7 More Things You Can Do... in Honor of Earth Day on the 22nd!

I am aghast at the complainers I run into...it reminds me of the school yard in 5th grade. There are groups formed at that stage of life that some just don't grow out of.

• There are those that stand on the sidelines and giggle, making fun of and judging others to make themselves feel bigger and better.
• Then there are the ones that wont do anything until everyone is doing it
• How about the group that points the finger and says "Why should I have to do it, they're not!"
  

But for the rest of us who care and that includes you skeptics, here are some additional things we can do. These statistics put it all in perspective for me as to how the little changes by so many people can really make a difference. My apologies to you if you do some or all of these already, but they are a good reminder to take action on Earth Day April 22nd. These statistics came from an article published by the Suburban.com called

Public Eye — Earth Day at home - by Mike Cohen

1. Leave your car at home and try walking or biking, or take public transit or carpool. One city bus eliminates the emissions of 40 cars.
2. Turn off the lights, the computer and the TV when they are not in use. Use only highly efficient appliances to reduce electricity consumption.
   
3. Put a composter in your backyard or use your green bin to reduce household waste. Composting organics has two key benefits: it reduces the amount of waste going to landfills, and when added to your garden, helps nourish the soil and plants.
4. Turn off your car’s engine if stopped for a while. If every driver of a light duty vehicle avoided idling by five minutes a day, we would collectively save 1.8 million liters of fuel, almost 4,500 tonnes of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
5. Set your thermostat above room temperature in the summer and below room temperature in the winter. For each degree adjusted, you can save five percent on your utility bill and one percent on your energy use.
6. Replace incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs) that use only 25 percent as much energy as an incandescent bulb and lasts 10 times longer.
7. The amount of wood and paper North Americans throw away each year is enough to heat five million homes for 200 years.

Sunday, I am turning the color of Kiwi!