Reduce Your Impact

There are many ways we can each make changes in our daily lives that will be an enormous step towards reducing the strain placed upon our natural environment.  Below are some tools to help you measure your individual impact (please remember, no matter your score, do not feel guilty about past decisions, feel empowered to make positive changes in the future) and an archive of tips to help you on the road to a more ecologically friendly lifestyle.

Carbon Footprint Quiz

My Footprint (detailed)

An Inconvenient Truth (less detailed)

Green Tips

33. Gobbling Green this Holiday Season!
Paint your Thanksgiving table green with a meal that is environmentally friendly!

• Many farmers’ markets move indoors during the winter, so local goods are still available. Reduce your food’s carbon footprint and help put money back into your region’s economy.

• Purchase a turkey that is organic and naturally raised, or go vegetarian this Thanksgiving and don’t purchase one at all.

• Use regular dishes and flatware instead of buying paper or plastic to dramatically reduce your waste. If disposables are a must, use biodegradable plates than turn them into compost.

To read more click here.

32. Check the Label, Choose Wisely!

The EPA, under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, considers many textile manufacturing facilities to be hazardous waste generators.

• Clothing is derived mostly from natural materials, which need to be generated by plants or animals, harvested, processed, and then transported around the world.

• Polyester (the most widely used manufactured fiber) is made from petroleum. Manufacturing involves an energy-intensive process and the use of crude oil which releases volatile organic compounds, particulate matter, and acid gases.

• Issues of environmental health and safety apply also to cotton because it uses a quarter of all the pesticides used in the United States, the largest exporter of cotton in the world, according to the USDA.

Take action by purchasing organic clothing or donate old clothing to second-hand shops or textile recycling drop-offs to reuse materials and prevent new manufacturing from taking place!

To read more click here and here.

31. DUI: Don’t Underestimate Idling
It is costly to your pocket and to the Environment!

Thirty seconds of idling in your vehicle can use more fuel than turning off the engine and restarting it. If you are stopped for more than 30 seconds -
except in traffic - turn off your engine.

• An idling car is the most inefficient car on the road -- it gets 0 miles per gallon.

• Only ten minutes of vehicle idling per day over the course of a year will add more than 50 pounds of toxic gases to the air and waste about $180 worth of gas

• Keep in mind that every gallon of gas you use produces about 19 pounds of carbon dioxide!

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, particulate matter, especially fine particles in diesel exhaust, is responsible for
thousands of premature deaths each year.

To read more click here and here.

30. Stop Smoking: Save Your Health and the Health of Planet Earth

Approximately 5.5 trillion cigarettes are produced each year. That’s around 900 cigarettes for each person on the planet.
Here are some reasons to quit smoking for the environment…

• Nearly 600 million trees are destroyed annually to dry and cure tobacco leaves (that’s one tree for every 300 cigarettes);

• Four miles of paper an hour is used to wrap and package cigarettes;

• At least 22 million net tons of CO2 are produced in the atmosphere ( roughly equivalent to burning 2.8 billion gallons of gasoline);

• In 2007, one third of the trash related items collected on beaches worldwide came from smokers.

29. Bag the Plastic and BYOB!

It is estimated that between 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide every year.  Here are a few reasons to bag the plastic and
Bring Your Own Bag…

• Plastic bags are made from a by-product of oil.

• It is estimated that only 1% of plastic bags are recycled each year.

• Plastic bags pose a hazard to marine animals accounting for approximately 100,000 marine animal deaths each year.

Read more about this topic here and here.

28. Be the Brightest Bulb in the Box!

Choose Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFL’s) over the traditional incandescent bulb

• CFL’s last about 10 times longer than incandescent bulbs

• CFL’s use 75 percent less energy than incandescent bulbs, save about $30 in energy cost over its lifetime, and pay for itself in about 6 months

• For CFL disposal tips visit

http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=cfls.pr_cfls

27. Don’t Let Water Heating Drain Your Wallet!

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, “Water heating can account for 14%–25% of the energy consumed in your home.”  Conserve water and reduce your monthly water heating bills by:

• Washing full loads of clothes and dishes and using cooler wash cycles

• Taking shorter showers

• Purchasing ENERGY STAR® appliances that use less water

Read more here:  http://www.energy.gov/waterheating.htm

26. Think before you print

The average American consumes more than 700 pounds of paper a year, and that's the world's highest per capita figure.

A possible solution? Use less paper, but if you have to print use recycled paper…

Compared to using virgin wood, paper made with 100% recycled content uses 44% less energy, produces 38% less greenhouse gas emissions, 41% less particulate emissions, 50% less wastewater, 49% less solid waste and -- of course -- 100% less wood.

Read more here.

25. Turn that shower faucet…OFF!

• Take shorter showers to reduce water use. This will lower your water and heating bills too.

• Install a low-flow shower head. They don't cost much, and the water and energy savings can quickly pay back your investment.

24. Keeping it Clean by going Green!

Using green, natural and earth-friendly products can leave your living space clean and smelling fresh with the simple use of household items right from your kitchen cupboard.

Items include white vinegar, lemon juice, baking soda, hydrogen peroxide, club soda. Click on the link to find out how to use these products! http://www.coopamerica.org/pubs/realmoney/articles/greencleaners.cfm

Save on packaging, save money and save your nose and the environment from chemical exposure.

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) notes that many household cleaners contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as formaldehyde and harsh acids leading sometimes to human “eye, nose, and throat irritation; headaches; loss of coordination; nausea; and damage to liver, kidney, and central nervous systems.”

23. Use a power strip, take charge!

Did you know that most appliances still pull energy

while in standby? Microwaves, televisions, receivers, laptops, and chargers are culprits.

• The Department of Energy states that phantom loads account for 5% to 10% of household electricity consumption.

• Powers strips give us the ability to cut off these energy suckers and prevent wasted resources.

• There are even Smart Strips available with different plug settings that cut off power using an auto-timer.

*http://eere.typepad.com/energysavers/2009/08/please-stand-by-reduce-your-standby-power-use.html

22. Bottled water; who knows what’s in there, anyway??

• In one Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) test, 20% of bottled water contained greater levels of bacteria than is allowed by the FDA for tap water*

• 70% of bottled water produced and sold within states is exempt from FDA regulation*

• Bottled water costs hundreds or thousands of times more than tap water. Compare $0.002 per gallon for most tap water to a range of $0.89 to $8.26 per gallon for bottled waters*

• 40% OF BOTTLED WATER IS TAP WATER, anyway*

Give your wallet and the planet a break; stick to filling up a plastic or aluminum reusable bottle with tap water.

*http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org

21. Looking for ways to save paper in your office?

Reusing paper is the cheapest and best way to reduce the amount of paper used in your office. It’s also the most environmentally responsible thing to do; even better than recycling!

• Try designating one tray in your personal or large office printer as scrap paper

• Make sure to tell everyone in the office which tray is for scrap paper and encourage each other to save the paper that has only been printed on one side

Have everyone contributing to your “scrap paper” tray and watch the amount of paper you buy (and throw away or recycle) drop.

The trees will thank you!

20. Being water wise just makes $ense
With the hotter summer months upon us, the need to be more mindful of our water use habits is even greater.

• Water your flowers or lawn early in the morning or later in the evening to prevent losing a lot of water to evaporation from the heat of the sun
  

• If using sprinklers to water your lawn and garden, make sure you aren’t also watering the sidewalk and driveway
  

• Using a drip hose instead of spraying or using sprinklers will bring more water to the roots of your plants
  

• Make sure your car wash recycles and reuses their rinse water

• If washing your car at home, pull it onto the lawn first to avoid runoff and to water your lawn at the same time

19. Save Money and be an EcoTourist on your Vacation this summer!

• Keep your car well tuned because a car that is not tuned properly produces 10-15 times more pollution than a well running car.

• Book flights with airlines that recycle the waste created when serving food and beverages to passengers.

• Pack only what you need to reduce baggage weight

• Purchase electronic-tickets for airline travel whenever possible.

• Enjoy walking tours when possible.

• Check out the "Green" Hotels Association® to find a green hotel.

• Try a “staycation” and enjoy all the sites in your area, or just relax at home.

18. Show Your Support, Buy Local Food!

 Several studies have shown that the average distance food travels from farm to plate is 1,500 miles, so help cut the miles and seek out vendors

 close to home.

• Locally grown foods are rich in nutrients.

• Fewer than 1 million Americans claim farming as their primary occupation, so help keep it alive!

• Re-establish a time-honored connection between the eater and the grower.

• Get insight into the seasons, the weather, and the miracle of raising food.

• Be proactive about preserving the agricultural landscape.

• For each dollar of revenue raised by farm, forest, or open space, governments spend only 34 cents on services compared to $1.17 on residential developments.

17. GREENergize your home this summer before you leave for vacation!

Follow these seven tips to prevent energy waste throughout your home.

• Turn water heater to lowest setting.

• Turn off AC/heat or adjust the thermostat to protect plants, etc.

• Turn water off outside.

• Unplug all appliances.

• Turn icemaker off.

• Lower the temperature of waterbed heaters at least ten degrees.

• Stop newspaper deliveries.

16. Your thirst might be gone, but that single-use plastic bottle is here to stay

Did you know?:

• Bottled water costs 1,900x more* than tap water.  For the price Americans pay for bottled water every year, we could ensure access to safe, clean drinking water for every citizen in the world.

• 28 Billion (Yes, that’s nine zeros!) bottles are used each year, of which 86% (more than 24 Billion) ARE NOT recycled.   That’s 765 bottles per second not being recycled by consumers!

• Reduce your impact by using a refillable water bottle. Refillable bottles by Nalgene and Camelback are now BPA-Free, and there are metal containers from Sigg and Klean Kanteen.

For more information, check out this slide show.

*based on $1.50/Liter

15.  Simple Steps to a more Sustainable Summer!

Take advantage of the season to lessen your carbon footprint and give your wallet a break.

• Popular Science has great tips to stay cool without air conditioning.

• Grow some of your own food.  With the climate in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware there are many vegetables and herbs that can thrive with little maintenance.

• Instead of putting your clothes in the dryer, hang them out to dry.  It’s better for your wallet and your clothes.

14.  Want to shop “green” and save some green?

Reducing and Reusing is easy with these tools:

• Utilize resources such as Freecycle and Craigslist as well as thrift stores, vintage stores, and consignment shops to find second-hand items at a fraction of retail prices.  Buying second hand avoids the use of any additional natural resources.

• Garage sales and neighborhood flea markets offer great opportunities to build your community and redecorate your house.

• Use these same resources to get rid of your unwanted items as well.  Less stuff means less clutter means less stress!

13.  Want to switch To Recycled paper but you are worried about the (minimal) extra cost? 

Enact these paper saving strategies and you will easily cover the extra expense. 

• To quickly reduce paper usage by 20%, set your margins in Microsoft Word or other word processing software to .5", .5", .5", .5" (or “Narrow” in newer versions of Word) instead of 1", 1.25", 1.25", 1

• To reduce paper usage by up to 50%, print on both sides of the page.

12.  The answer my friend is blowing in the WIND!

Purchase wind energy from PECO energy.  If you live off campus and have control over your electric bill you can purchase wind energy (credits) from PECO.   

• To sign up go to www.peco.com.  Under Residential Customers click on Customer Service.  Look for the link for PECO Wind.  It’s very easy!  (Sign up for PECO Electronic-billing while you are there to save some paper and postage!)

• It’s inexpensive (an extra $2.54 per 100kWh block).   With some simple energy saving tips you could completely power your home with clean, renewable energy for free!

• To understand how this works just think of PECO having a big pool but instead of being filled with water it’s filled with electricity.   Every time you use energy, you drain the pool a little bit and PECO has to fill it back up.  Most of the “water” they use to fill it back up comes from dirty, non renewable resources such as coal.  By purchasing wind energy credits for the energy you use, PECO fills the pool back up with energy created by cleaner, more sustainable methods.

11.  There IS such a thing as a WASTE FREE LUNCH

By bringing your own lunch you can take some stress off of your wallet and the environment.  All those paper and plastic bags, plastic or Styrofoam containers, plastic utensils, ketchup and mustard packets, and disposable napkins from a purchased lunch end up in the waste stream and often find their way into our lakes, rivers, and oceans. These simple steps can save you up to $1040/year*

• Pack your lunch in reusable containers and bring reusable utensils to save money on wasteful plastic bags and throwaway utensils

• To save time, pack a week’s worth of lunches on Sunday night and stick them in the fridge or freezer

• Instead of buying single serving size items at the grocery store, buy the larger containers and use small containers to bring them to school or work

• If you do go out to eat with friends or colleagues, bring your own reusable container to put leftovers in, instead of relying on Styrofoam containers from the restaurant

*Assumes $7/lunch x 5/days per week x 52 weeks/year for takeout, compared to about $3/lunch when you bring your own

10.  If you can’t repair, refurbish, or reuse your used electronic device, the next best thing is to RECYCLE IT!

Recycling electronics recovers valuable materials, conserves virgin resources, lessens heavy metals from making their way into our water and soil, and results in lower environmental emissions than making products from virgin materials.

• Recycling 1 million cell phones saves enough energy to power more than 19,000 US households with electricity for an entire year.

• You can recycle your old cell phone and cell phone batteries right here at Temple.  Bring them to the Office of Sustainability on the lower level of Mitten Hall on main campus.

• University purchased electronic devices of all kinds can be brought to Temple’s Computer Recycling Center where the attitude is, “ If it plugs in or is something related to what plugs in, we will take it.”

• For any household electronics, or other household hazardous waste, bring them to a Southeastern Pennsylvania Household Hazardous Waste disposal event. 

9.  I like your Jeans Mother Nature!

When your old jeans have more holes than fabric, replace them with sustainable, organic ones.  If your old jeans are just not your style anymore but still look great, donate them to a local charity or thrift store.

• The denim industry—what with all that toxic blue dye, stone washing, and chemical-intensive cotton—has been known to really do a number on rivers, soil, and Mother Earth at large.

• 25% of all pesticides used each year are on non-organic cotton*

• 7 out of 15 of the pesticides most commonly used are known to cause cancer (cyanide, dicofol, naled, propargite, and trifluralin)*

P.S. Keep your eye out for Temple's Spring Clean Out clothes collection, starting April 15, 2009.

*Organic Trade Association

8.  Install Compact Fluorescent Bulbs (CFL’s) 

Replace your standard incandescent bulbs with CFL bulbs to decrease your lighting energy usage (and bill!) by between 20% - 33%.  If you can’t replace them all, replace the bulb(s) that is used most often.

• CFL’s  last up to 10 times longer than incandescent bulbs*

• CFL’s can save up to $50 over their lifetime*

*Energy Star

7.  An Aluminum can is forever, with your help!

Aluminum cans can be recycled indefinitely, unlike plastic bottles.  Recycling aluminum is faster, more energy efficient, and more profitable than ever.

• Within 60 days a can is recycled, turned into a new can, and back on store shelves.*

• In 2007, 54 billion cans were recycled, saving the energy equivalent of 15 million barrels of crude oil—America’s entire gas consumption for one day.*

Each year, the aluminum industry pays out over $800 million dollars for empty aluminum cans.  Some organizations, such as Habitat for Humanity, the Boy or Girl Scouts of America or local schools, participate in aluminum recycling to raise funds.*

*Earth911

6.  REDUCE, REUSE, Recycle

Recycling is absolutely a necessary part of our lifestyle BUT we should first look to Reduce and Reuse.

• 418,000 tons of bulk mail is thrown away unopened in the United States each year.  Help educe the amount coming to your home by taking the following actions:

• Sign the Forest Ethics Petition for a National Do Not Mail Registry

• For a small fee, GreenDimes works with over 6500 direct marketers to remove you from their lists

• DMAChoice is a service from the Direct Marketing Association that will help you stop mailings from their clients

• Use a Reusable, refillable water bottle instead of drinking bottled water

5.  Recycling Paper Does a Forest of Good

• 40% of the municipal solid waste generated in the United States is paper (81.3 million tons)*

• Recycling  1 ton of paper saves: 17 trees, 6953 gallons of water, 463 gallons of oil, 587lbs. of air pollution, and 4,077 kilowatt hours

• Use GreenPrint (www.printgreener.com) to eliminate wasteful pages in any printout automatically, saving you time and money, and maybe more importantly, saving trees, reducing greenhouse gasses, and decreasing waste

          *California Integrated Waste Management Board

4. If no one is home, why pay to keep nobody warm?

• The average household spends more than $2,000 a year* on energy bills — nearly half of which goes to heating and cooling.

• Homeowners can save about $180 a year by properly setting their programmable thermostats and maintaining those settings. The pre-programmed settings that come with ENERGY STAR qualified programmable thermostats are intended to deliver savings without sacrificing comfort.

• For more information visit the official Energy Star website on programmable thermostats.

*Energy Star

3. It’s clear to see, you can recycle glass of all colors

• Recycling one glass bottle saves enough energy to power a 60-watt bulb for four hours, or a computer for 30 minutes*

• Purchasing products made of recycled glass increases demand and encourages manufacturers to use fewer virgin resources.

*Glass Packaging Institute

 

2. If a light is on in a room, and no one is there to see it….

• Turning off the lights will result in a net energy savings after 5 seconds of the light being off! 

  • "Incandescent lights (or bulbs) should be turned off whenever they are not needed...Turning off fluorescent lights for more than 5 seconds will save more energy than will be consumed in turning them back on again".*

• If we turned off the lights in rooms that were not occupied, Philadelphians would save approximately $4.5 million dollars each year.

*U.S. Dept. of Energy: Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

1.  Turn Down the Heat (on your wallet)

• By turning your thermostat down from 72 degrees to 68 degrees in the winter you can save up to 12% ($165 per winter)* on your heating bill and reduce your CO2 emissions by 2.7 tons. 

 *Philadelphia Average heating cost:  $1,370.12/winter

Tools for Sustainability
"How to Live Sustainably at Temple University"