10 Things We Can Do to Save Our Planet!!

These are the common things which we know in our conscious mind but we some how neglect to follow. Just try to follow these 10 small  things which will make, not only your life beautiful but this planet too.

1. CHANGE YOUR LIGHT

If every household in the india 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. Don't like the color of light? Use these bulbs for closets, laundry rooms and other places where it won't bother you as much.

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. 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, or boot up while you're pouring your morning cup of chai.

3. DO NOT PRE-HEAT THE OVEN

Unless you are making bread or pastries of some sort, don't pre-heat the oven. Just turn it on when you put the dish in. Also, when checking on your food, look through the oven window instead of opening the door.

4. USE ONE LESS PAPER NAPKIN 

During an average year, an Indian (in metros) uses approximately 2,200 napkins around six each day. If everyone used one less napkin a day, more than a billion pounds of napkins could be saved from landfills each year.

5. RECYCLE NEWSPAPER

There are 82,237 newspapers printed each day in india. Of these, about 69% of them will be thrown away. Recycling just the Sunday papers would save more than half a million trees every week.

6. BRUSH WITHOUT RUNNING WATER

You've heard this one before, but maybe you still do it. You'll conserve up to five gallons per day if you stop. 

7. 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. Make it meaningful for the whole family and plant a tree every year for each member.

8. 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.

9. PLASTIC BAGS SUCKS

Each year the people normally 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.

10. FLY WITH AN E-TICKET

Use e-tickets instead of print generated one. Now a days irctc even says that use sms ticketing. Follow e-ticketing service for trains, bus and flight travels as it says lots of trees from getting drowned and also saves money.

Not-so-obvious Ways to Conserve Electricity

You think you know most of the ways to save electricity. Replace incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent, shutting off appliances when not use, buying solar-powered lamps for outside lighting and insulating hot water pipes for starters. That’s just the beginning or the low-hanging fruit as it were.

There’s much more you can do. Here’s a list of five handy ideas you might not have thought about to lower your bill and be good to the environment.

1) Appliances are a new ball game. Every time you buy a new appliance, evaluate energy consumption using the Energy Guide labels affixed to each machine. Appliances like dishwashers and the fridge consume at least a 5th of the energy you use, according to the Dept. of Energy (DOE). And generally buy ENERGY STAR appliances. DOE mandated in January, 2007 that washers and dryers use 21% less energy. DOE also rates appliance models based on their annual consumption of electricity, but sometimes the information is out of date. Also, remember solar panels and some water heaters are eligible for federal tax credits up to 30% of their cost.

2) Look around your house and check for digital appliances that are on, but not in use. Occasionally-used devices such as Battery Chargers, TV, Computers, Printers and FAX machines should be unplugged when not in use.  One easy way to accomplish this is to use power strips that can be switched on and off. Computers should be set to hibernate and when you away go on vacation, unplug the cable modems and wireless routers.

3) The Dept of Energy has home energy audits that you can conduct yourself and address everything from lighting to plugging air leaks. You can also get a professional to do one.

4) Check your hot water system, faucets, toilets and shower heads for costly leaks and fix them. Also, do you need that scalding water temperature? ideally, hot water should be set between 110-120 degrees. And fix cold water leaks too. Water is a precious and scarce commodity in many parts of the world especially in our India. At the same time, minimizing the length of your dryer vent will save energy (and reduce the chance of lint catching fire) as well frequently cleaning the lint filter after every use. Also, clean in and around the lint filter periodically.

5) Electricity is not just there anymore. Utilities and appliance have stepped up their efforts to transform the aging electrical grid into a an efficient and thoroughly digital smart grid.  Smart appliances, meters and gadgets will empower you make smart decisions about the amount of electricity with little lifestyle sacrifice.