What You Can Do
Tips are everywhere — on websites, in books and magazines. Here we’ve provided a few that can get you started easily toward a more sustainable, greener lifestyle.
Energy Conservation TipsLawn Care TipsWater Conservation TipsBuy Fresh, Buy Local OKEnergy Conservation on the Road TipsAdditional Resources
Energy Conservation TIPS
Reduce Energy Used for Air Conditioning
To cool your house efficiently, your air conditioner unit has to be cool itself, so keep it in the shade. An air conditioner exposed to direct sunlight will use up to 5% more energy than a shaded one. Also, air conditioner units located on the north side of the house general use less energy than those on the south or west sides, where it's sunny. If your a/c unit is already in the sun, you can build a simple wooden shade screen for it. (But don't block the air flow.)
More a/c tips:
- If you have central air conditioning, cool only the rooms you use, but don't close off all the vents. Closing too many of them will reduce the operating efficiency.
- Minimize the amount of heat entering your home from outside by drawing shades and curtains on hot days. Drapes must fit tightly against the window and floor to save energy, and even a vinyl shade can cut heat loss in half. Venetian blinds are the lest effective energy savers because they have so many gaps. And don't leave windows and doors open while your air conditioner is running.
- Set the thermostat as high as possible: the minimum recommended energy-efficient summer temperature is 78 degrees F.
- Timely maintenance for your a/c unit and the ducts is important. Check your a/c unit coils every spring to be sure they are clean and straight. If the unit is clogged with leaves, blow them out, or vacuum them up. And remember to change your filters throughout your system. A clogged filter will use 5% more energy than a clean one.
What about the Attic?
In the summertime, stuffy attics can add to your air-conditioning costs. Your attic heats up in the sun, and the hot attic air warms the rooms beneath, even if the attic is insulated. Rooms under poorly vented attics are 10 degrees hotter than if the attic were well vented.
Whole house attic fans can be installed in the attic or ceiling to pull fresh air through the house (usually at night, when it's cool outside) and make air conditioning practically unnecessary.
More attic tips:
- Check to see if your attic is well-ventilated. Look for unclogged, screened vents near gables or roof line and under eaves.
- Consider adding roof vents.
- Make sure your attic is well-insulated.
- Seal the holes where conduits and pipes enter the attic and along partition walls, eaves, knee walls. Use caulk or compressed fiberglass insulation.
Would a Ceiling Fan Help?
Ceiling fans consume about the same amount of energy as a 60 watt bulb - which is about 98% less energy than most central air conditioners use. These fans produce air currents that carry heat away from the skin, so even air conditioned rooms feel cooler when one is running. Most ceiling fans save energy in winter as well as summer, because their motors can run in reverse. Change the setting according to the season. In winter, the fan blades push the warm air caught near the ceiling down. In summer, they draw the cooler air near the floor up and into the room. Some rooms in your house may be 15 degrees warmer at the ceiling than at the floor. A well-placed ceiling fan can reduce this difference to only 3 degrees.
Unplug Unused Electronics
Ten percent of the average electric bill is leeched by phantom electric use. The reason for the slow “phantom” leakage is because most electronics are created to power up at the touch of a button. But they need to have enough power running through them in order to instantly respond to your request. You can oftentimes tell if your electronics are oozing electricity if the little red light is on or if the plug is warm. Don’t leave TVs on when you aren’t watching them- simply turning down the noise isn’t enough. Unplug toasters, hairdryers, fax machines, printers, electric toothbrushes, dust busters, bread makers, coffee grinders, and any other unused electronics.
Unplug Your Desktop Computer
A Google executive once said that electric companies should start buying personal computers for contracted customers. Why? Because personal computers drain an inordinate amount of electricity. To avoid the drain you can do one of several things:
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Replace your PC with a laptop. Since laptops are both battery powered and engineered to be power efficient, they use substantially less electricity than PCs.
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Completely power down or unplug your computer when not in use. Sleep mode with the pictures bouncing up and down doesn’t count. It takes a fewminutes for the computer to be fully functional once you restart it which may seem like a waste of time, but how about trying these options:
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If your computer is at home, when you walk by your computer in the morning press the power button, walk past and proceed to do something else (i.e. make coffee, eat breakfast, read the newspaper). Once you are really ready to use the computer, it will be ready for you.
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If your computer is at the office, walk up to your desk and turn it on. Then, get coffee, unpack your briefcase, open your mail, or check your in box. I am sure there is SOMEthing you can do that will take up those minutes and allow your computer to power up.
Change to CFL Lightbulbs and Turn Off Your Lights
The generation of electricity is responsible the most amount of industrial carbon emissions in the US (39.4% according to the US Department of Energy). Keeping our houses flushed with unnatural light takes up 10% home energy use. You can make a noticeable impact on the environment and save money on your electric bill by switching out your bulbs out to fluorescent (CFL). They may be more expensive at the point of purchase, but fluorescents last 6-10 times longer than incandescent bulbs and they can cut light energy use by as much as 50%. If you aren’t a fan of the yellowish light that emanates from fluorescents, try Light Emitting Diodes (LED). LEDs have been used for years to illuminate traffic lights and the small red or green lights in electronics like cell phone chargers without the use of too much energy. They are just starting to be mainstreamed and manufactured for consumer products. LEDs are more expensive than CFLs, but they come in lots of great colors and use 85% less energy than your average household bulb. Not into CFLs or your LED options? You can still make a difference if you just make it a point to turn off unused lights or let the light shine in from behind your window shades. Natural light is healthier anyway.
To Save Energy Loss, Weatherproof Your Home
Inside your home, you can save on energy costs by caulking around windows. If there are visible gaps around outside doors, use insulation strips on the inside of the door frame to tighten the seal. A general rule of thumb, use caulking for cracks that have no movable parts. Where doors and windows close into their frames, seal them with weatherstripping - strips of felt, rubber, metal or plastic that fill the spaces between the frame and the doors and windows, and compress when you shut them.
Here are two ways to find drafts: (1) at a time when your house is at least 20 degrees warmer than the outdoors, hold your hand up to various places around the windows and door frames. If you feel a draft, you need weatherstripping; (2) use a candle to look for drafts. Hold the flame near the places you think might have cracks - if the flame flickers or dances you've found a place to seal.
Besides windows and doors, other places prone to drafts can be found around electric switches and outlets. Gaskets are available that fit behind the switch plates and keep out drafts.
Finally, install sweeps or shoes to stop air from sneaking in under outside doors. If the crack is too big to be fixed by weatherstripping, make a cloth "worm," fill it with sand and lay it against the bottom of the door to keep the wind out.
Maximize the efficiency of your water heater
Insulate your water heater. Simply wrapping your unit will cut back on the cost of heating the water. Dropping the desired hot water temperature by a notch or two on the unit’s thermostat will also reduce energy use and expense. A suggested temperature is 120 degrees F.
Your water heater is always filled with hot water, ready at any moment to shower you with your preferred water temperature. In order to maintain a constantly hot temperature, the water must constantly be reheated. This takes lots of energy, especially during a cold winter. Minimize this unnecessary energy loss and opt for an alternative:
Install a Solar Water Heater
Use a unit of small solar panels to naturally keep the water in your water heater hot.
Use On-Demand Heating
On-Demand heating is a tankless water heater. Instead of storing up gallons of hot water, on-demand heating starts moving water over hot coils as soon as you switch your shower on.
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Lawn Care TIPS
Lawn Tips
Choose a species of grass for your lawn that doesn’t require a lot of water. There are shortgrass varieties that require less water and less mowing, but still create a sturdy green lawn that prevents soil erosion. Check with your local sod companies. Most lawns need about 1 inch of water a week once they're established. Apply it slowly so the water doesn't run off.
Set your mower blades so they cut grass about 2-3 inches tall. Mowing it shorter dries out the soil faster and increases water use.
Let grass clipping turn into mulch. During dry periods, cut the grass high and leave the clippings on the lawn to keep it from drying out - thus reducing the amount of water your lawn needs. Water your lawn in the morning to reduce evaporation. Watering at night may keep evaporation down, but may encourage mold to grow.
Plant Native Plants
Native plants have learned to accommodate for their environment and climate in order to survive with little if any human assistance. In California native poppies grow wild in bright orange fields with only the small amount of water that mother nature drizzles on them each year. In Hawaii orchids love the humid temperatures and tropical rains. Camellia trees, native to the Georgia lowlands, have fragrant blooms that look like white magnolia flowers in autumn. Liatris love prairies and they will bloom after the worst winter, even without freeze protection. Rocky Mountain wildflowers like Gentians have a short but beautiful growing season that even nurseries have a tough time capturing- but the wild is their playground. Another benefit of growing local is that the locals tend to get along with other locals like hummingbirds and butterflies, and they know how to naturally make pesky bugs and rodents bug off without the need for chemical repellents.
Consider An Alternative
The average lawn in the summer consumes 10,000 pounds of water. To keep that lawn looking sharp, power lawn tools contribute 5% of our nation’s air pollution. Consider making your lawn a butterfly garden or natural area, complete with rocks, natural water features and wildflowers. This mini-wildlife habitat could draw birds, butterflies and small mammals to your yard and requires little or no maintenance. Better yet, it will require little water and will contribute zero emissions.
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Water Conservation TIPS
Use a Drip Hose
Sprinklers may be a fun makeshift water park for the kids, but the amount of water loss is both expensive and damaging for the environment. Choose drip hoses to irrigate your gardens. Drip hoses work by allowing water to slowly seep out of small holes that target the roots of the plants - where they actually need the water - as opposed to the leaves, flowers, sidewalk, and all passing cars on the street.
Take Shorter Showers
You use an average of 2.5 gallons of water for every minute that you shower. Save water in the shower by: (1) Shortening your shower by two minutes; (2) Turning off the water while shaving your legs, waiting for your conditioner to soak in, or loofahing your skin.
Reduce the amount of water you flush away
Each flush wastes 3-5 gallons of water. Multiply 5 gallons by the number of times you flush the toilet each day. Now multiply that by every member in your family and you’ve got a lot of good water going down the drain. In fact, the US government believes that we flush approximately 40% of our all household water down the drain.
Here are several ways to easily minimize that waste:
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Dual Flush Toilet - Expensive, but effective and stylish, the dual flush has two flush options- A- uses about .8 gallons of water per flush for small jobs, B- uses about 2 gallons per flush for dirty jobs. Some companies like Rous Water offer rebates when you replace a single flush toilet with a dual flush.
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Put rocks in your toilet tub. If you lift up the lid on the back of your toilet you will notice that it is filled with water. There is also a line that indicates the toilet is filled with the appropriate amount of water (3-5 gallons depending on the toilet). Each time you flush, all of the water empties out into the bowl to clean it, then flush back through the exit pipe. The point of the rocks (you can also use a sand filled sealed water bottle) is to displace some of that water so that the toilet thinks it is holding the requisite 3-5 gallons. Don’t worry, as long as you leave at least 2 gallons of water it should still function properly (and if it doesn’t, just take out a few rocks).
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Ask your handyman or plumber to adjust the flush volume of your cistern in order to lower the waterline and therefore minimize the amount of water that fills into it.
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Be sure your toilet isn’t leaking. If it is, fix it immediately. A leaking toilet can loose up to 16,000 liters of water a year. Test your toilet by placing a couple of drops of food coloring into the cistern. Don’t flush the toilet. If the water in your toilet bowl begins to turn into the color of the die within 15-20 minutes, you’ve got a leak.
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Energy Conservation on the Road TIPS
Slow Down!
Speeding, rapid acceleration, and rapid braking all waste gas and cut down your mileage potential by as much as 33 percent at highway speeds, according to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). End sudden, jack-rabbit starts, opting instead for slow acceleration. Keep in mind that speeding wastes gas and money. Each mile per hour you drive over 60 mph is like paying an extra 10 cents per gallon according to DOE.
Don't Idle
When your car is idling in traffic or warming up, it gets 0 miles per gallon. Even sitting still for 60 seconds uses more gas than shutting off the engine and restarting it.
Keep Your Tires at the Proper Inflation Level
Under-inflated tires cause your car to use more fuel than necessary, and causes tires to wear incorrectly. Over-inflated tires also wear incorrectly and can increase your blowouts.
Lighten Up!
Check your trunk for unnecessary weight. Just carrying around an extra 100 pounds can raise your gasoline use 1%.
Reduce the Number of Trips You Make in the Car
When running errands, have a plan. Map out your stops and use a logical route. Being organized can save you big time on fuel costs not to mention the mileage on your car’s odometer.
Ride the Bus or Carpool with a Neighbor or Friend
Significant cost savings can result by leaving your car parked in the garage. Use public transportation, or carpool. Better yet, get exercise and walk or ride a bicycle when you need to get somewhere.
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Buy Fresh, Buy Local OK
It’s the season of fresh vegetables, and in Tulsa we are lucky to have many local producers and many farmers markets. Join the Buy Fresh, Buy Local OK movement. Check out local farmers’ markets and buy your produce there.
Here’s why:
- Eliminates the cost of transporting the produce to Tulsa
- Eliminates the cost of packaging so that produce can be stored and transported without damage. Packaging not only uses up resources in its production, like trees for paper and petroleum for plastics, but fills up landfills and trashes up our streets, rivers and oceans.
- Markets provide family farmers with a reliable place to sell the fruits of their labor directly to the public.
Market products include locally grown fruits, vegetables, herbs and other farm-fresh items. Also, honey, eggs, plants, flowers and hand-crafted items. Some also offer meats, dairy products, nuts and baked goods. Check it out!
Tulsa County
Monday
Pearl Farmers’ Market
4:30 – 7 p.m., April 28 thru Sept. 15
Centennial Park, SW corner, 6th St. and Peoria.
Tuesday
Downtown Tulsa Farmers’ Market
10:30 a.m. – 2 p.m., May 6 thru October
Williams Green, 3rd St. and Boston
Wednesday
Brookside Farmers’ Market
8 a.m. – 12 p.m., May 7 thru Oct. 22
41st and Peoria, ACE Hardware Parking Lot
Collinsville Farmers’ Market
8 – 11 a.m., June through October
12th and Main, Downtown Collinsville
Owasso Farmers’ Market at YMCA
8 a.m. – 12 noon May 7 thru ?
YMCA just off Hwy, 169, 8300 N. Owasso Expwy
Sperry Farmers’ Market
5-7 p.m. (opening soon)
North of Sperry on Hwy 11
Saturday
Cherry Street Farmer’s Market
7 – 11 a.m., April 12 thru Oct. 4
Lincoln Plaza. 15th St. and Peoria.
Collinsville Farmers’ Market
8 – 11 a.m., June thru October
12th and Main, Downtown Collinsville
Jenks Farmers’ Market
7 a.m. – 12 p.m., May 3 thru October
Pedestrian bridge between Aquarium and Riverwalk
North Tulsa Farmers’ Market
8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., May thru October
Newsome Community Farm, 2620 E. 56th St. N.
Owasso Farmers’ Market at YMCA
8 a.m. – 12 noon May 7 thru ?
YMCA just off Hwy, 169, 8300 N. Owasso Expwy
Sperry Farmers’ Market
5-7 p.m. (opening soon)
North of Sperry on Hwy 11
For more information about buying produce, honey, soap and other locally made products, check out this website:
www.BuyFreshBuyLocalOK.com
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More websites with green living tips:
Green Living Tips Low Impact Living The Green Guide Sundance Channel Green Guide The Daily Green Save Money
MAGAZINE Websites:
Living Green Magazine Mother Earth News
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