You don't need to be a tree-hugging Luddite to have a positive impact on the environment. Here are 12 relatively simple, low-cost, big-benefit steps you can take to reduce your carbon footprint.
Low-flow toilets
How it works: Specially designed 6 l tanks use half as much water as standard toilets.
Cost: The same or even less than regular toilets
Eco-benefit: They waste less treated water than traditional toilets and help prolong the life of septic beds.
Rain barrel
How it works: Use a barrel to catch rain for watering plants.
Cost: Many municipalities offer subsidized barrels for less than $100.
Eco-benefit: Rain barrels reduce the risk of raw sewage going down the sewer; plants thrive on the warm, non-chlorinated water.
Low- or no-VOC paint
How it works: Reformulated paints minimize or eliminate the use of toxic volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
Cost: About $10 more per gallon than regular paint
Eco-benefit: Minimize smog-causing VOCs that off-gas for months after application in your home.
FSC-certified wood
How it works: Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) accreditation on building materials means that the trees were managed sustainably.
Cost: Lumber and plywood cost the same or 10 per cent more, at most, than non-FSC materials.
Eco-benefit: Your deck-building project won’t contribute to rainforest depletion.
Smart meters
How it works: Smart meters enable homeowners to track their energy use.
Cost: They’re about $500 to install. By 2010, all Ontario homes and small businesses will have one (the cost to be rolled into monthly billing). B.C. is following suit.
Eco-benefit: They encourage users to curb their energy use during high-demand periods.
When replacing appliances, buy Energy Star-rated models
How it works: Energy Star is a federal program that labels high-efficiency household products and tallies their consumption.
Cost: Often only incrementally more than non-rated appliances
Eco-benefit: Less energy consumption means lower greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions and lower utility bills.
1 Comment
There are 3 other things our large family does that are actually saving us money while helping the environment: 1) we do laundry without detergents or hot water 2) we purify our own drinking water (without using reverse osmosis which wastes water in the process of purification) 3) we recycle the electricity wasted by the inefficiency of motors in the home, while also providing surge and spike protection for our appliances and computers, etc, and "cleaning" the electricity those things use. If you want to know more, write me at apuresolution@gmail.com