Tips from Brighter Planet
Keep drinking water in the fridge
Fill up a few bottles or pitchers with cold tap water and put them in the fridge. You'll save water because you won't have to run the tap until it gets cold when you want a drink. You'll also save energy because filling your fridge helps it run more efficiently. It takes more energy to cool air than food or water, and lots of cold air escapes whenever you open the door. Moreover, with cold water easily accessible in your fridge you might think twice before drinking that soda or sugar-laden fruit juice.
Collect rainwater for your garden
Whether you design a complete rainwater catchment system, build a rain barrel, or just stick a couple buckets under your downspouts, rain is a great way to water your garden. Rain water is actually quite clean, because it doesn't have any of the dissolved salts or pollutants that are often found in ground and surface water. Nor does it contain the chlorine used to treat municipal water supplies. Best of all, it's free!
Read the news online—or listen to VPR
There's undeniably something special about unfolding the newspaper over your morning coffee. Unfortunately, printing that newspaper and delivering it to your door has a significant environmental impact. Newspapers contain more recycled fiber than ever before, but making the paper for them still consumes almost 12 million tons of wood and emits 20 million tons of CO2 each year. You can get the exact same news online at a tiny fraction of the impact.
Printed newspaper circulation has been declining for five years, and most major newspapers offer online subscriptions. The New York Times even offers free online access to all of its content! If you must, why not buy the section you want at a newsstand—it's more efficient than having the daily paper delivered, and how much of it do you actually read?
Buy local food
Domestically produced food travels an average of 1,500 miles between the farm and the table. Enormous amounts of fossil fuels are consumed to transport food these great distances. Food grown and raised in your own community is fresher — and often better for the environment — because it didn't travel hundreds of miles and several days to get to you.
It's important to remember that local food doesn't always have a smaller carbon footprint. Growing lettuce in Vermont in January might take more energy than growing it in California and trucking it across country. Meat products in particular can have deceptive carbon footprints—a grass-fed lamb chop from far away might be better than one from the feedlot down the road. Nevertheless, when you buy locally produced food you can be sure that you're supporting your community.
Recycle your CFLs
Compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) contain about 5 milligrams of mercury, a highly toxic naturally occurring element. For comparison, a regular non-electronic thermostat contains 4320 milligrams of mercury—more than 850 times as much.
CFLs (and thermostats) MUST be properly recycled to avoid releasing the mercury they contain. You should also be extra-careful to avoid breaking CFLs. If one does break, follow these steps to clean it up.
If mercury is so dangerous, you might wonder whether CFLs are safe to have in your home. As long as the bulbs don't break, there is absolutely no risk. Moreover, burning coal to produce electricity releases mercury into the atmosphere. Over the course of its life a single CFL will save enough electricity to prevent almost 7 mg of mercury emissions—37% more than the amount the CFL contains. And the mercury from recycled CFLs can be reused to make new ones.
Efficiency Vermont's CFL page has lots of info on CFLs, including a savings calculator and a map showing places to buy and recycle bulbs.
To learn how to clean up and dispose of a broken CFL, visit this EPA page.
Slow down
Did you know your car's fuel economy varies depending on the speed at which you drive? Different vehicles achieve maximum fuel economy at different speeds, but on average mileage increases until 25-30 mph, stays about constant until 55-60 mph, and then declines rapidly. Why? At that speed air resistance starts to overcome even the most streamlined design, because the power required to overcome the force of air resistance is proportional to the cube of velocity. Your car needs about 15 horsepower to maintain speed at 60 mph, but that jumps to 120 horsepower at 120 mph.
Ever wonder why your speedometer has a line at 55 mph? In 1974 congress passed the National Maximum Speed Law which—you guessed it—set a national speed limit of 55 mph. The law was intended to conserve gasoline in response to the 1973 oil crisis. The 55 mph limit was modified in the 1980s, and finally repealed in 1995. It's actually a coincidence that modern cars often reach their peak fuel economy at about 55 mph—back in 1973 the average peak was at 40 mph, but no-one was willing to set the speed limit that low!
The upshot of all this is that slowing down can really save money and carbon. Each 5 mph you drive over 60 mph saves about 7 minutes on a 100-mile trip, but costs the equivalent of paying an extra 25 cents per gallon for gas. You'll also emit an extra 1.5 lbs of CO2 every 20 miles. For the average American, the difference between driving at 75 mph and 65 mph — or 70 mph and 60 mph — adds up to almost $300 and 1,400 lbs of CO2 each year.
Never idle your car
Idling your vehicle emits harmful pollutants, wastes fuel, and contributes to climate change. Many areas have anti-idling laws, generally for health reasons. And most of the “justifications” given for idling are myths. Here are a few facts:
- Idling a car for more than 10 seconds uses MORE fuel than turning the engine off and back on.
The best way to warm up your car in the winter is to drive it slowly. This warms up the transmission, wheel bearings, and any other moving parts. Idling only warms the engine. - Idling a cold engine (i.e. just after turning it on in the winter) produces more than twice the normal harmful emissions.
- Excessive idling damages your engine by depositing residues from incomplete combustion.
- And remember, as long as you're idling your fuel economy is ZERO.
Carpool
Driving alone is very inefficient, especially when others are going your way. The average American commuter emits 3.7 tons of CO2 each year just driving to and from work. Sharing the trip with just one other person 2 days a week would save 72 gallons of gas, $250, and 1500 lbs of CO2 each year.
Ride the rails
If you're looking for a climate-friendly travel option, consider the train. Depending on the length of your trip, taking the Amtrak emits 1/2 to 1/3 as much carbon as flying. For shorter trips, taking the train can actually be faster and more convenient than flying. Airports are usually on the outskirts of cities while train stations are right in town. You also get to skip those time-wasting check-in and security lines.
Book non-stop flights
Looking for another reason to book a direct flight? Besides saving time and the hassle of connections, direct flights emit less CO2. Connecting flights don't follow the shortest route, and they also burn up lots of fuel in the extra takeoffs and landings. Just one layover on a 2000-mile (4.5 hour) flight increases emissions by 10% or more—and that's assuming the stop is directly on route!
Many thanks to Brighter Planet for providing these Green Tips to VPR. You can learn more about Brighter Plan at their website www.brighterplanet.com.
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