Topic: Environment
by James Joyce
Ways that you can help protect the environment
It seems that every other day there is a new "Green "initiative to help us "Save the Planet". We are forever being urged to join in and do what we can to help, but What can we do? Will it really make a difference?
It may surprise many of you to know that there are small changes we can make to our everyday lives, which will have a major impact on the environment. If you are really looking to help the environment, you may wish to consider the following simple ideas :-
Switch Off Electrical Appliances when not in use
Switching off, rather than leaving on stand-by, such everyday appliances as your TV and Computer will save enormous amounts of energy. By saving the energy, we can all help to reduce carbon emission into the earth's atmosphere, thereby reducing pollution and global warming.
Car Sharing
Rather than travel to work alone, why not arrange a car sharing Scheme with one or more of your friends or colleagues? To give you an example, if you drive one of the fashionable 4x4 cars, you will use more energy in a year than you would leaving your fridge door open for seven years, or your TV on for thirty two years! Imagine the savings if you car shared with 2,3 or even 4 people?
Insulation and Turing Down your Thermostat
These two energy saving ideas go hand in hand, and they will save YOU money. By turning your central heating thermostat down by one degree, this will both reduce both your household emissions, and save you £30 a year in energy costs.
If you also update your roof and wall cavity insulation, as well as eliminating annoying draughts around your doors and windows, you will retain more of the heat in your home, and again reduce emission. A win win situation, I think you will agree?
Recycling
Recycling is perhaps the easiest way to help in the fight to save the environment. You can recycle many every day materials including glass, paper, plastics, cans and much much more. Not only does recycling save on energy emissions, the recycling of paper will literally save millions of trees a year, which are the earth's main source of absorbing some of the harmful emissions in the atmosphere. Not to mention, the chance of saving areas like the Amazon Rain Forests, which contain some of the rarest of animals, many of which are near extinction due to the actions of man.
Junk Mail
While we all complain about the increase in Junk Mail, we very rarely do anything about it and the mail continues to flow through our letter boxes, straight into the bin - with 99% not even opened.
What can you do about this? There are various websites around the world (UK residents check out www.mpsonline.org.uk/mpsr/ for further details) where you can register to receive NO JUNK MAIL. As well as saving your time, your will also be doing a massive amount to help the environment, e.g. every person in the US receives junk mail which is equivalent to one and a half trees a year!! Throughout the US as a whole, this equates to more than 100 million trees a year.
Note: (United States) You can use the Unsolicited Mail website to get off the junk mail list. It only will cost you a $1.00. This is a governmental office site.
There are many many other everyday changes which you can make to help the environment, they will cost you nothing and many will actually save you money! Why not give it a try? Turn your thermostat down by one degree and see if you notice the difference. We can all help, if we really want to.
© 2006 - J. Joyce www.theenvironmentroom.com
About the Author
James Joyce is currently the webmaster of an environment forum, discussing all aspects of the environment (http://www.theenvironmentroom.com/).
[global warming] [environment] [energy]
