughter can make use of it for drawing.
6. Eat Local. In the area of food, think about how far it has traveled to get to your mouth.
This is very difficult in my part! Fruits and vegetables available in the grocery here come from far-flung places. Our tomatoes come from Holland! I may not be able to practice this but I hope you will.
7. Have Barbeque! Grilling is a healthy way to cook but did you know that it is also good for the air? Outdoor grills take less energy than electric kitchen stoves. It also keep heat out of the house, lowering air conditioning costs.
I know it’s autumn in the northern hemisphere right now so bbq is not possible. However, here in Dubai, we can bbq all year long so we’ll make it a point to grill outside instead of cooking a feast on special occasions.
8. Dine on reusable plates, spoons and forks. Instead of using paper plates, cups and plastic utensils. You can help save a lot of trees and reduce plastic waste.
We bring our own utensils when we camp out and reuse them. I don’t like bringing paper plates as I find them too soft and unstable.
9. Invest on eco-friendly appliances. Check out the products that emits less freon and carbon. Also, think twice if you really need that second fridge in your room just to store drinks.
A little walk into the kitchen to get your refreshment won’t hurt; it can even be a little exercise.
10. Change your thermostat setting. Setting the thermostat a few degrees lower in winter and a few degrees higher in summer can give you substantial savings on utility bills.
When I was in Japan, thermostat settings in offices during summer is 28C and 20C during winter. People adjust to this too hot and little bit too cold temperature by wearing lighter clothes on summer and bringing a light jacket on winter. Here in Dubai? The thermostat is offices and malls are set at 15C or lower. This country will never pass the ISO standard for environment.
I always change the thermostat to at least 20C but someone is always putting it back to 15. I keep a light jacket in the office.
11. Think twice about buying a new cellphone. E-waste from discarded cell phones is a growing environmental problem. Thousands of electronic refuse are being shipped abroad illegally for ‘disassembly’ by workers with little protection against mercury and other toxic substances they contain.
Although I love new technology, I don’t change cell phones frequently. My last cell phone lasted me 5 years before I bought a new one.
12. Make your own cleaning supplies. Use simple ingredients such as baking soda, soap and vinegar to create non-toxic cleaning products that work.
I use baking soda to exfoliate and that saves me from buying a facial scrub contained in plastic. It is also a lot more cheaper and works for me really well.
13. Use flat panel display. Flat panel monitors use 1/3 as much energy than a CRT monitor. A typical LCD requires 25 watts; a CRT, 75. CRT’s need more energy because they require constant power to illuminate the phosphors that produce images on screen. Flat panel monitors not only saves energy, it also saves space.
We have been using flat LCD’s since it came out. The CRT monitors just take up too much space.
How do you contribute to making our planet greener?
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October 18th, 2007 at 3:22 am
Good list. My list is all pictures this week. I’m sorry because I know you can’t see them because they are in Flickr. Do you want me to send one or two?
October 18th, 2007 at 4:46 am
nice list! nice reminders. i also bring my own water with me rather than always pressing the vending machine button.
the list you gave me last night, himoa tong 13 ha? =) twas interesting.
October 18th, 2007 at 6:02 am
I agree with ALL your ideas. But I admit I do have a problem with enviro-religionists - ie, people who chant “save the planet” so much I think they practically worship the earth (and could care less about God).
I also make my own cleaning supplies and baking soda is my best friend! When I needed it for baking my muffins this morning, I had to go retrieve it from the laundry room where it was being used as a cleaner.
October 18th, 2007 at 7:36 am
Come visit me I have something for you. Being a part of “community”is very important.
Scroll down.
By the way I am a little hindered with the package I may be able to get up on my feet tomorrow. As soon as i am able I will get it off to you.
October 18th, 2007 at 7:57 am
how exactly do you use baking soda for cleaning?
i have tons of cleaning stuffs which don’t really work!
very nice list … we recycle!
October 18th, 2007 at 9:24 am
nice list..
one of my contribution would be not throwing oil especially cooking oil directly. Back at home we do not throw used cooking oil, we use it as lamp combining with salt , it does not produce smoke and safer than gasoline and candle.
here in japan since there are no blackouts, i use paper to absorb all the oil first before washing the pan. i get to recycle all those fliers and newspaper and make the river and ocean oil free
October 18th, 2007 at 10:09 am
Excellent list. I try to recycle or reuse whatever I can and to avoid needless paper waste. My drawer is full of old office papers for my kids to use as drawing paper.
October 18th, 2007 at 11:19 am
We definitely have the recycling down. DH is pretty fanatical about it.
October 18th, 2007 at 1:04 pm
Great list - we do pretty good but it always surprises me how some people go through cell phones like they are a loaf of bread. If it is functional then what is the point?
October 18th, 2007 at 6:12 pm
Thanks for visiting my TT
Great list, and hereby I promise to do more for the environment.
BTW, a friend of mine is flying to Dubai tonight. Perhaps you’ll meet each other by chance.
October 18th, 2007 at 6:20 pm
You taught me a thing or two. I really do need a new cell phone though. I’ve had mine about 4 years & it’s really getting hard to hear on it. Thanks for the green list. I try to do my part, too!
October 18th, 2007 at 7:07 pm
great list… one way to save mother earth is practice the 3 Rs: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle our household wastes…
October 18th, 2007 at 7:16 pm
Believe it or not, we do all this. In fact, our new printer is an Energy Star-rated appliance. We bike wherever we can, too, or walk to friends’ houses. I’m really trying to impress that sort of thing on the kids.
And even though it’s autumn here in the Northern Hemisphere, who said we can’t still grill???? We do it ALL the time! Year-round! Nothing tastes as good as grilled food; that’s why my fictional Mitchell is a grill fanatic. He gets it from me and the Tour Manager.
Happy TT!
October 18th, 2007 at 7:21 pm
How about eat less beef?? Did you know that it takes over 300 gallons of crude oil to create one adult cow?? That’s a lot of oil.
I love this list! You rock!
October 18th, 2007 at 8:29 pm
We are already do most of those things.
October 18th, 2007 at 8:32 pm
Nice list! I hate it when places are over air-conditioned or over-heated! Such a waste of energy. Saitama has a pretty good recycling program so we recycle most things. And of course I take the public transport.
October 18th, 2007 at 9:36 pm
I’ve been doing #10 for a long time. Actually, it’s a game I play to see just how low I can get my power bill to be. It really doesn’t take much to make a big impact.
These were all wonderful ways to make a difference. If each one of us did something about how we consume we would have a world-wide impact.
Thanks for your visit today and Happy TT!!!
October 18th, 2007 at 10:18 pm
I’m really surprised with #7. Happy TT to you…
October 18th, 2007 at 11:03 pm
Those are some very useful tips.
Living in a desert too, I love to BBQ, and we really try and save as much energy we can with keeping our thermastat at 80F. I’d love to get #1! We also have 3 trash cans to recycle.
Happy TT!
BTW~ You were one of the winners for referring people to the Autumn Goody Swap. I’ll email you the details. Congratsulations!
October 19th, 2007 at 12:23 am
Good for you…All good stuff, I am on the same page!
October 19th, 2007 at 2:36 am
You mean a flat panel is a good environmental choice? Don’t tell my husband or he’ll add it to his list of reasons to get one!
October 19th, 2007 at 5:33 am
inspiring and aspiring list … thanks for stopping by and commenting on my 13 suspensions
October 19th, 2007 at 5:34 am
Hey..great list..thanks for sharing the tips..
October 19th, 2007 at 6:08 pm
I try all this too. Sometimes it’s no problem at all, sometimes it can be harder. That’s okay, as long as you do your best it’s better than nothing. Enjoy the tomatoes from my country!
Thanks for visiting my fungi slideshow TT.
October 21st, 2007 at 8:29 am
I did a TT on “living greener” some time ago called “13 reasons to turn it off.” These are all great ideas. Thanks for stopping by chicken-scratch. Hope you’re having a great weekend, XINE
November 1st, 2007 at 8:17 am
I love the vinegar and baking soda cleaning solution. It works better than most harsh chemicals on the market.
Organic Orange Oil sold in most feed stores really does the ticket, as well, and again, it’s envir-friendly.
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January 31st, 2008 at 11:33 pm
Great TT!
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