For many of us the end of year cleaning and decorating is a big event, particularly if you are into entertaining family and friends as part of your regular Christmas and New Year celebrations. But how many of us really think about the type of cleaning agents we use, or the amount of water and energy we expend during this time of the year?
Our planet is at a very critical state. Our actions today and over the next five to ten years will determine whether we have a healthy and safe environment in the future. In this vein, we all need to be environmentally conscious of our daily habits and incorporate environmentally responsible practices into our everyday living.
Here are 12 eco tips and practices we found to be very simple and which can be adopted throughout the year.
Our list starts with reducing our water footprint. Did you know that according to data from the United Nations (UN), agriculture accounts for 70 per cent of all water consumption worldwide, compared to 20 per cent for industry and ten per cent for domestic use?
In industrialised nations, however, industries consume more than half of the water available for human use. Belgium, for example, uses 80 per cent of the water available for industry (http://www.worldometers.info/water/).
Here's what you can do to help conserve our local resources:
�2 First and foremost, you need to regularly inspect and fix all leaking faucets and pipes around your home. Every drop counts towards conserving for the future.
�2 Many of us tend to wash down the yard and use an exorbitant amount of water doing so.
Try using a broom to initially clean heavy debris from these areas. For tougher areas, outfit your hose with a shut-off nozzle which can be adjusted to fine spray so that water flows only as needed.
Soak the mossy areas requiring extra scrubbing to avoid prolonged use of running water. This works well when you have someone to help scrub and remove most of the debris while you monitor the water usage.
�2 Use eco friendly products around your home as the effluent (runoff) makes its way into our water courses. Look for a certified environmental seal and choose less hazardous products that have positive environmental attributes (eg, biodegradability, low toxicity, low volatile organic compound (VOC) content, reduced packaging, low life cycle energy use).
Buy cleaners in concentrates with appropriate handling safeguards and reusable, reduced or recyclable packaging, reduced packaging waste and transportation energy (US EPA).
�2 When preparing your favourite meals this season, do not use running water to thaw meat or other frozen foods. Defrost food overnight in the refrigerator or use the defrost setting on your microwave.
Hand wash efficiently by scraping leftovers from dishes with paper napkins and rinse all at once. Soak pots and pans overnight if very dirty. If washing your vehicle, use a bucket.
�2 During this time of lights, lights and more lights, we need to be very wary of the amount of electricity and energy consumed, particularly from our non-renewable resources.
Appliances account for about 20 per cent of household energy use. In the average home, 75 per cent of the electricity used to power home electronics is consumed while the products are turned off. Plug home electronics into power strips and turn the power strips off when the equipment is not in use.
�2 Apart from using the energy saving light bulbs, consider using dimmer switches which are quite affordable, can reduce your energy consumption and also prolong the use of your light bulb. You can also install motion sensors for your outdoor lights so that the light will not be on unnecessarily.
�2 Ensure you unplug your decorative outdoor lights at night before you go to sleep.
�2 If you are purchasing new appliances this Christmas ensure that you have purchased an Energy Star product or one that is energy efficient.
�2 Get in the habit of walking with your own reusable bags to the grocery store to reduce the amount of bags that need to be produced and bought by store owners.
�2 Energy saving tips can also be applied to your vehicle. Drive sensibly. Aggressive driving (speeding, rapid acceleration and braking) wastes gasoline and can lower your highway gas mileage by 33 per cent and city mileage by five per cent.
�2 Combine errands into one trip. Several short trips, each one taken from a cold start, can use twice as much fuel as one trip covering the same distance when the engine is warm.
�2 Get regular engine tune-ups. Replacing clogged air filters can improve gas mileage by as much as ten per cent and protect your engine.
The EMA wishes you and your family a very safe and eco-friendly Christmas season. Continue to do your part to safeguard our environment.
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If you have any comments or would like to contribute to this column, please send us an e-mail at emacorner@ema.co.tt