Green Ideas

We all want to do our part to help the environment, but where should we start? Here are some simple tips that anyone can follow to start living a Bright Green Life! Here is a summary of our ideas:

• Save carbon, money, and electricity by changing as many incandescents to fluorescents as you possibly can afford. It WILL pay you and all of us back. Each CFL reduces approximately 100 lbs CO2 and about $25.00 per year.
•  Bring your own bags when you shop. Between 500 million and one billion plastic shopping bags are produced each year. Use canvas or other types of reusable shopping bags and you can easily save over 300 bags per year. 
• Install a low-flow shower head and take shorter showers. Showers account for about 2/3 of all of our water heating costs. You can save 700 lbs. of CO2 and $ 250.00 per year in water, gas or electricity.
• Do laundry with full loads. By running your washing machine with full loads you save about 100 lbs. of CO2 and about $ 40.00 per person per year.
• Air drying your clothes will save quite a lot of energy and is easier on your clothes. You can save 700 lbs. of CO2 and $ 75.00 per person per year.
• Drive less! By planning ahead and combining your trips you can greatly reduce the number of miles you drive. Remember for every mile you drive, your car emits 1 lb. CO2 (on average).
• Keep your tires properly inflated and your air filters clean and you can save nearly 1000 lbs. of CO2 and hundreds of dollars in increased fuel mileage.
• Buying locally will help your community and reduce the amount of energy required to transport the products.
• Purchase Renewable Source Energy. Most local electricity providers have a program that allows you to purchase your electricity from renewable sources. It may cost a little bit more but it offsets the costs by knowing you are preserving.
• Use less stuff. Reducing our consumption of many many items will make a difference.
• Tell Everyone. We can all make a bigger difference when we work together. Let's make it fun and see what we can achieve!

 Changing the world one step at a time; BrightGreenIdeas is the place to start.