10 things to help the planet

While it's often the grand environmental gestures that grab the headlines, simple actions such as turning off your lights can have a big cumulative effect. Here are 10 of the most cost-effective planet-friendly actions that almost anyone can do immediately.
1. Select Green Power Alternatives
Most electrical utilities now have offer green alternatives. Rather than making it the Utilities problem (because it is after all us using the power) – wouldn’t it be a nice problem if the demand for green power exceeded that of traditional forms of power. Wouldn’t it be nice if it were consumers that forced the change and not governments? Many consumers have already voted with their cheque books to install solar heating and gain the longer term benefit.
2. Reduce Standby Power
One of the big issues we have these days is all consumer products we have with the standby setting. Computers, stereos, TV’s and a spectrum of devices consume 10% of our energy needs when they are not in use. Cutting down on waste can be a big saving in the back pocket as well as saving our planet. Grouping of appliances office powerboards is an easy approach to handle this…
3. Change Light Bulbs
Incandescent light bulbs work by heating a filament up until it glows white hot. The result? About 90% of the energy is converted to heat and about 10% to light. A solid state light source will be the future answer LED (Light emitting diodes) are making their way into traffic lights and car stop lamps. Because they produce no heat they don’t suffer from thermal shock of a normal light bulb and so have 10 time the life. Today compact fluoro lamps will save 75% of your energy bill and again last much longer. They have sizes and shapes to replace all today’s traditional light bulbs.
4. Shower Efficiently
Heating water takes energy. Replacing the shower head with an efficient model not only save water, but keeps your hot water bills low! About 20% of the water you use goes down the plug hole with out hitting your body. The saving here is obvious.
5. Wash Clothes in Cold Water
With today’s detergents cold water does the same job at hot water. So coldwater washes help to shave an average of 475Kg of Greenhouse gases from the environment per family.
6. Dry Clothes naturally
The sun is an excellent clothes dryer. And, given that $100 of your annual bill is the clothes dryer, you can stand to save money by going back to the time tested method of clothes drying for the majority of needs.
7. Use aircon efficiently
A setting of between 24 and 27 in mid summer helps to reduce bills and still keeps a room comfortable. For every degree C that you reduce that setting you burn an extra 10%-15% of energy – again padding out the energy bill and contributing to tonnes more carbon in the atmosphere.
8. Check your fridge
The fridge is one of the big consumers of electricity because it works constantly day in day out. Poor door seals are the area to target here. A poor door seal can leak cold air out and keep the compressor running for much longer cycles. This again increases your bill unnecessarily. Ensuring that cold items are replaced in the fridge sooner rather than left out to heat up and then be put back in the fridge is another area to target.
9. Walk don’t drive
General principle; if it saves fuel it saves the planet. Riding a bike and walking can save fuel with each journey. We use our bikes for the trip to the local eatery, the trip to and from the gym and a host of other 1-2km journeys. Not only does it save you pocket and the planet, but it keeps you fitter as well.
10. Public Transport and car pooling
As above – if it saves fuel it save the planet. Linking this with other moves like more fuel efficient cars, hybrids, diesel, bio fuel using cars and mass transportation help to make the air more breathable and keep your cost at bay.