Tips
on Living Green
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Here are some
simple tips for ways to reduce your impact on the environment.
For more detailed information on a greater variety of topics,
visit our Living Green Library.
Saving Water
Of all water on our planet earth, 97% is salt water.
Only 3% is fresh water, and most of that is frozen in the polar
ice caps. Less than 1% of Earth's water is available for our
use. Household usage is about 5% to 10% of total fresh
water used worldwide. Most of that is used in North America.
On average, each of us consumes nearly 53 gallons of water a
day at home. Some citizens of water-poor countries survive
on as little as 4 gallons a day.
Tips:
1. Turn the tap on briefly to wet your tooth brush.
Turn it off while brushing. If we don't turn the water
off, did you know that we could be wasting 2 gallons of water.
2. While cooking, keep a bowl of water in the sink to
rinse off your hands instead of constantly turning the water
on and off.
3. Keep a bottle or jug of water in the fridge.
This prevents you running the tap every time you want a cold
glass of water.
4. Take a 2 -5 minute shower instead of a bath.
Did you know that the tub can hold between 9-33 gallons (40
to 150 litres) of water. We would have to shower
for up to 15 min to use that much water.
5. Turn off the shower while you lather your hair and
body.
6. Learn the cold water hand wash.
7. Install a low flow toilet in your house.
8. Use rainbarrels. (Purchase one at the City of Barrie
Operations Centre on Ferndale Drive.)
9. Use a bucket instead of a hose to wash the car.
10. Only do laundry when the washer can be filled.
Saving Paper
Tips:
1. Use scrap paper whenever possible.
2. Use cloth diapers.
3. Use cloth bags for your groceries and cloth bags for
gift wrapping. 4. Use a permanent or reusable coffee filter.
5. Purchase products with post-consumer recycled materials.
Global Warming
The average car burns 3 tons of gasoline
in its lifetime.
Tips:
1. Walk to work at least once a week if possible.
Take a bus or consider carpooling.
2. Organize your day so as not to make many trips
out in the car.
3. Plant a tree next to your house to minimize
the use of your air conditioner in the summer and keep the cooling
winds off your house in the winter. Trees omit oxygen
and absorb C02
4.Choose a smaller more fuel-efficient vehicle.
5. Have your tires properly balance to correct uneven
weight distribution. If you are vibrating on the road
your gas mileage will go down.
6. Check your tire pressure.
7. Add 2 minutes to your trip, slow down to save gas.
8. Reduce your use of the air conditioning in the
car to save on gas. 9. Use ethanol blended fuels.
Excess Packaging
Since 1960, the amount of packaging in garbage has increased
by 80% Plastic debris is hazardous to wildlife. According
to the World Society for the Protection of Animals, each
year more than 2 million birds, turtles, whales, dolphins and
seals beome entangled in floating plastic debris, or mistake
it for food.
Tips:
1. Take less garbage home from the supermarket.
Choose those items with the least amount of packaging.
2. Use a permanent razor.
3. Take a moment to mail a wasteful package back to the
manufacturer, with a letter telling them we don't need
it and don't want it.
4. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.
5. Buy bulk foods whenever possible.
6. Keep cloth bags in the car for unplanned purchases.
7. Use a garbage can instead of plastic garbage bags.
8. Pack garbageless lunches for yourself and your kids.
Source: "Two minutes
a day for a greener planet" -Marjorie Lamb
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