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LIFE CHANGE

"Going green" doesn't have to be a daunting task that means sweeping life changes. Simple things can make a difference.The contents of this list might not be new, but they bear repeating. Sometimes it takes a few reminders for things take root.

1. CHANGE YOUR LIGHT

If every household in the United State replaced one regular light bulb with one of those new compact fluorescent bulbs, the pollution reduction would be equivalent to removing one million cars from the road.

2. TURN OFF COMPUTERS AT NIGHT

By turning off your computer instead of leaving it in sleep mode, you can save 40 watt-hours per day. That adds up to 4 cents a day, or $14 per year. If you don't want to wait for your computer to start up, set it to turn on automatically a few minutes before you get to work.

3. RECYCLE GLASS

Recycled glass reduces related air pollution by 20 percent and related water pollution by 50 percent.     If it isn't recycled it can take a million years to decompose.

4. HANG DRY.

Get a clothesline or rack to dry your clothes by the air. Your wardrobe will maintain color and fit, and you'll save money.

5. USE BOTH SIDES OF PAPER

American businesses throw away 21 million tons of paper every year. For a quick and easy way to halve this, set your printer's default option to print double-sided (duplex printing). And when you're finished with your documents, don't forget to take them to the recycling bin.

6. RECYCLE NEWSPAPER

There are 63 million newspapers printed each day in the U.S. Of these, 44 million, or about 69%, of them will be thrown away. Recycling just the Sunday papers would save more than half a million trees every week.

7. RETHINK BOTTLED WATER

Nearly 90% of plastic water bottles are not recycled, instead taking thousands of years to decompose. Buy a reusable container and fill it with tap water, a great choice for the environment, your wallet, and possibly your health. The EPA's standards for tap water are more stringent than the FDA's standards for bottled water.

8. BAN BATH TIME!

Have a no-bath week, and take showers instead. Baths require almost twice as much water. Not only will you reduce water consumption, but the energy costs associated with heating the water.

9. TAKE A SHORTER SHOWER

Every two minutes you save on your shower can conserve more than ten gallons of water. If everyone in the country saved just one gallon from their daily shower, over the course of the year it would equal twice the amount of freshwater withdrawn from the Great Lakes every day.

10. PLANT A TREE

It's good for the air, the land, can shade your house and save on cooling (plant on the west side of your home), and they can also improve the value of your property.

11. ADJUST YOUR THERMOSTAT

Adjust your thermostat one degree higher in the summer and one degree cooler in the winter. Each degree Celsius less will save about 10% on your energy use! In addition, invest in a programmable thermostat which allows you to regulate temperature based on the times you are at home or away.

12. TURN OFF LIGHTS

Always turn off incandescent bulbs when you leave a room. Fluorescent bulbs are more affected by the number of times it is switched on and off, so turn them off when you leave a room for 15 minutes or more. You'll save energy on the bulb itself, but also on cooling costs, as lights contribute heat to a room.

13. GO TO A CAR WASH

Professional car washes are often more efficient with water consumption. If everyone in the U.S. who washes their car themselves took just one visit to the car wash we could save nearly 8.7 billion gallons of water.

14. PLASTIC BAGS SUCK

Each year the U.S. uses 84 billion plastic bags, a significant portion of the 500 billion used worldwide. They are not biodegradable, and are making their way into our oceans, and subsequently, the food chain. Stronger, reusable bags are an inexpensive and readily available option.

15. RECYCLE OLD CELL PHONES

The average cell phone lasts around 18 months, which means 130 million phones will be retired each year. If they go into landfills, the phones and their batteries introduce toxic substances into our environment. There are plenty of reputable programs where you can recycle your phone, many which benefit noble causes.

16. MAINTAIN YOUR VEHICLE

Not only are you extending the life of your vehicle, but you are creating less pollution and saving gas. A properly maintained vehicle, clean air filters, and inflated tires can greatly improve your vehicle's performance. And it might not hurt to clean out the trunk—all that extra weight could be costing you at the pump.

17. RECYCLE UNWANTED WIRE HANGERS

Wire hangers are generally made of steel, which is often not accepted by some recycling programs. So what do you do with them? Most dry cleaners will accept them back to reuse or recycle. 

18. RECYCLE ALUMINUM AND GLASS

Twenty recycled aluminium cans can be made with the energy it takes to manufacture one brand new one.