What reasonable steps can I take to better improve my household to be more environmentally friendly?

Question

So far I:

- Recycle all glass bottles and jars
- Recycle all paper from home (and work!)
- Recycle Plastic bottles
- Take clothes to charity shop rather than chuck in landfill.

I am keen to both save money and resources by looking at alternative fuels, but I live in a tiny terraced house with a small garden so a wind-based generator and solar panels may be out of the question! Can I also make my car more environmentally friendly, as it is a petrol gulping 1990 ford escort!

Thanks

Answer 1

Composting
energy Efficient light bulbs
loft insulation
double glazing
thick curtains

car: accelerate slowly, don't brake harshly, don't do short journeys.

Answer 2

Recycling, freecycling, composting, conserving... these are all reasonable steps and they cost you nothing and will save you money.

Buying a new car is far less reasonable as it will be expensive. In addition, manufacturing a car creates a tremendous amount of waste. It is better to keep a car in good running condition. Change the filters and fluids according to the maintenance schedule. Keep the tires pumped up. Take out extra stuff that you don't need in your car to reduce the weight the engine has to move.

You can use a switchable power strip to plug in your TV, stereo, etc. Then turn off the power strip when the items aren't in use. This eliminates the "standby" power draw, which is substantial on some electronics. You can use a power stip for your computer, too. Anything with a "wall wart" transformer uses electricity even when it's off. The power strips will cost you a few bucks, but the convenience of not having to unplug stuff is worth it.

When your lightbulbs die replace them with compact flourescent bulbs. These save a ton of money in the long run for a very small outlay up front.

Make sure your home is well insulated if you heat or cool it. Fix air leaks around windows. Fix any faucets that drip-- especially hot water! Turn your thermostat down and wear a sweater.

Around the yard: quit using synthetic pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers. My lawn is getting more and more healthy since the lawn guys quit coming and now the kids and the dog can play out there with less worries. Use a reel mower to cut your grass. You can probably sell your gasoline powered mower for about the same money it will cost you to buy a reel mower. Plant more trees.

When you are ready for new stuff: high-efficiency furnace, tankless water heater, laptop computer (not desktop), hybrid vehicle.

Answer 3

The state of the environment has been a hot topic since THE 70'S.Back then the MAIN POINT was GLOBAL COOLING,Now the MAIN POINT is global warming.Without getting into the POLITICAL argument of this.The facts are that such that humans DO CHANGE THE environment.The steps that I'm taking? I wish the politicians would listen.We don't need nuclear power.It's not the answer.for the same reason it wasn't the answer in the 70's.Neither is continued use of the outdated system of the internal combustion engine. There is a technology that currently exists,in which the sun along with the combination of gravity can produce electricity,which produces NO POLLUTANTS.Check out Spain's new power plant.By using a combination of this type of power plant in conjunction with a DESALINIZATION PLANTS.Also I have been trying to get interested parties to invest in building a SPACE ELEVATOR,which could theoretically be the link between a power plant in space and earth(to supply the earth with enough energy/without polluting the earth),also providing the next step in moving industry OFF WORLD.However I run into nothing but objection(which has further convinced me that humans will do nothing/at a time when the worlds resources actually are available to tackle the project/because of the importance of profit).If this trend continues the earth will get better,but I fear at the expense of our civilization.

Answer 4

You could switch to Ecotricity for your electric; look them up on the web. Freecycle is a great place to swap stuff and keep things out of landfill; try growing your own veggies, composting your veg waste etc too. There are quite a few electric vehicle options on the market; worth the outlay in the long run. As for wind generators and the like, you could always replace your central heating with radiators fired off a solid fuel burner. The lists are endless. Everyone can make a difference somehow, you just need to research it and the web is a good place to start..

Answer 5

Hey Johnny, get the feeling you've become irrelant?

You're in a state of denial encouraged by your Government. They've been lying to you, all that stuff they dismissed as a Liberal conspiracy so that those left wing whiners could bump up your taxes - lies, all of it. Unfortunately, there is a real problem and we'd like you to help. The Americans have a great tradition of coming to the rescue - here's another chance to shine out like a shaft of gold while all around is dark.

Please have a read of the following links and try and see beyond all of the misinformation you've encountered so far.

Best wishes LT

PS The US is the worlds biggest green house gas emitter and you guy's do need to help clean up the worlds air.

Answer 6

things people often overlook are, using florescent lighting you can buy for lamps. and when an incandescent bulb is necessary use a small wattage one. turn off lights when you don't need them. set your thermostat warmer in the Summer and use a fan. set it colder in the winter and use a fan to circulate the warm air at your ceiling down to the floor where you can feel it. any time you reduce electrical usage you reduce the amount of pollutants put into the air when its generated. also fix all Leakey facets or constantly running toilets. take showers not baths, install a shower head that saves water and put a valve on the shower head so you can shut the water off while you wash then turn it on to rinse. be sure you have a modern 1.5 gallon flush toilet the old ones use 5 and sometimes 6 gallons of water.be sure you have adequate insulation in your Attic and walls and replace your windows with energy efficient triple pane windows. update your heating and air system to a high efficiency one. and depending on where you live the color of your roof makes a difference. in northern states where its cold most of the time you want dark colored shingles and minimal Attic venting to hold heat in. in southern states you want light colored shingles and lots of venting to keep the Attic cool.the same goes for paint color on the side of the house.

Answer 7

There are other ways. Look at your light bulbs, change them for the friendly sort. (I personally don't use them on the stairs as I think they take too long to get bright enough).Look at the items that run on electricity that you can turn off when not in use ( don't leave them on standby) Shoes can be recycled, as can cans and tins. Swop your gch boiler for a condensing model. As for making your car more friendly, depends. if you cannot afford to replace it, how about walk if you can ( say the school run, or to the local shops), or cycle??? Try you L.A. waste web site. That should give you more tips than I can .

Answer 8

follow the link below:
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Nature_and_Environment/2006-10-01/What_You_Can_Do_to_Help_Solve_the_Climate_Crisis

it is an excerpt from inconvenient truth, but the part where it talks about small things we can all do to reduce our energy consumption and reduce emissions (page down a bit to get to it)...it also has a co2 calculator so you can see how much you produce

if the link doesn't load, go to www.MotherEarthNews.com and search 'global warming' it's like the first thing to pop up...i applaud your efforts

Answer 9

You could have a compost heap! You can get very small ones. Turn your thermostat down on the radiators and turn all unnecessary lights off!

Answer 10

It will not make any difference as the rest of the world would like the U.S. to be brought down. CO2 is taken care of by the plants and photosynthesis .