Daily “Green” Habits

06/13/2008 by Aubrey Southwell

We see it on the news, we hear it on the radio, we see billboards and print ads and TV shows all pointing to one topic - Global Warming. It’s a big issue… we have 1 earth, a whole lot of people and a responsibility to do our part and soften the impact of our lifestyles. Words like “eco-friendly”, “carbon footprint”, and “energy-efficiency” are a little intimidating - BIG CHANGE calls for BIG ACTION right? For most of us, it doesn’t have to be that complicated, there are so many things we can do in our daily lives to dramatically reduce our harm to the environment, WITHOUT a lot of money or inconvenience. Interested? Here are just a few examples…

You’ve heard this one a million times - reduce water consumption. Particularly for our Raleigh area, and other areas neighboring North Carolina, with recent drought issues the importance of water conservation stretch far beyond saving a couple of bucks (though it does that too!)… little things make a big difference here. For some ideas on how to do this:

• Turn off the water when you’re brushing your teeth.
• When you’re soaping up your pots and pans turn off the water until it’s time to rinse.
• Instead of flushing the spider you found, save a few gallons of water by taking it outside or throwing it in the trashcan.
• Fix leaking fixtures… a slow-dripping faucet wastes up to 2,400 gallons of water per year (that’s a lot).
• When getting your lawn established, keep this in mind… lawns, believe it or not can be trained. If you don’t start out over watering your lawn when it’s being established, it won’t take a lot of water to keep it happy (give it the bare minimum and it’ll only need the bare minimum). On average, in Raleigh and the surrounding areas, lawns need 1 inch of water per week.
• Consider installing low-flow showerheads, faucets and toilets (can save thousands of gallons annually).
  

According to the California Urban Water Conservation Council, roughly 60% of the typical American household’s water consumption takes place in the bathroom… the toilet by itself on average attributes to 27% of your annual water consumed.

Big Payoff - If you happen to be in the market to buy some new appliances (refrigerators, washers, dryers, air conditioners, etc.), do some research and try out some of the energy saving appliances. The statistics on this are really incredible… according to ENERGY STAR, if 1 in 10 homes switched to ENERGY STAR qualified appliances, it would be equivalent to the planting of 1.7 million new ACRES of trees! Think of this one as an investment, not only for the environment, but it’s easy to justify the price difference when you consider you can reduce your energy bill by $80 annually. Another big plus - this will certainly be an attractive feature for Raleigh area home buyers, should you decide to sell your Triangle home with conveying appliances!

Your home a little drafty? Cracks around your windows and doors means you may as well hand-deliver your wallet to your energy company. To seal up your homes cracks and holes, use silicone sealants, it’s waterproof and doesn’t crack or shrink, acrylic caulk tends to do this creating waste.

Have to change them anyway - When it comes time to change your light bulbs, have a few compact fluorescent bulbs on hand. Changing your regular old incandescent light bulbs to compact fluorescent can make quite a substantial impact. By switching out 5 bulbs you’ll save up to $100 annually on electric bills, while using a whopping 75% less energy – already contributing to help remove greenhouse gases from the environment.

Another big one - adjusting your thermostat. Understandably you have to be comfortable in your home year round, but just 1 degree warmer in the summer, and 1 degree colder in the winter will decrease your electrical cost quite a bit - just imagine what 2 or more degrees each season could do for your wallet!
Use a programmable thermostat? Even better! Just program your cooling & heating systems to reduce output during times when no one is home or when everyone is sleeping. Ceiling fans are also great during all seasons to keep the air circulating to maximize the energy you are using.

To “go green” doesn’t mean you have to flip your life upside down, it doesn’t mean you have to ask your boss for a raise so that you can buy a wind powered rotating skyscraper for your backyard, and you don’t have to plant, chop and re-grow fields of bamboo for your floors - although bamboo is a great renewable resource and a fantastic way to go! By making small changes you can do your part to help create a “greener” world, and if you’re a fellow Raleigh-ite, a greener, cleaner Raleigh!