the green book guide to green living by planetup ads

7/28/2019 The Green Book Guide to Green Living by PlanetUp Ads

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Reduc ing, reus ing, repa iring, an d recyc ling

are the four most imp ortant act ions when

it comes to adopt ing a green er life style b ecause

they al l contribu te to c onserving the Ea rths re sou rces .

Your home is one of the best p lace s to st art making gree

living changes because you have the control to make the

choices that are best for you. This Green Book Guide to

Green Li ving out lines the way s and act ions you

can take to live a greener lifestyle.

w w w . P


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20 Easy Tips to Go Green.............................................................................11. Recycle scrap p aper from the print er. ..... ....... ....... ........ ....... ....... ........ ....... ....... ...2

2. Don t buy product s made from PVC or v inyl. .. ....... ....... ....... ........ ....... ....... ........ .2

3. Buy product s that are m ade to last. ....................................................................2

4. Buy produc ts from companies that are env ironmentally responsible. ... ......3

5. Opt for reusable shoppin g bags. .. ....... ....... ....... ........ ....... ....... ........ ....... ....... ....... .36. Buy sec ond ha nd produ ct s when ever poss ible.... ........ ....... ....... ....... ........ ....... ...3

7. Opt for vin tage c lothin g and jewelr y....... ....... ....... ........ ....... ....... ....... ........ ....... ....4

8. Buy o rgan ic and all-n atural produ ct s...... ....... ....... ....... ........ ....... ....... ........ ....... .4

9. Pu rchase produ ct s you u se oft en in bulk. ........ ....... ....... ........ ....... ....... ........ .....4

10. Use you r own c offee mug inst ead.... ....... ....... ........ ....... ....... ....... ........ ....... ....... ..4

11. Carp ool whenever p ossible. ... ....... ........ ....... ....... ....... ........ ....... ....... ........ ....... ......5

12. Walk or ride instead of dr iving. .... ....... ........ ....... ....... ....... ........ ....... ....... ........ .....5

13. Don t leave your ca r idling. . ........ ....... ....... ....... ........ ....... ....... ........ ....... ....... ....... .5

14. Use less gas when you re driv ing. ........ ....... ....... ....... ........ ....... ....... ........ ....... .....6

15. Keep up wit h the m aintena nce on you r ca r. ..... ....... ........ ....... ....... ....... ........ ..6

16. Dem and your memb ers of government cha nge p olici es... ....... ........ ....... ....... 6

17. Buy a hybrid.. ....... ........ ....... ....... ........ ....... ....... ....... ........ ....... ....... ........ ....... ....... .....718. Driv e less by plan ning ahead. ....... ....... ........ ....... ....... ........ ....... ....... ........ ....... .....7

19. Convert to 100 percent bio dies el. ..... ....... ....... ........ ....... ....... ........ ....... ....... ....... ..7

20. Convert to 20 p ercent biod iesel. ..... ....... ....... ........ ....... ....... ....... ........ ....... ....... ...8

12 Way s to Green1. When buyin g you r gr

2. Buy your fo od local ly

3. Pack lunches in reus

4. Buy a slow c ooker. .

5. Comp ost you r kitche6. Don t was te wa ter w

7. Use less energ y when

8. Thaw foods before c

9. Keep drink ing w ater

10. Ru n the w ater l ess

11. Look for pa per plate

12. Use clot h ins tead of

w w w . P l a n e t U p A d s . c o m w w w

Table of Content s


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20 Energy Saving Tips.........................................................................141. Keep your furn ace ru nning effic iently. ....... ....... ........ ....... ....... ....... ........ ....15

2. Install a prog ramma ble thermostat. .. ....... ....... ........ ....... ....... ....... ........ ....15

3. Wrap your hot w ater heater in a blanket. ..................................................16

4. Opt for a tankless hot wa ter solut ion. .. ....... ........ ....... ....... ....... ........ ....... ...16

5. Keep your hous e co ol na tural ly. .... ....... ........ ....... ....... ....... ........ ....... ....... ....16

6. Replace your i nca ndes cent lig ht bulbs. . ....... ........ ....... ....... ....... ........ ....... .17

7. Tu rn off the lig hts. ........ ....... ....... ........ ....... ....... ....... ........ ....... ....... ........ ....... .17

8. Make sure your refrigera tor an d freezer a re operatin g effici ently. .......1 8

9. Use you r microwave. ..... ........ ....... ....... ........ ....... ....... ....... ........ ....... ....... .......1 8

10. Unpl ug ele ctron ics when they are n ot in u se... ........ ....... ....... ....... ........ ...18

11. Use cou ntertop appl ianc es inste ad of the ir stovetop equivalent.. ....... ...19

12. Only run a ful l load in the dishwasher. ....... ........ ....... ....... ........ ....... ....... ...19

13. Change to d igita l dimmer sw itche s. .... ....... ........ ....... ....... ....... ........ ....... ..19

14. Insula te you r hot wa ter pipes . ..... ........ ....... ....... ....... ........ ....... ....... ........ ...20

15. Keep your refrigerat or and freezer w ell st ocked. ..... ....... ........ ....... ....... ..20

16. Work on wea theriz ing your home.... ....... ....... ....... ........ ....... ....... ........ ....... 20

17. Stop losi ng heat. ... ....... ........ ....... ....... ........ ....... ....... ....... ........ ....... ....... ........ 21

18. Tu rn down the tem peratu re of you r hot wa ter hea ter. ... ........ ....... ....... 21

19. Inv est igate grants that w ill help you improve you r homes

energy efficien cy.... ....... ....... ........ ....... ....... ........ ....... ....... ....... ........ ....... ....... .21

20. Requ est a home en ergy audi t...... ........ ....... ....... ........ ....... ....... ........ ....... ...22

w w w . P l a n e t U p A d s . c o m

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20 Easy Tips to Go Green

1. Recycle s crap pa per from the printer.Save paper that is printed only on one side and use the other side. Use

it whole t o prin t draft c opies on the blank side, or cu t it u p into smal ler

sizes for shopp ing l ist s and notes. Let the kid s us e it for a rt pa per t o

draw and color on.

2. Dont buy product s made from PVC or vinyl.Polyvinyl C hloride (PVC) is u sed t o make many hous ehold item s such

as shower curtain s, flooring and even childrens toy s. The enti re

process of making product s from this mater ial pollu tes t he

environment and they p ollu te the air in you r house. Avoid

thes e product s alto gether for a cleaner envi ronment and a

healthier home.

3. Buy product s that are made to last.We have b ecom e a throw away s oci ety. It s eems t hat eve ry day we

create more products that are meant to be thrown in the garbage

after only a few uses . Instead of buyin g som ething bec ause it is

cheap, buy something that is good quality and is meant to last. It

will cos t you more today , bu t you w ill b e doing the environm ent a

favor and in the end youll m ost l ikely sp end le ss since you wont

have to replace that product as frequently.

4. Buy product s from

environmentally resCompanies that use re

less excess wast e unde

envi ronment. Speak w

apprec iate t heir ec o-fr

For other companies t

letter t o let them know

from them. They w on

5. Opt for reu sable sA plas tic b ag takes an

landfill. Think abou t h

shoppi ng. T hat is a mi

purchase reusable sho

ake them wi th you wh

have la rge ca rdbo ard b

in in stead of us ing p la

6. Buy second handYou may be amazed a

Next time you re looki n

sec ond ha nd, take som

webs ites suc h as cra ig

you can advert ise for t

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7. Opt for vintage c lothing a nd jewelry.Even Holl ywood has cau ght on to the vinta ge clo thing craze! Next tim e

youre lo oking for a hot new outfit or t he perfect necklac e, consider

a sec ond ha nd sto re that has lo ts of styl ish opt ions from yea rs gon e by.

Youll s ave tho se it ems from bein g was ted an d look grea t while doing it.

8. Buy organic and al l-natu ral product s.In respon se to con sum er dema nd, a lo t of ma nufac turers are now

makin g produ ct s tha t are organic o r us e all-n atu ral mat erials such as

bam bo o. From clothing to hardwood floor ing you ca n find almo st

anyt hing t hat has been crea ted in a more environm ental ly friendly

way. Al thoug h you may pay a litt le more, it is w orth the investm ent to

know you are helping the p lan et wit h you r choic e.

9. Purchase produc ts you use often in bulk.Single serving food products are a huge waste of packaging materials.

By buyin g in bu lk you c ut dow n on the amount of packag ing t hat needs

to be thrown out. And buying more at a t ime m ean s less trips t o the

store to pick things up, so you save on fu el, too.

10. Use you r own coffee mug instead.When purc hasing coffee to go, brin g you r own reusable c offee mug

ins tead of t aking one of their throw away pa per c up s. Even l ittle

reduc tion s like this can make a big d ifference if en ough

people do them.

11. Carpool wheneverAlthou gh i t may t ake a

dramatically cut down

pas sengers a s 40 cars

almo st sev en times les

12. Walk or r ide insteStudies show that the

every year t hat a re less

us ing t he ca r, try w alk

port ion of t hese trips y

amou nt of c arbon diox

13. Dont leave your cNot onl y does it wa ste f

un nec essary p ollu tant

car off if you are sitting

Next ti me you a re wai t

off. Dont star t your ca

way to heat i t up is to

ins tead of usi ng the dr

can save a lot of pollut


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14. Use le ss gas when youre driv ing.You us e the m ost g as when you a re acc elerati ng, whic h also ca uses

addit ional wear and tear on you r eng ine a nd ti res, a nd makes you r

car run less efficiently. So save fuel and cut down on emissions by

us ing your c ruis e control when you a re driv ing on the highway . Also ,

decreasing your driving speed by even a few miles an hour can save

you 10% on your fuel.

15. Keep u p with the ma intenanc e on your car.A ca r that is in need o f a tu ne-u p or that has improp erly infla ted ti res

will us e more gas than i t needs to. Be sure to keep u p wi th a regula r

mai ntena nce schedule t o avoid a ny pot entia l problem s. This also

includes regu lar oi l cha nges and cha ng ing your a ir filt er as

recomm ended by your ca r manufac turer.

16. Demand your members of government change polic ies.By requ iring ca r manufac turers to make ca rs more efficient, we c an

sign ifica ntly redu ce t he amount of CO2 in the a ir. Writ e to you r

memb ers of government and ask them to rais e fuel econ omy

stan dards to 40 mile s/gallon. Un less they a re requ ired to do so,

car manufacturers have little incentive to do it on their own.

17. Buy a hybrid.If youre in the m arket

Althou gh t hey co st mo

and maintenanc e. Bu t

on the amou nt of gree

atmo sphere. If you can

fuel-efficient ca r avai la

18. Drive le ss by planIns tead of runn ing ou t

plan ahead a nd mak e

but youll a lso free up m

than run ning errands .

19. Convert to 100 peOf course, this will only

But if you do, swit chin

carbon dioxide emissio

exhau st w ill not be as h

creatures as petroleum


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20. Convert to 20 percent biod iesel .You ca n st ill make a big impact on reduc ing c arbon emission s if

you only u se 20 percent biodies el. Mixing biod iesel wit h regu lar

diesel fuel in a 20 to 80 ratio i s a good option for pe ople who drive

diesel cars and dont live close to biodiesel refueling stations, but

stil l want to im prove a ir qu ality and do their par t to reduce

global warming.

w w w . P l a n e t U p A d s . c o m

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You

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12 Ways to Green Your Kitchen

1. When buying your groc eries, remember the fou r Ns.Choose food that is NATURAL, (meaning no pesticides have been

us ed and it is as minimally processed as p oss ible), NAKED (as

little pack agin g as p ossible), NUTR ITIOUS a nd NOW (i n season).

2. Buy your food locally whenever possible.Most cit ies have farmer s market s where you can pu rchase

produc e, meat s, breads and b aked goods from loc al ven dors.

Not only are you support ing your local economy, but thes e are

usu ally fre sher and hea lthier opt ions. You ca n also talk to the

selle r direc tly to f ind ou t their pract ice s when i t com es to the u se

of pe stic ides, hormon es a nd preserva tive s. An added bonus i s tha t

the food wasnt t rucked in whic h mea ns le ss fu el usage a nd

fewer emissions.

3. Pack lunches in reusable containers.The a mou nt of packaging us ed for foo d nowadays is s taggering.

Help redu ce it how you c an by optin g for reusable contain ers when

pack ing lunche s. There are lo ts of options available in a vari ety of

different sizes so you can pack everything you need. Be sure to

include reu sable silve rware i f needed as w ell.

4. Buy a slow cookAlso known as croc

everything from roa

the same a mou nt o

very en ergy effic ient

5. Compo st your kComposting your fru

cut down on the amsite s, an d provides n

garden. Some comm

programs s o be sure

6. Dont waste waRun ning the ta p wh

unnec essary waste.

catch it in a pitcher

it for cookin g or pu t

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7. Use le ss energy when you cook.There a re seve ral thin gs you can do to c ut b ack on the en ergy you

us e when c ookin g. When boilin g water pu t a lid on the p ot and it

will boil faster. Onc e it is b oilin g, tu rn down the heat (wa ter tha t

is li ghtly b oilin g is the same tem peratu re). Most foods dont requ ire

the oven to be prehea ted so dont waste energy on thi s. When using

the oven for co oking items suc h as roast s, you c an tu rn it off for

the la st 15 m inutes a nd the heat l eft wi ll fin ish the co oking. All

of these c an help you to us e less energ y in t he kitc hen.

8. Thaw foods before cooking them.It take s longer a nd u ses more en ergy - t o co ok foods from frozen.

Ins tead, t hink ahead about what you will be c ookin g and when a nd

thaw i t first. Likew ise, take it ems ou t of the fridge b efore it is time to

put them in the oven to b ring them u p to room temp eratu re.

9. Keep dr inking water in the refrigerator.Ins tead of having to ru n the t ap to get cold wat er every t ime you

want a drink, keep a pit cher in the f ridge. T his wi ll als o help you

avoid buyi ng in dividu al bottles of wa ter tha t generate a n

unnec essary a mou nt of wa ste.

10. Run the water Next time you c ook a

and s ee how mu ch w

hands , rinse you r fo

water is b eing wast e

water in the sink to

wash fruit s and veg

one b owl of w ater in

11. Look for paper The p aper plat es you

made from v irgin tr

pet roleum-bas ed w

with them t hey cann

typ e of pa per plate m

suga r proc ess ing a n

is compo stable. So n

and n ot have t o do d

12. Use c loth insteUsing pa per n apkin

unnec essary waste. third greate st contri

inst ead of p aper, op

old clot hes that a re

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20 Energy Saving

1. Keep you r furnaYour furn ace i s the m

In fact hous ehold he

the ave rage home. M

by replac ing i ts filter

purchase one of the

regular basis . Youll in the end they cost l

it wi ll take you to p ro

its energy efficiently

2. Install a programHeat ing and c ooling

everyone is in bed

is bad for the environ

of was ting tha t ener

the tempera ture to b

summer) du ring the

can easily have it bac

you wake up or ar riv

20 Energy

Saving Tips

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6. Replace your inAlthou gh t hey co st m

bulb s wil l save you a

elect ricit y than inc a

longer! Tha t mea ns

not throwin g nearly

were to c hange onlyoften to compac t flu

$30 per year.

7. Turn off the lig hA lot of p eople a re g

rememb er tha t ever

Make it a pol icy in yo

you leave a room. Sa

and c ompu ter are o

consider a timer or

leaving ou ts ide lig ht

3. Wrap your hot water heater in a bla nket.Every hardware s tore sel ls fib erglas s blanket s tha t you c an wra p

arou nd you r hot wa ter tank to hel p it hold i n hea t. They are

eas ily install ed (you c an do i t you rself) a nd usual ly pay for

themselve s in t he firs t yea r of use.

4. Opt for a tankless hot water solut ion.If you r hot wa ter tank is g ettin g old an d youre c onsidering

replac ing i t, cho ose one of the new tankles s hot wa ter opt ions.They heat water a s you need it i nste ad of keeping an entire tank

heated and ready t o go a t all t imes. As a re sult t hey use

significantl y less energ y, which is b etter for the env ironment.

And an added b onus is tha t you c an exp ect to save abou t 50%

on you r hot wa ter hea ting co st s.

5. Keep you r hous e cool natu rally.Closing the blinds and curtains and using ceiling fans can

dramatically decrease the temperature of your home during

the heat of t he su mmer. If you mu st use a ir condit ionin g,

keep it at 75F and rese rve it s us e only for t he hotte st day s. A

programma ble thermostat is a great opt ion to ra ise the

temp erature during the n ight a nd when no on e is hom e.


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11. Use countertop appWhen you are s team ing

opt for count ertop appli

use signific antl y less ele

12. Only ru n a full loadBefore running a c ycle t

full. Youll u se le ss elec tbonu s is that you r dishe

sure to let your d ishes a

than us ing t he hea t dry

amou nt of en ergy u sed

13. Change to d igital dAlthough having dimme

energy , som e of the olde

regula r swi tches. If you

switc h it self feel s warm

by us ing i t. Cons ider rep

dimmers to increase the

8. Make su re your refrigerator and freezer are

operating efficiently.Refrigera tors that are more than 10 yea rs old u se approximately

60% more electricity than new models. To make sure you are not

us ing m ore energ y tha n needed, keep the t empera ture o f the

fridge at 37F a nd the freezer a t 0F. This wi ll keep you r food at

the p erfect t emperature wit hout usi ng exce ss elec tric ity.

Another gre at ti p is to clea n the c ondenser once or twic e a

yea r so t hat the motor does not have to ru n as long or as oft en.

9. Use you r microwave.Not al l foods are g reat when co oked in the microwave, bu t there

are lot s of ti mes you can u se it over you r convent ional oven.

Since your microwave uses 75% less energy than your oven, its

worth it to f ind n ew way s to u se it when c ookin g!

10. Unplug electronics when they are not in use.Did you kn ow tha t your televi sion, DVD player, computer an d

kitchen applia nce s all use som e elect ricity even when they a re

not tu rned on? Avoid wasting this elec tric ity by u npluggingthem if you wont be us ing t hem for a day or longer. And

rememb er to u nplug them before you leave home for vacat ions.


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17. Stop los ing heatThere a re seve ral plac

and m ay no t even rea

elect rical outlets . In p

much insulat ion in t

little plast ic child pro

18. Turn down the Most hous es have the

needs to be . As a re su

in to g et it to a temp

water heater is s et to

kill germs bu t not so

19. Investiga te gran

energy effic iency.Changing the way we

par ts of the w orld th

helpin g home owners

saving measu res. F in

calling your energy su

14. Insu late you r hot water pipe s.Insu late t he firs t meter of pip e lead ing into a nd ou t of you r

hot-wa ter ta nk as well a s any metal hot-wa ter pip es ru nnin g

throug h unheated spaces in you r home. This q uick and easy

project will reduc e the a mou nt of elec tric ity you u se a nd save

you some money.

15. Keep you r refrigerator and freezer wel l stocked.A half empty fridge or freezer us es s igni fica ntly more energ y

than a full one. If you dont have anythin g else to add, f ill u p

bottl es of water and put them where needed to keep things full.

16. Work on wea therizing your home.If you r hous e is draf ty you a re lite rally throwing mon ey ou t the

window. Sp end a bi t of ti me sealing u p doors and w indows to

cut down on heat loss. Also be sure to check that you have

enou gh insu lat ion. I n older hom es the att ic in p artic ula r

can benefit from increased insulation. If youre not sure

what you re look ing for, its well worth it to hire a

profess ional to do an energy au dit.


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20. Request a home energy audi t.A lot of u tili ty com panies now offer free energ y audit s to their

customers. Check with yours to see what is available. You may

be su rpris ed at what you l earn a bou t how you are wa sting en ergy.

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