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Green Commission Ideas
Look at our favorite ideas, any time of the year! It's Easy Being Green
-Our idea list below, there are others!
-Tell us what you are doing.
-Print the Pledge Flyer to distribute to those without web access.
Walk in your neighborhood. Simply step outside and go for a walk. Walk between stores when shopping-it's less stressful than driving and you avoid searching for another parking space. Consider walking along with taking a bus. a walk of 1/4 mile from the bus stop may be all you need to reach your destination. Want a little more: take a walk and a moment to identify the sustainable elements of your neighborhood. Click on the link below to download a "neighborhood survey" that you can use in your walk to evaluate the sidewalks and paths (can everyone pass safely and easily?), identify wildlife, look for green areas, and see what you can do to imrove your neighborhood!View and print the flyer.
Forgo bottled water. When you buy bottled water you are paying more for the bottle than the water itself. Every day millions of bottles end up in the trash (and hence take up landfill space) rather than are recycled. Just manufacturing the 29 billion plastic bottles used for water in the United States each year requires the equivalent of more than 17 million barrels of crude oil – enough oil to power almost 1 Million cars per year. According to the Pacific Institute "the energy used for pumping and processing, transportation, and refrigeration, brings the annual fossil fuel footprint of bottled water consumption in the United States to more than 50 million barrels of oil, enough to run 3 million cars for one year."
Ride the bus. Each full bus takes over 40 cars off the road. Consider taking a bus for 10% of your trips. Talk to your employer if bus service does not exist to your place of work. Remember, a bus stop may not exist at your front door, but a 1/4 miles walk to the stop is good exercise and reduces your use of fossil fuels.Here’s the link to the bus routes: http://www.ci.wausau.wi.us/is/wat/pdf/regrtmapweb.pdf
Ride a bike. Tune up that two-wheeled device hanging in your garage, wear a helmet and ride. Don't forget to follow the rules of the road while operating your bike. (Check out www.bfw.org/projects/ghostbikes.php for bike safety tips.)
Walk in your neighborhood. Simply step outside and go for a walk. Walk between stores when shopping - its less stressful than driving and you avoid searching for another parking space. Consider walking along with taking a bus. A walk of 1/4 mile from the bus stop may be all you need to reach your destination. Want a little more: take a walk and a moment to identify the sustainable elements of your neighborhood. Evaluate the sidewalks and paths (can everyone pass safely and easily?), identify wildlife, and look for green areas.
Pick up pet waste. When pet waste is washed into our lakes or rivers, the waste decays using up oxygen and sometimes releasing ammonia. Low oxygen levels and ammonia combined with warm temperatures can kill fish. Pet waste also contains nutrients that encourage weed and algae growth. Overly fertile water becomes cloudy and green – making it unattractive and unhealthy for swimming, boating and fishing.
Get your car a tune up. A simple tune-up improves your car's fuel efficiency. Studies show that a poorly tuned engine increases fuel consumption by as much as 10-20%. While you are at it, make sure your tires are properly inflated to get maximum fuel efficiency.
Enjoy an electronic-free evening. Turn off your TV, vcr, dvd and computer for a night. Dust off your board games, books or make conversation with your family and friends.
Drive the speed limit. Don't race your engine or make a rapid acceleration from a stop sign or light. If you are idling for more than 30 seconds, you will save gas by turning the car off and restarting it when ready to move.
Drive less. Every year, Americans as a whole drive more miles that they did the year before. Try to reverse this trend - leaving your car at home two days a week (walking, biking, car pooling or taking public transportation) would reduce your CO2 emissions by 1,590 pounds a year. Even combining multiple errands into one trip (it’s called trip-chaining) helps and if you can walk instead of drive, even better!
Use eco-friendly fertilizer. All lawn fertilizers are not created equal. Newer formulas use controlled-release nitrogen and contain less or no phosphorous, which helps protect our water ways. Better yet, perform a soil test first to determine what your lawn needs. With fertilizer application, more is not always better. If you apply fertilizer to a lawn that doesn’t need it, you may encourage nutrient leaching, excessive top growth and leave your lawn more prone to diseases. Over fertilizing does more harm than good, and it takes a long time to correct the consequences." notes UW-Extension commercial horticulture educator Michael Maddox.
Car Pool. Post a sign or talk to co-workers about sharing a ride if possible. See if you can car pool on certain days of the week. Consider establishing car pools in your neighborhood for soccer practices, YMCA events or after-school activities.
Energy Efficient Vehicles. Rent a fuel-efficient hybrid vehicle for a day/week. Get used to the same convenience as your other vehicle, except you will visit the gas station less frequently. Think of Earth Day every day and purchase a new more gas efficient hybrid when you are ready to buy a new vehicle. It is not just about gas mileage and money saved at the pump, fuel efficient vehicles emit less!
Use rain barrels and rain chains. Besides helping the environment, harvesting rainwater can save you money on your water bill.
Telecommute. Your boss may consider allowing you to work from your home (or satellite office that is closer to your home). A second option would be to work 4 10-hour days, then not come to work on the fifth day. This would save energy (fuel) costs. (Don't forget to clear this with your boss first!)
Wash cars on grass, not driveways. By washing your vehicle on a grassy area or on pavement that slopes toward an unpaved area where the water will be absorbed into the soil you prevent soapy, oily, dirty water from flowing off your driveway and into the gutter and storm drain.
Plant a rain garden. Direct the rainwater runoff from impervious urban areas to your garden, keeping the polluted storm water from reaching our rivers and lakes. Rain gardens can cut down the amount of pollution reaching surface water by up to 30%. In our area, the Village of Weston Municipal Center features a rain garden.
Eat local. Eat a meal using only local products (try buying Wisconsin-made products). Not only will your food be more fresh and nutritious, the average dinner travels 1,500 miles from fields and farms to our dinner tables. A dollar spent locally generates twice as much income for the local economy.
Enroll in a KEEP (K12 Energy Education Program) course at the Mead Wildlife Area April 5 or April 12. The course offered is Renewable Energy Education in the Classroom.
http://www.meadwildlife.org/news-01.html and http://www.uwsp.edu/cnr/wcee/keep/ProfessionalDevelopment/index.htm
Purchase a motorized bike/scooter. These vehicles when used safely are more energy (fuel) friendly than cars. Check out their outstanding mpg.
Use rechargeable batteries.An investment of approximately $30 in batteries and a recharger can be used for 300 – 500 cycles, saving you 100s of dollars per year. Americans purchase nearly 3 billion solid-state batteries per year, creating about 1,000,000 tons of waste (like metals: lead, arsenic, zinc, cadmium, copper, and mercury) that need to be properly disposed of as hazardous waste.
Eliminate “phantom” electricity use. Unplug all electronic devices when not in use. (Use a power strip-control several devices with one switch) Even when not in use, electronic appliances use a small amount of electricity. For instance, if you use your microwave 7 minutes or less per day, the clock on the microwave actually uses more energy than the microwave itself in a year. Altogether Americans spend $1 Billion dollars per year on phantom electricity use.
Buy “Green Power” from your electric company. In our area, Wisconsin Public Service offers Naturewise. NatureWise offers you a choice about how your electricity is produced. This voluntary program allows you to bring cleaner, renewable energy to our community. These new renewable resources will replace some of the electricity generated from other fuels like coal and natural gas. NatureWise is an easy way to make a difference for the environment. http://www.wisconsinpublicservice.com/news/naturewise.aspx
Use Reusable shopping bags. According to the EPA, over 380 billion plastic bags, sacks and wraps are consumed in the U.S. each year and less than 6% are currently recycled. Plastic bags don’t biodegrade, they photodegrade—breaking down into smaller and smaller toxic bits which can contaminate soil and waterways. Furthermore, the production of plastic bags consume millions of gallons of oil that could be used for fuel and heating.
Tour a local landfill or recycling center.
Use both side of paper for writing and printing. Fax machines and draft reports are good candidates for half-used paper as they are almost always strictly for internal use (not mailed). If there are several laser printers or copiers in the office, one can be designated as a “draft” printer and always stocked with half-used paper.
Forgo individually packaged products. We pay for product packaging both directly (higher priced goods) and indirectly (disposal costs). When buying goods, focus on buying the product, not the packaging. For instance we pay up to 45% more for a piece of fruit which is cut up, served on a plastic tray and covered in shrink wrap. Avoid buying products with excess packaging, especially plastic. Don’t buy or use polystyrene foam since it never decomposes.
Evaluate your recycling program. Whether a business, household or favorite public area, is recycling easy and convenient? Are containers clearly marked, located in the best areas, and in good shape? Studies show that recycling behavior is closely tied to recycling container placement and condition.
Evaluate your lighting. Instead of brightly lighting an entire room, focus the light where you need it. For example, use fluorescent under-cabinet lighting for kitchen sinks and countertops under cabinets or use a low-wattage desk lamp and turn off your general room lighting. Install energy efficient compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) in fixtures. An average household dedicates 11% of its energy budget to lighting. Using new lighting technologies can reduce lighting energy use in your home or business by 50% to 75%
Compost leaves and grass clippings.Recycle yard waste and vegetable scraps through composting to produce a valuable soil conditioner. Composting is the most practical and convenient way to handle your yard wastes. It’s easier and cheaper than bagging these wastes and transporting them to a landfill or transfer station. http://www.ciwmb.ca.gov/organics/HomeCompost/