Everywhere you turn you are probably seeing and hearing the following phrases: “go green,” “eco-friendly,” and “environmentally conscious.” The push, especially for Americans, to reduce pollution and help save the environment is based on evidence that the decisions we have made, and continue to make, are damaging the air we breathe and the land we live on.
Listed below are 50 things to do to “Go Green”. Use this resource and challenge your family, friends, and students to “go green”!
WATER
- Did you know that the average shower length is 8 minutes? By reducing that to 5 minutes, you can reduce the amount of water you use by nearly one-third, or roughly 10 gallons per day. Commit to decreasing your regular shower time to 5 minutes — and take occasional baths, which uses less water.
- Install a rain barrel at the bottom of your gutter downspout to collect rainwater for watering your garden and plants. Just one inch of rain on a 1,000 square feet roof yields 623 gallons of water. That’s alot of water!
- Practice environmentally friendly lawn andHome garden care. Commit to ONLY organic fertilizers and use them sparingly. Avoid pesticides. Chemicals can be swept into local waterways by stormwater runoff and harm aquatic life.
- Commit to never flushing your unused pharmaceuticals down the toilet or pour them down the drain. Instead, take them to the Berks County’s Pharmaceutical Collection program - Visit their website at www.co.berks.pa.us/swa for dates.
- Purchase and install a water-efficient showerhead. They’re inexpensive, easy to install, and can save you up to 750 gallons a month. You can buy one at a home improvement store or online. To see how one works, visit www.waterpikecoflow.com.
- Replace at least one flower or shrub with a native low water use plant for year-round landscape color – this could save up to 550 gallons each year.
- Commit to brushing your teeth and shaving with the water off every time, and encourage your family to do the same.
- Maintain your septic system if you have one. Have your septic tank cleaned out every three to five years. This also saves money by prolonging the life of the system.
- Check your toilets for leaks and repair the leaks. Put food coloring in your toilet tank. If, without flushing, the color begins to appear in the bowl within 30 minutes, you have a leak that needs to be repaired.
- Complete an inventory of your hazardous household products. Dispose of them properly and keep hazardous household chemicals out of drains and sinks. The local hazardous waste collection dates are listed at www.co.berks.pa.us/swa.
ENERGY
- Before bed or before you leave home in the morning take a extra few seconds to shut down your computer and printer instead of letting them idle. Make a morning routine of unplugging TVs and computers before you leave the house at least 3 days per week. You’ll soon see a difference in your electric bill!
- Commit to hang drying at least 50% of your laundry.
- Program your thermostat to 78 degrees F or higher in the summer and 62 degrees F or lower in the winter.
- Insulate your hot water heater. Insulation kits for water heaters can be found at home improvement stores for less than $20.
- Replace at least 5 lightbulbs in your home with energy-efficient compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs). They use 75 percent less electricity and last about ten times longer than incandescent bulbs.
- Commit to cleaning or replacing your air filters every month for maximum efficiency. A good way to remember is to replace or clean the filter when you get your electric bill.
- Set your hot water temperature to 120° F and keep it there. If you have an electric water heater, you’ll have to remove the cover plate of the thermostat to adjust the temperature. Remember to turn off the water heater at the circuit breaker/fuse before changing the temperature.
- Take one hour to check your entire home for air leaks. Caulk and weather-strip around doors, window frames and vents – and anywhere you see a potential leak. Closely check any area where pipes go from the outside of your home to the inside, especially plumbing pipes.
- Commit to always washing clothes with warm or cold water instead of hot.
- Complete an insulation inventory of your home. Identify key areas that need insulation and install insulation in at least 50% of the areas over the next 3 months. Examples of key areas may be large gaps around chimneys, furnace flues, plumbing pipes, ductwork, light fixtures, and soffits in your attic.
WASTE
- RECYCLE! RECYCLE! RECYCLE! Begin recycling at home, always. If you already do, identify at least one way to improve your recycling rate. Go to www.earth911.com for ideas.
- Commit to packing a no-waste lunch for you or your children at least 2 days per week. A “no-waste lunch” is a meal that does not end up in the trash. You can buy food items in bulk then put them in reusable containers to carry to work or school. No plastic or paper bags, no throw-away silverware. A banana peel is okay!
- Say goodbye to regular paper towel use in your home. Instead, purchase reusable micro-fiber sheets, like Skoy cloths, to use for cleaning.
- Take action to receive less junk mail. For example: Receiving too many credit card and insurance offers? Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, you have the right to Opt Out of receiving their mail. Opt out by visiting www.optoutprescreen.com.
- Commit to avoiding disposable cups. Always carry your own reusable mug and/or water bottle. Most convenience stores will let you refill your own cup.
- Start a recycling program in a place that you visit often - this could be your local rec center, church, school. It might mean getting recycling bins and taking things home to recycle or working with them to start a program on their own.
- Reduce your waste to no more than one can (2 bags) a week regularly; the rest gets recycled or composted.
- Start a “Make a Swap” program at work or in your community. Put up a box in your office or church for example, for stuff which you no longer need but others might find useful such as toys, kitchen ware, books, etc.
- Commit to using a water filter to purify tap water instead of buying bottled water. Start carrying a reusable water bottle with you (preferably stainless steel rather than plastic) with you when travel.
- Start a compost pile at home. This should include your appropriate kitchen waste as well as yard waste. Learn how to get started at www.howtocompost.org.
AIR
- Write at least one letter to your local paper and/or elected official. Let them know you support action for cleaner air.
- Commit to traveling one day a week by foot, bike, carpooling or public transportation. About half of the air pollution comes from cars and trucks.
- Test your home for radon. Radon is a cancer-causing radioactive, odorless, colorless gas. It is the second leading cause of lung cancer behind smoking. For more information, visit www.epa.gov/radon.
- Cut back or eliminate lawn mowing. Gasoline-powered lawn mowers can emit as much pollution per hour as 34 cars. Reduce these emissions by converting at least 10% of your lawn to trees, shrubs and low maintenance landscapes. Consider using a non-motorized push-style lawnmower to cut your lawn.
- Eliminate toxic chemical use at home. A surprising number of household or home shop chemicals are toxic and volatile. Use brands like Seventh Generation. Visit the American Lung Association’s website at www.lungusa.org for more information.
- Commit to never burning trash. Uncontrolled burning can be harmful, especially when many people are doing it. Many plastics, coatings, inks, paints, metals and treated woods will produce toxic chemical air pollutants such as lead, arsenic, and chromium.
- Plant at least one native tree. Mature shade trees not only look beautiful, they also help clean the air.
- Test your home for lead. The principal risks of lead to most are from lead-based paints .Lead can be inhaled in particles from deteriorating paint, or ingested as paint chips (mainly a problem with children). Visit www.epa.gov/lead for details.
- If you are affiliated with a local business, introduce them to PA Commuter Services - a local program that organizes carpooling for businesses at no charge – www.pacommuterservices.com.
- Instead of traveling to the store to buy or rent CDs and DVDs, download your music online and rent movies from a mail source, like Netflix.
LAND AND THE GREAT OUTDOORS
- Institute an hour a day 3 days a week for your children or grandchildren to play outside. This can take place in a garden, a backyard, the park down the street, or any place that provides safe and green spaces where children can learn and play. Consider organizing a local “nature club”.
- Create a backyard habitat at your home, school, or work. Turn a part of your yard into a garden that provides resources for different kinds of wildlife, such as birds, butterflies, and small mammals. This could entail something as simple as planting a few plants for butterflies or as elaborate as creating a place that provides food, water, shade and refuge. It is the perfect way for you, your family, and your schools to help conserve wildlife while being able to enjoy observing it every day in your own backyard.
- Plan one weekend as a “staycation” in Berks County instead of traveling on a trip. Pretend you have never been here before and visit the local highlights and opportunities – such as restaurants, trails and shopping.
- Take one class in something that involves the outdoors - whether it is fly fishing, photography, gardening for example.
- Complete at least one project to decrease impervious surfaces around your home. Having less concrete and asphalt will improve drainage around your home and in your yard. Landscape with vegetation, gravel or other porous materials instead of cement. Driveway in need of repair? Consider replacing it with porous asphalt.
- Take at least one hour to learn more about your township or borough. This is where all of your local land use decisions are made. Identify the following: 1) Name of the Manager, 2) Time of monthly meetings that are open to the public, 3) Names of the elected supervisors or council members, and 4) One opportunity for volunteer involvement (i.e. Recreation Committee, Planning Commission).
- Commit to buying only recycled paper – and convert to online banking and paperless billing statements.
- Identify one home or property in your community that you feel should be protected from future development (it may even be your own). Ask the landowner if they’ve considered learning about land protection options; and if they agree, email their contact information to [email protected] for Berks Conservancy follow-up.
- Give at least 3 gifts (holiday, birthday, etc.) that support our local non-profit community and economy. For example; a gift membership to the Berks Conservancy, art from The Goggleworks, or create your own local gift basket.
- Find out if your township or borough has an Environmental Advisory Council (EAC). If they do, attend at least one meeting to learn more. If they don’t, help form a group of interested persons to advocate for creating one in your community.
