Microwave

I was reading a bunch on articles on saving energy by using the microwave vs the stove or oven. Its seems to be quite a saver. Precooking / thawing and such other methods will help speed up the process on the stove or oven.

But of course.. there is also these floating theories about health concerns of using the microwave. I cannot comment on that .. its your call I guess!

But.. tip of the day is "using the microwave" Vs the stove or oven - can be a "green" thing to do!

CFL Bulbs

The most common, effective and easiest way to reduce energy use, is using Energy saving light bulbs. We have heard this a hundred times, yet , we all sometimes miss out replacing a few regular bulbs around the house like inside appliances, closets or garage door openers, look for these spots that you may have missed and change them today!

An interesting and commendable approach by Mr.Sanjayan
Quote (Mr.Sanjayan's article on Nature.org)

"...So I take energy-efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) with me on my trips, and I give them to someone at my destination — swapping them for existing incandescent bulbs that illuminate a small shop or local restaurant or school....."

Kudos to Mr. Sanjayan for taking this approach to replace light bulbs:
Read the entire article at :http://www.nature.org/activities/art23429.html

Material from one of our readers:
"Use Energy star light bulbs,Be aware of energy conservation.

Energy Star lights use low voltage, especially compact fluorescent, contributes more lights
using less power. By simply changing the light fixtures we can take a major step forward in the commitment and pursuit of energy conservation.

Changing the world starts with simple actions. If every American home replaces just one light bulb with an Energy Star qualified bulb, We would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes for a year and prevent green house gas emissions."

Earth Day - Take a step!

Happy Earth Day everyone! A great day to remember our planet and appreciate what we have and also, feel a little responsible for why it may not be the same next year. The fate of the planet and our lives, is not that hard to change. All it takes is one small step a day.

It is a great day to start taking that ONE STEP to make a difference. Stay Green today - is just that perfect tool to help you take that ONE STEP towards a better and greener life.

Start today, One green act a day - next earth day, you will enjoy the day with a great sense of accomplishment of having done several green acts over the year. Stay green today provides you a daily tip, every single day of the year, to help you achieve your green goals and save the planet!

Toady's recommendation

Use the Stairs

Waiting for that elevator to get one floor up? Well, use the stairs please.

Use the stairs as much as you can. Do it today! try it. At least use it to get down the stairs, if you are unable to climb up. Use the stairs for many reasons, conserve power, burn some energy, improve your health.

If you are in a very high floor, go part way in the elevator and walk the rest! Its OK, if you can only do 2 flights of stairs, that still counts.

No act is too small, every single act, however trivial it may seem like, STILL COUNTS!

Helpful Links:
Benefits of taking the stairs
Stairway health program

Mobile Chargers

Do not charge your mobile over night. Leaving it on the charger for over 8 hrs is a waste of power, when most of the cellphones batteries get charged up in just a couple of hours or less.

Please charge your mobile today during the day and not over night. Leave it in the charger on your desk or somewhere you can see it when its done charging. If available, Use the beep option on your cellphone to indicate and remind it to unplug when done charging.

Earth day tomorrow! Lets use that as a bit of extra inspiration and start doing this daily commitment to a greener life.

Cool water

Using cold water for washing clothes in your washer can save you a lot of energy costs. Check your default setting on your washers - Not many of bother to even look at the settings, no matter what we wash, we usually just toss in the clothes, add some detergent and turn it on.

Today, take just spend a minute to make sure you are not using hot/warm water setting at the default. Make a list of most common settings to use on the washer and put it up, so the others users of the washer know to use the right settings. The step to use cold water, can also save the occassional shrunk sweater scenario.

Line dry your clothes as and when you can. Spring/Summer coming up, use the natural sunlight to dry your clohtes. Even in shade, most clothes dry well, just plan a bit ahead and dry them

tip: Do not wash your bath towels and sheets too often . Towels can comfortably last atleast 2-3 uses. Even hotels like Hilton are adopting the once in 3 days sheet change and encourage reuse of bath towels. Use this option at the hotels when you travel.

Bike

Bike to work, Bike to a store or simply bike for fun.... however you want to call it and whatever reason you want to ride a bike for, its just a great green activity.

Biking is a great way to burn less fuel and burn more calories - both great for the environment. A green life, should definitely involve a healthy lifestyle, a balanced and low fuel consuming lifestyle. Biking is one fantastic option to use to lead that lifestyle.

Mark your calendars today! Make room for at least once a month bike days. Once a month is still not a bad idea... just once a month!

Remember - Mark your calendars today! Once a month Bike day.

tip: If weather doesn't permit, make sure you reschedule your calendar to fit that once a month bike day. If you other compelling reasons, that do not favor biking, then try, walking, snow shoeing, anything to minimize fuel usage atleast once a month.

Review your energy bills

How often do you actually read more than just the final amount on your energy bills? Often times, looking into the details of the bill can help motivate to use less energy. A lot of times, there are different pricing levels for the usage. Sometimes, just by conserving a little, you may fall under a lower bracket and will be paying less and lowering the impact on the environment and your bank balance.

In some cases, you even have the option to see on the bill or your energy provider's website to sing up for optional sources of energy like wind or solar. These are small changes that you can make with your energy plan can have a huge impact.

So take a moment today and review your energy bills. Electricity, gas and water - The three most critical. Water needs a little bit more focus and planning in the coming months of spring and summer seasons.

Find your energy bill today and review it.

Go Solar

Get a few solar powered gadgets. Little things - landscape lighting, solar chargers, generators etc. There are plenty of affordable solar products out there now. Start with the most commonly used item in your life and work towards the least used.

Look online, hardware stores and look often. Every now and then, there are new and improved solar products. There are several small solar products that prove very effiecient and even fun to use. Like Solar Radios, Solar oven, solar flashlight, rechargers etc.

Save gasoline

Drive to work everyday? Alone? well, then its time to change that. Single drivers contribute to pollution and co2 emissions more than anyone else.

Call a car pool number today! Talk to co-workers, talk to neighbours, try to work out a car pool at least 1 or 2 days a week. Can't car pool? Then take the public transportation, ride a bike, do something different, at least once a week. One day a week can make a big difference too.

If you are one of the lucky ones that have an option to work-from-home or telecommuting facilities, use it. Come up with a schedule to work once a week or as often as you can. Not driving to work can help you save gas and time, and even improve productivity.

tip: Car pooling or taking public transportation - can have good advantages. Saves gas, helps reduce the stress of driving, in some cases can get some extra work done on the way to work, also its always a great reason to leave to or from work on time.

Turn off computers

Millions of computers are left turned on overnight, during lunch breaks or when not in use for a prolonged period of time. Turning off the computer, monitors and other accessories can save an enormous amount of energy.

Turn off your computer tonight and every night there after, as much as possible. Just turn it all off, unless you have a pressing reason to keep it on. A lot of us leave the computer on, so we do not have to wait for it for start up in the morning. If that's the concern, just start the habit of turning it on before you brush your teeth or use the bathroom or something like that. Most computers take only a minute or less to turn.

Even if your computer is on standby, it still consumes some amount of energy. If you absolutely cannot turn off the computer fully, at least make sure its setup to use the minimal power usage. Turn off monitors and hard disks when not in use. Turn off the printers when not use. Turn of the powered speakers when not in use.

tip: Get surge protect power strip and plug in the computer and all in accessories into it. Find a power strip that has a one and off switch. So, its a lot easier to simply turn off the whole system when not in use. Also, if your computer is connected to the Internet all the time, this may even reduce the chance of your computer getting hacked.

Helpful Links:
When to turn off computers

Thermostat

In cold or hot weather, a lot of us do not spend that extra minute with our thermostats. Programmable thermostats that adjust automatically is one of the best ways to manage this. If you do not have one, then remember to adjust it manually as and when you can. At least for today, go and set it up at ideal temperatures.


During winter by set the thermostat to 68°F while you're in the house and set it lower while you're asleep or away from home. Invest in a good down comforter, woolen blankets and some inexpensive space heaters to help balance the heat. In the summer, you can follow the same strategy with central air conditioning, too, by keeping your house warmer than normal when you are not in the house, and lowering the thermostat setting to 78°F (26°C) only when you need cooling in the house.

Adjust Ceiling fan blades

Its spring time and warmer weather is here. Using the the option to switch fan blades to blow the air up or down is a great way to save some energy. Usually, only take a few minutes. Today is a good day to do it. Don't wait for a weekend, just do it. If there are still a few chilly nights or days, just don't use the fan.

During spring and warmer month, fans should be blowing on our heads to keep them cool. In the Fall when the temperature start dipping, our fans should be blowing air up and forcing the warm air back down.

tip: You can do the fan blade switch on the Time change days. Same trick, to change batteries on smoke alarms on time change days. Or simply stay tuned to us, we'll remind you!

Switch light bulbs

Probably the most procrastinated, yet easiest way to save some energy. Go today to the nearest club store or any other store and get a few low energy light bulbs. Now they come in all sizes and shapes to fit almost any fixture or appliance. You will not believe the amount of energy you will save by doing this.

tip: Start with the most used rooms and lights in the house. Also, be sure to replace the bulbs in garage, closets and attics, where we forget to switch off the lights more often.

Check tire pressure

Check the tire pressure on your vehicle today. Checking and inflating the tires only take a few minutes. Poorly inflated tires can make the car run slower and increase fuel costs. Check every other week if possible. If you have the time, do a visual check everyday when you get in the car first thing in the morning.

tip: keep a tire pressure gauge handy in the glove box and check waiting to fill your gas tank. Also, keep a few quarters handy for the air pump.

Earth Hour - Turn off the lights

Celebrate the very effective and worldwide energy conservation effort called Earth Hour. Go ahead turn off all the lights for just 1 hr or more. Its not that hard really! 60 mins is such a short period of time to help extend the life of our planet by several million years more.

tip: Setup a nice Candle Dinner at home. Its easy to spend an hour over a romantic candle light dinner and may be even talk about loving our planet a little bit more everyday.

Turn off your engine

Turn off your vehicle's engine while you stop at a drive through - bank, coffee, food anything. If applicable, turn off the engine at a long traffic stop.

Just a few minutes of turning off the engine can make all the difference. Try it today!