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 firstglance, 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 thekettle 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.

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 emissionsyou can extend your positive influence on global warming well beyond your home by actively encouraging other to take action.

18. Encourage your school or business to reduce emissionsyou 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 the switch 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 earthThis Presentation was produced by Green Earth Movement (GEM) Team,

c/o St Xavier’s Community Centre, Panvel, Tel: 2745 5556Email: 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 .