Zero Footprint Calulator

Calculate Your Carbon Footprint!

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GOING GREEN

10 Easy Ways To Turn Green

1.   Reduce Just by turning off the tap, while brushing your teeth you can save more than 200 gallons of water per month. Also try to turn off the lights when leaving a room and use both sides of the paper when printing and copying.

2. Unplug Unused Electronics Did you know that a cell phone charger can still consume electricity even when a phone isn't connected to it? In the average home, 25% of the electricity used to power home electronics is consumed while the products are turned off. To stop these "phantom loads" when devices are not in use, unplug them or connect them to power strips, which can then be turned off.

3. Recycle By recycling materials such as aluminum cans, newspapers, and glass jars, you can save energy and landfill space, conserve natural resources, and also prevent pollution. Recycling one ton of paper saves 17 mature trees, 7,000 gallons of water, three cubic yards of landfill space, two barrels of oil, and 4,100 kilowatt-hours of electricity – enough energy to power the average US home for five months.

4. Look For The ENERGY STAR Label If a product has the ENERGY STAR seal, it meets certain energy efficiency standards. Home appliances, electronics, windows, and roofing are just a few of the products that can qualify, so check a product’s box or manual, or speak to a salesperson to see if it is ENERGY STAR compliant.

5. Use Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs (CFLs) Almost all of the electricity used by an incandescent bulb is converted to heat and not light; CFLs provide a much more efficient alternative. ENERGY STAR labeled CFLs use up to 75 percent less energy and last up to 10 times longer than incandescent bulbs.

6. Fix Leaks A faucet that leaks one drip per second can waste more than 3,000 gallons of water each year.

7. Buy Recycled Look for the words "postconsumer" or "recycled" when shopping. There are over 4,500 recycled-content products available including paper towels, printer paper, note pads, packing boxes, sleeping bags, laundry detergent bottles, glass containers, nails, carpeting, trash cans, and trash bags. The amount of recycled content can vary from a small percentage to 100 percent, so look for labels that indicate the highest percentage.

8. Computer Power Management Enable low-power sleep modes and turn off computers and monitors at night.

9. Properly Dispose of Hazardous Waste Electronics, CFLs, certain batteries, and other household hazardous wastes contain toxic materials so they should not be sent to landfills where they can pollute the surrounding land and water. A single computer monitor may contain 4 pounds of lead as well as other toxic heavy metals. Many companies and municipal governments offer free collection programs, and in some cases you can even get paid to recycle old electronics

10. Fresh, Local, Organic Food travels an average of 1,200 miles before it reaches your plate, so buy locally produced items to save energy and prevent emissions from going into the air.