| Tips » Quick fix |
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Tip 98:
Drink tap water at restaurants.
Tap water is more strictly regulated
than bottled water and there's no
need to add tons of plastic and
glass bottles and jugs -- about 60
million a day -- to landfills. And
recycling them takes energy, too.
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$ Factor: You could save as much as $7 for a bottle of water and it may be safer to drink. If everyone drank tap water instead of bottled water in the U.S., it would save about $8 billion. |
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Tip 99:
Download music.
Download tunes instead of purchasing
them at the store. Each month, more
than 45 tons of CDs become obsolete
-- outdated or unwanted -- and end
up in landfills. |
$ Factor: The average price of a CD is about $15, whereas an album download is only about $10. |
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Tip 100:
Rent, don't buy, movies.
One hundred thousand DVDs and CDs are thrown away each month. So you won't be contributing to the trash pile. |
$ Factor: You could save more than $12 a pop. The average movie rents for about $4, while the average new DVD sells for more than $16. |
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Tip 101:
Subscribe to online newspapers.
Cancel your paper subscription altogether
and get your news -- often from the
same newspaper publisher -- online.
Each year, 10 million tons of newspapers
are tossed into landfills and aren't
recycled. If just half of these
were recycled, it would save 75
million trees. |
$ Factor:
Picking up the daily rag at a newsstand
or machine will cost you $225 to
$300 a year. If you must have the
paper in your hands, at least subscribe
to it rather than buying single
copies -- you'll save about 50 percent
off the cover price. |
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Tip 102:
Turn off your entertainment center.
Electronics, including TVs, cable
boxes, DVD players, computers, music
systems and gaming consoles, consume
up to 40 percent of their full operating
power when switched "off" or left
in standby mode. They also continue
to produce heat, which increases
home cooling loads. Turn them completely
off all at once with a common surge
protector. They'll last longer and
you'll reduce your electric bill.
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$ Factor: You'll likely recoup the investment in a surge protector ($6-$10) on your first two power bills. |
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Tip 103:
Host a 'green' party.
Play cards or board games: They're
fun, interactive, mentally stimulating
and don't use a single kilowatt.
Classic card games include cridge,
canasta, cribbage, hearts and rummy.
If you're stuck for players, there's
always solitaire. Monopoly may be
the king of board games, but Risk,
Scrabble and Life have their devotees.
For a 1980s flashback party, there's
always Trivial Pursuit. |
$ Factor:
A deck of playing cards costs $2; a board game ($25-$35). Recycle your newspaper into party hats. |
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Tip 104:
Read 'green' books.
To expand your green thoughts, check
out Rachel Carson's groundbreaking
"The Sea Around Us" and "Silent
Spring," Peter Matthiessen's lyrical
nature studies "The Birds of Heaven"
and "Tigers in the Snow," and Michael
Pollan's revelatory "The Botany
of Desire" and "The Omnivore's Dilemma."
For daily "green" tips, check out
Danny Seo's eco-blog.
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$ Factor:
Save a tree -- and some green --
and check these books out of your
local library. |
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Tip 105:
Host a 'green' film fest.
You can talk about saving the earth until the icecaps melt, but a more effective way to sound the alarm might be a film festival. These thought-provoking DVDs should incite a lively discourse: "Who Killed the Electric Car," "Syriana," Leonardo DiCaprio's "The 11th Hour" and, of course, Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth." To lighten the mood, finish with "The Day After Tomorrow." |
$ Factor:
The five DVDs: under $25 each. The
lasting wake-up call: priceless. |
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Leisure: Quick fix
