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Try This! Quick Facts for Green Living by Marianne Scholl

If you were to think of years as colors, 2008 was definitely bright green. Sky-high oil prices propelled the growing sustainability movement into the Big Time and also made everyone eager to conserve energy. Of course, here in the Northwest, we’ve known about carbon footprints and the importance of renewable resources for a long time. But will lower gas prices and a slower economy lead to backsliding on the environmental front?

If you feel yourself slipping in your commitment to changing how and what you consume, consider these simple steps:

SAY NO TO PLASTIC WATER BOTTLES

Sure they’re convenient, but plastic bottles are a terrible waste of resources. Picture for a second what a plastic bottle looks like filled ¼ of the way with oil. According to the Environmental News Network (www.enn.com), that’s how much oil it takes to make, transport, cool and dispose of the bottle. It also takes three liters of clean water to produce just one liter of bottled water.

Do you need more arguments to help you break the bottled water habit? The National Geographic Society’s Green Guide (www.thegreenguide.com) points to concern about chemicals leaching from plastics, particularly plastics designed to have a short shelf life.

USE COMPACT FLUORESCENT LIGHT BULBS
(BUT MAKE SURE YOU DISPOSE OF THEM PROPERLY!)

The EPA’s ENERGY STAR program estimates that compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) use 75% less energy than traditional light bulbs and last 10 times as long. That translates to a 75-pound savings of carbon per year each time you replace a 75-watt incandescent bulb with a 19-watt CFL.

You can’t argue with those numbers, but there is one drawback. Every CFL contains a tiny amount of mercury, a toxic metal that poses a serious threat to health with exposure. Although it is quite small, the amount of mercury in CFLs makes it illegal to throw them away in your trash or at transfer stations in King County. Fortunately, a new recycling and disposal program at many retail locations is now in place through the county’s “Take it Back Network.” There is no charge to recycle compact fluorescent bulbs and fluorescent tubes at Seattle Lighting, McLendon Hardware and Greenwood True Value Hardware. Bartell Drugs, Ikea and some Costco and Home Depot locations will also accept used CFLs at no charge.

GET A TUNE-UP & PUT AIR IN YOUR TIRES

Some people mocked Barack Obama during the campaign when he pointed out that keeping the right amount of air in car tires would save a significant amount of gas, but it really can cut oil consumption. Properly inflated ties can improve mileage by over 3%. On a national scale, that’s a lot of barrels of oil. Plus, properly inflated tires are safer and last longer.

You can also improve your mileage and cut carbon emissions by keeping your engine in good repair. Replacing a clogged air filter, for example, can improve your car’s mileage by as much as 10%, and fixing a car that is out of tune or has failed an emissions test also reduces the impact on air quality. Keeping your car in good repair can also prevent leaking oil, another no-no, as it inevitably ends up polluting Puget Sound.

Obviously, nothing is as green as walking or riding a bike. But if you must have a car, keep it in clean working order.

UNPLUG

If you’ve been making an effort to turn off lights and lower your household energy consumption, you need to go one step further. Get in the habit of unplugging everything, even your computer. It turns out that many household appliances and home electronics may be sucking energy even when they are turned off.

According to www.treehugger.com, switched-off devices account for 40% of the energy consumed by electronics in an average home. And it’s not only from electronic devices with LED lights indicating whether they are on or off. Computers continue to draw power even when they’re completely off. Get a power strip with an off switch to easily block electricity from flowing to your computer, printer and speakers. And be sure to unplug all cell phone and iPod chargers when you’re done!

Marianne Scholl is publisher of Seattle Woman.

©2009 Caliope Publishing Company