What’s it about?
On October 15th, bloggers around the web will unite to put a single important issue on everyone’s mind - the environment. Every blogger will post about the environment in their own way and relating to their own topic. Our aim is to get everyone talking towards a better future.
In honor of the day, I decided to look into some things I could do around my home to make myself and my family more environmentally friendly.
I visited The Union of Concerned Scientist's Green Tips Page to see what I could do, and here—in no particular order—are the five most doable and/or interesting things I found:
1. Dry Cleaning Clothing is Really Bad for the Environment
In about 85 percent of dry cleaning shops [the] solvent [used in cleaning] is perchloroethylene (or “perc”), a chemical that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) considers both a health and environmental hazard.
While I don’t do a ton of dry cleaning, I do some, and several articles of clothing I own are marked Dry Clean Only.
It’s not rational to throw these items away, and it seems I don’t have to:
Dry cleaning is not always necessary; clothing makers often place the “dry clean only” label on tags because they can list no more than one cleaning method and can be held liable if an item is damaged when the owner follows the listed procedure. [M]any of these items can be safely washed at home, either by hand or using a washing machine’s delicate cycle.
2. Appliances account for about 20 percent of a household’s annual electricity use.
Reading up on household appliances, I learned a lot about my refrigerator/freezer.
Refrigerators have to work harder to stay cool if they are located near heat sources such as dishwashers, ovens, heating vents, and direct sunlight.
I can’t do much about this, but I will certainly keep it in mind if I ever move and/or redesign my kitchen.
There are actually recommended temperatures for both the refrigerator and the freezer: between 37 and 40 degrees Fahrenheit (ºF) for refrigerators and 5ºF for freezers.
Check your settings!
Keeping the refrigerator and freezer full will help in cold retention, so if either is sparsely filled take up the extra space with water-filled containers.
Very cool! (Pardon the pun.)
3. Many dishwashers have internal heaters.
This means the machine heats the water so one’s water heater doesn’t have to. Often, water heaters are set to 140ºF to accommodate the heating needs of dishwashing. For those of us who have dishwashers with internal heaters, we can turn our water heaters down to 120°F.
4. What about Washers and Dryers?
While there are times one needs to use hot water to wash—and these times are rare—there is no reason to RINSE with hot water.
Drying multiple loads of laundry consecutively will allow each load after the first to make use of the residual heat that remains from the previous load. The last load can likely be dried using the cool-down cycle as the remaining heat will do the trick.
5. What Impact Am I Making on the Environment?
I visited The Nature Conservancy’s Web site to see just what kind of damage my family was doing.
The good news is that we are below the national average. The bad news is we are well above the world-wide average. The worst news is there is very little we can realistically do to reduce our numbers in the near future.
Afterward
I certainly learned a few new tricks, and I’ve already begun implementing them; however, my overall feeling in all of this is how difficult it is for change to occur at the consumer level.
I had little control over the design of my kitchen, but the contractor did: why not mandate designs that take into consideration appliance location for the most environmentally friendly results?
In fact, why is it that every single home now being built isn’t environmentally friendly, energy efficient, and solar powered? (Each time I read about alternatives, the ideas began with “the initial cost is higher.”)
Why isn’t every vehicle now being manufactured a hybrid? (Can you say the power of the oil companies?) I can’t just get rid of the vehicles I have, but down the road, there is no doubt our replacement vehicles will be hybrids.
My frustration stems from the fact that we have the technology and know-how to make obsolete many of the products most harmful to our world, but because of politics and profit, not enough is being done to ensure responsible consumers can afford to be green.
Until that time comes, I’m keeping up with my good habits, and adding a few new ones to my arsenal.
Hail to the Earth!
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