Savings--The Earth and Your Money

More ways to save:

1. If you live in a mobile home, build an insulating skirt around it.

2. If you live in a warm place like we do here in Texas, when it comes time to re-roof your house, try to use as light-colored shingles as possible. Preferably shingles made from recycled materials.

3. If you're having a house built, ask your architect and contractor about alternative "green" materials that are out now.

4. Whenever you need to replace a window, choose a high-performance, energy-saving window.

5. When it comes time to replace a hot water heater, consider an in-line water heater or solar water heater.

6. Did you know it takes about 394 pounds of coal to keep a single 100-watt incandescent bulb burning for 12 hours each day for a year? It also creates 936 pounds of acid rain which causes carbon dioxide and 7.8 pounds of toxic sulfer dioxide. Does this represent your porchlight you leave on at night? Convert to solar, place it on a timer for 6-8 hours, reduce wattage or change to a compact fluorescent light bulb.

7. Experiment with less powerful light bulbs in hallways and lamps until you find the minimum wattage bulb needed to meet your lighting requirements.

8. A 50 watt reflector bulb can concentrate as much illumination as a 100 watt standard bulb and costs half as much to operate.

9. Short-life bulbs actually are more energy efficient than the so-called long-life models.

10. Shut off your computer and monitor when you plan to leave for more than one hour. Don't turn on the printer until just before you plan to use it.

11. Use computer paper made from recycled fibers and recycle the paper when you are finished with it. Most elementary schools have paper recycle dumpsters if you don't work for a company that recycles.

12. Don't buy tropical wood products. Skip the teak, mohoghany, rosewood, ebony, iroko, etc., or buy used and refinish. Instead, go for oak, pine, cherry, birch, or maple. Currently, bamboo is a very popular flooring and laminate as it grows very quickly in poor soils.

Stay tuned for more hints!