E-Weekly-2/37
Green Earth Movement
An E-Newsletter for the cause of Environment, Peace, Harmony and Justice
Remember - “you and I can decide the future”
TWENTY
SIMPLE
TIPS TO
SAVE
NATURE
First small steps you can take
to develop your
environmentally friendly
habit. After all, a lot of
people are so used to being
wasteful, leaving appliances
and lights on, etc that it’s
become a bad habit they
really need to break.
Following
twenty points you will have all the groundwork
you need.
1. When cleaning
your teeth don’t
just leave the tap
running and
wasting water.
Only turn it on when
you have finished and
you need to rinse your mouth.
2. Check for water leaks. That
leaky tap may not seem to be
dripping
much at first
glance, but
consider how
much water it leaks over a day
or a week.
3. Turn lights off when you leave a room, even
if you are only in for a few seconds. The story
that turning lights off costs vastly more is
overrated. The difference is so minor, especially
on modern bulbs as to be insignificant.
4. Do not leave
appliances on standby.
Use the "on/off“
function on the
machine itself. A TV set that's switched on
for 3 hours a day (the average time spend
watching TV) and in standby mode during
the remaining 21 hours uses about 40% of
its energy in standby mode.
5. Switch items off at the socket when they
are not in use. It’s surprising how much
electricity they can still use. Recharging
devices are especially bad as they will
continue to waste electricity when nothing
is plugged into them.
6. Replace your bulbs with
compact fluorescent ones.
They may be initially
more expensive but they
last dramatically longer
and use less electricity. If
that initial cost is a
problem, just buy one at a
time, whenever existing,
inefficient bulbs went bust.
7. Boiling some
water? Don’t fill the
kettle all the way
to the top, just boil
as much as you need. If you are
making yourself a cup of tea/coffee
you don’t need to boil enough
water for six people…
8. Cover your pots while cooking. Doing so
can save a lot of the energy needed for
preparing the dish. Even better are
pressure cookers and steamers: they can
save around 70%!
9. Whenever there are
celebrations and parties,
avoid making use of
Plastic plates and
glasses which takes years to decompose when
you throw it away.
On the other hand durable plates and glasses
can be used repeatedly. Durable plates and
glasses are easily available on hire. It is also
worth investing for a set of durable plates and
glasses when you have regular celebrations or
parties .
10. Use the washing machine
or dishwasher only when
they are full. If you need
to use it when it is half full,
then use the half-load or
economy setting. There is
also no need to set the temperatures high.
Nowadays detergents are so efficient that
they get your clothes and dishes clean at
low temperatures.
11. It’s not suitable for everyone, but if
you regularly have warm
weather dry your clothes
outside, instead of using
costly tumble dryers. It’s
a lot nicer to your clothes
As they get that natural freshness
no machine can give you.
12. Clean your windows and open
the curtains wide so as to make the
most of the natural light outside,
instead of switching on lights
everywhere.
13. Follow the principal of reduce, reuse and recycle.
For example keep 2 bins for your household waste,
one for wet waste, the other for dry waste. Wet
waste can be converted into fertile manure, whereas
dry waste can bring in some money when you sell it
to the scrap dealers. When you mix wet and dry
waste, you lose both Ms (manure and money),
besides causing pollution.
14. Buy local and organic produce. For
instance, non-local fruit has to be
transported long distances which increases
fuel costs and makes them less fresh. Also, by
buying organic produce you discourage the
use of nasty chemical fertilizers.
15. Don’t litter. There
will usually always be
a bin nearby to
throw away any
rubbish, but in the
worst case scenario just put it
in your pockets till you
get home.
16. Drive
efficiently
and smoothly.
Excessive revving
and breaking
just puts you on the fast track
to poor fuel usage and an
empty tank.
17. Reduce the number of miles you drive by
walking, biking, carpooling or taking mass
transit wherever possible. Avoiding just 10 miles
of driving every week would eliminate about
500 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions a year!
Look for transit options in your area.
18. Encourage
your school or
business to
reduce emissions
you can extend your positive
influence on global warming well
beyond your home by actively
encouraging other to take action.
19. Cultivate a habit of making
use of paper/stationary items
intelligently. For casual or
routine correspondence, email
is most suitable as it avoids
the use of paper. When you have to make
use of the paper, use both sides before
discarding the paper. At the end of the
academic year, remove the blank papers
from your work/note books and use the
papers as rough writing pad, use refillable
pens, cartridges etc.
20. Encourage to switch over to renewable energy.
Successfully combating global warming requires a
national transition to renewable energy sources
such as solar, wind and biomass. There are many
government subsidies available as a motivation.
However, due to lack of awareness, India is still way
behind in using this natural source of energy.
WE CONCLUDE WITH AN ENLIGHTENING QUOTE:
The character of a whole society is the
cumulative result of the countless small actions,
day in and day out, of millions of persons. Who
we are as a society, is the synergistic
accumulation of who we are as individuals…
Small changes that seem insignificant in
isolation can be great contributions when they
are simultaneously undertaken by many
others.
-Duane Elgin, Voluntary Simplicity, 1981
Let’s work for a clean and green earth
This Presentation was produced by Green Earth Movement (GEM) Team,
c/o St Xavier’s Community Centre, Panvel, Tel: 2745 5556
Email: panvelchurch@gmail.com, gemenewsletter@gmail.com
OTHER POWERPOINT PRESENTATIONS PRODUCED BY GEM TEAM
ARE:
No. 1: Nobel for India [presentation on Zero Garbage]
No. 2: Darkness to Light [presentation of Solar energy]
No. 3: Slow Poison [presentation on adverse affects of Junk food]
Copies of the above may be forwarded on request .