Joy to the world because Christmas is near. Reindeer and manager scenes litter the yards, Christmas stockings hanging from the fireplace, and who can forget the red, green, and white Christmas lights that cover the house. No doubt the electric bill will be sky high, not to mention all the energy and resources wasted during the holiday season. Some might say that Christmas is bad for the environment. That could be true if people don’t realize the repercussions of their festivities!

According to the National Geographic News, Robert Lilienfield states, “Between Thanksgiving and New Year’s day, Americans throw away a million extra tons [900,000 metric tons] of garbage each week, including holiday wrapping and packaging.” Lilienfied is co-author of the book Use Less Stuff: Environmental Solutions for Who We Really Are. With the amount of money wasted on gift paper you could buy extra gifts.

Being eco-friendly is about reducing, saving, and recycling. Christmas time is no different. As a matter of fact, this time can be used to share and use the eco-friendly tips we come across all year. Many people are unaware of simple and everyday ways of incorporating green living. So in the midst of tis the season to be jolly, here are a few tips to an eco-friendly Christmas:

• Use LED lights – Use 90 percent less energy, meaning they are energy efficient and approved by Energy Star. According to HolidayLEDs.com, “Energy Star qualified products and practices help you save money and reduce greenhouse emissions by meeting strict energy efficiency guidelines set by the U.S. EPA and U.S. DOE. The ENERGY STAR label also designates superior energy performance in homes and buildings.” According to one U.S. Department of Energy study, if everyone replaced their conventional holiday light strings with LEDs, at least TWO BILLION(!) kilowatt-hours of electricity could be saved in a month.
• Refrain from using paper plates and plastic cups and silverware – Spread the chores by asking people to help with the dishes. Imagine all the paper and plastic that can be saved during this time alone!
• Recycle — Get out last years bags that someone gave you and reuse them. Instead of fully wrapping a gift use a little ribbon to tie around the present…REDUCE!
• Recycle – Get those creative juices flowing and combine different wrapping paper scrapes that are left lying around.
• Conserve — Unplug lights during the day. Lights that are cut off but still plugged in is still considered waste energy.

(Image source: stanzapub.com)

The only way you haven’t heard of solar energy is if you’ve been living under a rock for the past 20 years. The question is, have you ever thought about the impact that solar energy has on the environment? Ever thought why it’s was important to conserve solar energy? Well, solar energy is energy from the sun that is transformed into thermal or electrical energy, and converted into heat once it hits a surface. Without the sun we could not survive on earth, because enough heat would not be produced to keep us warm.

We use solar energy to grow plants, cook food, warm the house, run the car, and make electricity. Solar energy also makes rain fall and the wind blow. We collect energy through dams and windmills. Solar energy produces no air or water pollution and no greenhouse gases. Despite the initial substantial amount, solar energy is cheaper over time. Solar energy is renewable and clean, plus it is free as long as the sun shines.

Knowing this will allow everyone to partake in being ecofriendly by incorporating the three “Rs” (reduce, reuse, and recycle) and conserving solar energy. Here are seven ways to reduce your use:
1. Turn washer to cold or warm water—not hot, switching can save 500 pounds of carbon dioxide per year.

2. Buy compact fluorescent bulbs—they use only a quarter of the energy from regular bulbs, plus they are much brighter.

3. Walk or ride a bike instead of driving—save money, gas, and drop a few pounds while conserving energy.

4. Avoid over checking food while it’s cooking in the oven—each time the oven door is open, the temperature drops, which makes the energy expend to increase the temperature.

5. Take a shower over a bath—showers use four times less energy than a bath.

6. Use less hot water—enough said.

7. Plant a tree—maximize the energy generated from the sun. This also helps plant growth and produce harvest.

(Image source: solar.envirohub.net)

Granted, I’m not suggesting that water bottle sandals are for you, but there are a number of uses for the plastic that go beyond attire and water containers. Americans purchase an estimated 34.6 billion single-serving water bottles each year. Bottled water is the single most used among all beverages, which includes alcohol, juices, and soft drinks. The growth of water bottles has increased greatly from 3.3 billion in 1997 to 15 billion in 2002. Now that’s a lot of plastic. Most bottled water is consumed away from home, normally at the park, at the gym, in the office, and while driving—areas where there is no recycling. There are hardly any areas to recycle outside the home.

About eight out of ten bottles make it to a landfill or incinerator. Hundreds of millions find destinations as litter on the roads, parks, beaches, in streams, and other waterways. Taxpayers pay numerous dollars each year in disposal and litter cleanup cost. Many people throw away water bottles after using them, because they find no need to reuse them.

Here are eight ways to reuse water bottles:
• Refill bottles with water and freeze to use as an ice package for lunch boxes
• Refill bottles with your favorite beverage or protein shake
• Refill bottles with sauces and salad dressings
• Refill bottles with water and poke holes in the top to sprinkle plants.
• Keep them and use them for students’ science projects
• Save money for a rainy day
• Reuse bottles for weights—refill different size bottles with sand or water.
A liter bottle filled with dry sand weighs about 2.6 pounds!

Whether you’re sad the kiddies are heading back to campus, or you’ve got brew on ice (mostly the latter?), either way they’re going to head off. The following ideas can help you save over $500 dollars an year and still help the environment!!

1. Britta filtration system or something similar—Have you seen some of the brown sludge that comes out of the faucets on some campuses? Just nasty. The only other alternative? Bottled water? But let’s say that your kid drinks two bottles a day (not nearly enough, by the way) at a buck each, and he’s in school for nine months (on average). That’s 270 bottles a year….AND $270 dollars! $270! On something that you already pay for! And if they complain, there is always healthier water in the cafeteria!

2. Water bottle—A necessary item when you buy the filtration system. This $12 dollar item (if she says she needs a fancy one with cool designs) will allow her to get the eight cups a day, keep her awake (hydrated individuals are more alert and healthy), and giver her something to play with during physics when the teacher is droning on and on.

3. Energy-saving light bulbs—Late night cram sessions require lots of light. Why spend money on nine light bulbs a year when one energy-saving bulb will last longer and cost you and your kid less in the long run?

4. Canvas bag—This will come in handy when he goes to the school store, either for books or groceries. This will reduce Junior’s waste, because he won’t bring the items home and trash the paper/plastic bags. And, now there are great options for something he’d actually want to be seen in public with. I mean, you could torture him and go to extremes, with and put puppies and hearts on it, but the point is for him to use it!

5. Notebooks of recycled paper—Really, this is just an obvious one. No need to go into detail here!

6. Timer for the house lights—Especially if it’s your daughter at school, you don’t want her coming home to a dark house. It’s just not safe. But leaving the lights on all day (because she’s a rock star and taking 5 classes a day and working) wastes electricity and sends the energy bill skyrocketing! Instead invest the few bucks in a light timer. She’ll save money. You’ll feel comforted that she’s not walking into a pitch black house!

7. A bike—If Junior doesn’t have a bike already, now is the perfect time to set him up. For large campuses, like Penn State, getting from one class to another can be a real hassle. This is especially true when the university limits how many cars can be on campus. By using this alternate mode of transportation, you save gas money, parking fees, and his stress of finding a spot! (Oh and don’t want to spend a fortune? Check out the many police auctions that have very nice bikes for really inexpensive prices!!)

8. A basic dish set—Maybe she’ll wash it, maybe she won’t. But giving your student a couple bowls, plates, and utensils will come in handy when she wants to make a sandwich or heat up takeout (microwaving those Styrofoam containers releases all those plastic chemicals!). This is a better alternative to plasticware, as she won’t be loading up the landfills, and you won’t be shelling out $20 bucks a month. You easily save $240!! Pretty much cost of one textbook!

9. Surge protector—Not so much about saving energy as saving the life of his computer, though not an issue on a global scale, still important, nonetheless.

10. Clothes drying rack—This especially works well if your kid is living off campus and has his/her own washer and dryer (yes a miracle in the college scene but not unheard of). Energy bill amounts will lessen. Good for your wallet. Good for the environment!

Ah, tomorrow is September 1 and while the kids will be gearing up for school, the adults will be bracing themselves for the ever-increasing costs of running a home during the cooler months. With rising unemployment and decreasing job opportunities, everyone will be looking, even more than before, to save month without layering themselves in 12 sweaters. While some of you may like this over-zealous, cash-saving approach, there are other ways of saving money without turning yourselves into a waddling pumpkin.

Try these 5 no-brainer tips this autumn to not only save energy, but save money!

1. Use Energy Star-approved energy-saving light bulbs: According to It’s All Green (www.itsallgreen.wordpress.com), if every home in the US replaced just ONE incandescent bulb with a low-E compact fluorescent bulb our nation could cut the emissions of greenhouse gases to the equivalent of 800,000 cars. Not to mention that the bulbs last more than 9x longer than the standard bulb!
2. Use your ceiling fan to circulate to push down the rising heat and circulating it around you by putting it on the lowest setting instead of turning up the thermostat!
3. Put heavy door jams in front of all the exits, where door seals may not be in the best condition. This will prevent hot air leaving through the imperfections of construction.
4. Close blinds and curtains at night. If possible, hang heavier material during the cooler months.
5. Check the seams of the window to ensure no air is escaping. A simple caulking job will fix this!

Home offices are one of the major culprits of wasting energy. Even when we aren’t using them, computers and printers suck up energy and money! Follow these tips and techniques to slash your spending!

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Washing your clothes doesn’t have to be an expensive and wasteful process. Ease up on your energy bills with these simple tips:

1. Wash your clothes in cold water.

2. Fill the machines to full capacity.

3. Put a towel in the dryer. This will help soak up the moisture and cut down on drying time.

4. Keep the filters clean at all time (this will also help prevent fires).

5. Set your water thermostat temperature at 120°F.

6. Dry clothes only halfway and then hang them on a drying rack for the remainder of the time.

7. Hang clothes worn only once in the fresh air (unless of course they are pretty rank!). This will eliminate the need to waste water and energy, yet freshen up your wardrobe easily and cheaply.

(Picture source from LGE.com)

Originally, when my friends told me I should think about making my house green, I ended up standing in Home Depot in the paint aisle trying to figure out which was better–evergreen or sea green. Turns out, they were talking about using energy-efficient appliances and materials. Who knew? And, according to the video below, by spending money on eco-friendly items, you can actually save more in the long run!

Could paying attention to your water heater make a difference in your energy bills?? Find out below!

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