Tip #1 Go with Green Vendors: If you want to go green at your office, it’s going to be important to go with green vendors for your needs. Find out if vendors have green policies of their own in place already. Each vendor your use, such as your office supply company or even the bank you use should have green policies to help with the environment. Find out which businesses do use green policies and then support them and their choices by giving them your company’s business.

Tip #2 Make Donations: Another thing that you can do to keep your office environmentally friendly is to make some donations. All the pens, phones, books, computers, and other supplies that you have at the office that are no longer being used can be donated. You’ll find schools, libraries, charity stores, and nursing homes will be glad to take them off your hands. This way someone else can get some use out of them and you won’t be throwing them away.

Tip #3 Purchase and Plant Trees around Your Business: Trees are great for helping the environment by releasing oxygen into the air. Why not plant some trees around your business. Perhaps start an initiative at your office for people to earn their own tree. You may even want to set a special day aside for planting some trees. This will be great for the environment and it can be excellent for your business promotion as well. Purchasing some small saplings should not be all that expensive to do, and consider even using these trees as awards or incentives in the office instead of paper certificates.

Tip #4 Put in Electric Hand Dryers: Many businesses go with paper towels in their bathrooms, and this promotes the use of natural resources that could be saved. Instead of using all that paper, why not invest in some electric hand dryers for your bathrooms. This will save on using paper towels, and not only is it great for the environment, but it is also going to be cost effective as well, since you’ll save quite a bit on the cost of the paper towels.

Tip #5 Go with Recycled Products: There are a variety of different recycled products that you can use for your business that will help you in your pursuit of going green at the office. Some of the recycled products that you can use include recycled paper goods, recycled toner and printer cartridges, and even recycled plastics. You should recycle yourself, and also use recycled products as much as you can.

Tip #6 Purchase Personalized Coffee Mugs for Your Employees: How many Styrofoam cups do you go through a day at the office? If you have many coffee drinkers in the office lounge, more than likely you go through quite a few. Why not go ahead and purchase some personalized coffee mugs for all of your employees. This is a great gift that you can offer and they’ll be able to use their mugs over and over again instead of having to actually use Styrofoam cups, which are not great for the environment.

As you can see, there are many things that you can do that can help to improve the environment. Going green at the office is actually a lot easier and cheaper than you probably thought it would be; in fact, it can even save you money in the long run. So, if you’re ready to start taking care of the world you live in, consider using these tips at the office to make it as green as you possibly can.

Author: Bennetta Elliott
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Hybrid and Electric Cars

With respect to cars you can:

1. Keep the air filter clean:

o Just like humans, cars and vehicles need to breathe properly also. The dirtier the air filter the harder the vehicle will have to work thus burning more gas and hurting your wallet even more.

2. Car pooling with people who you like:

o Obviously if there is another passenger in your car, that is one less car off the road if he or she is accustomed to driving. Remember though to let your passengers know that they have to respect your vehicle, do not let them slam your car doors or let your doors slam against a wall, other cars or stationary objects. You might end up spending more money fixing the damages than what you might be trying to save by going green.

Also remember that with more people in your car, you will have higher gas expenses but considerably less gas will be used compared to having your passenger drive their own car. Ask your car pooling buddies if they will pitch in for gas, since gas seems to be going up all over the world and probably will not return to levels which we are used to.

3. Hand wash your own car:

o Many of us love our cars and some but not all, wash our cars at home. It is true there are car washes at your local garage or gas station but there are still many countries where it is not the custom to go to a car wash. So for those who still wash their own car by hand, try using a bucket and water instead of the hose.

In other words, fill the bucket with some water and get a sponge and wash the car yourself. You can use a scrub brush for the tires since that surface is tougher. You will be amazed at how far a bucket of water can go and you will not constantly have the water running when the hose is not in use.

In your home there are many possibilities but a few are as follows:

1. Recycle your glass and plastic bottles:

o Even if you are the one who does not go to the recycling center, there is nothing wrong with putting your bottles into separate bags and placing them by the trash. In many cities around the world, the less fortunate collect bottles and return them to the recycling center themselves to collect the few cents per dollar.

Help do your part by separating the bottles into their own bags, instead of having such people go through your garbage looking for bottles and causing a mess on the sidewalk or around your garbage collecting area.

2. Find creative ways to use items:

o Think of a way to reuse items before throwing them out. If you ship things frequently, maybe hold onto clean items such as egg boxes, cartons that are washed out or simply boxes that you may receive. These can be reused for shipping and packaging purposes.

3. Solar heating:

o Use a solar heating system for your water, if available in your country. In many developing countries such as certain islands in the Caribbean, they have been using solar heating for decades now. You basically have a tank of water on your roof, with solar panels connected to it and the heat from the sun heats the water which is stored in the tank.

True that in countries which have the winter season or where it is not hot all year around, some sort of backup system will have to be used. But the point is, for those few months of spring, summer and fall where it is possible to have the warmth of the sun to heat your water; this is a viable and cheap alternative.

Obviously, there are many other areas which you can look at whether it be with your electronics, personal self with respect to walking instead of driving, you can look at generating your electricity at home with the use of home based wind wills and even with the food you feed your pets.

I hope this article has allowed people to realize that it is the simple things which can allow all of us to get started on going green within the home and our businesses and that we can help create or leave behind a better Earth for future generations.

Author: Jim Haynes
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Excise Tax

There are 3 areas where you can make a significant impact without significant expense or inconvenience: paper, lights, and electronics.

The average American office worker throws out about 150 pounds of paper per year. Paper manufacturing contributes to the deforestation of the planet and in America is responsible for 35 million tons of CO2 a year. So what can you do? Buy recycled paper. Make full use of that paper by printing on both sides and/or using paper that is only printed on one side for scratch paper. Do your proofreading and edits on your computer before printing to reduce the number of prints you make. Re-use file folders by placing new labels over the old ones. All of these changes are easy to make but have a big impact. Pretty painless, right?

Another way you can go green in your office is as easy as changing a light bulb. In fact, it is changing a light bulb. Incandescent bulbs use 4 times more energy than is necessary to produce light. Halogen lights can get as hot as 1,100 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s hot enough to cook an egg! Alternately, Energy Star certified compact fluorescent lights (CFL’s) use 75% less energy to produce the same amount of light, last 10 times longer and produce less heat. If you feel like you need even more reason to switch to CFL’s, consider that you will also save money over the lifetime of the bulb. Once you have made the switch to energy efficient bulbs, make sure lights are turned off when they are not needed. A great way to ensure that this happens is with motion sensors that will turn the lights off when everyone has left the room.

38% of all of the carbon dioxide emissions come from the electricity we generate. That electricity is used to power all sorts of things. A major drain on our electricity is all of our office equipment such as computers, copiers, printers, and fax machines. When going green with your electronics, you need to look at 3 factors. You need to consider the waste that is created in the manufacturing of the products, the effects on the environment when you use the products, and the waste that is created when you are done with the products. That may seem like a lot to think about but if you follow these simple guidelines, you will be able to minimize the negative impact your office equipment has on the environment.

The manufacturing of electronics uses a lot of resources including electricity, raw materials, and water. Electronics also account for billions of pounds of municipal waste each year. Just a few of the contaminants that electronics create are toxic heavy metals, lead, PCB’s, mercury, and various acids. To lessen your office’s affect on the number of new pieces of equipment that are manufactured, as well as end up in land fills, buy all-in-one machines that combine multiple functions into one. Whenever possible, get rid of machines completely by using services such as Internet fax. With an Internet fax service you get rid of the fax machine completely, as well as reduce the amount of paper and ink that gets consumed. Another way to decrease waste is to recycle machines that are no longer working and donate those that do to charities where they will stay in use.

25% of the total electricity used by all commercial buildings in the US is consumed by office buildings. When buying any new office equipment, look for Energy Star certified machines. This will make a huge difference in the amount of electricity that is used to run your office. For example, an Energy Star certified computer is going to be 52% more efficient than a standard one. Laptops also use a lot less energy than desktops, so consider whether this is a viable option for your office. Energy efficient machines are also going to have stand by options that will power down or go into sleep mode to conserve energy when not in use. Once the office is closing for the day, make sure that all equipment is powered off.

Taking these steps will get you on your way to going green in your office. And as I promised, they will help you make a significant impact without significant cost or inconvenience to you and your employees. And you thought going green was going to be hard.

Author: Brandi Cummings
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Digital pipeline

Out Doors:

Use a rake instead of a leaf blower. You will get more exercise, not pollute the air and save the money you would be spending on the gas or electricity to use a leaf blower.

Instead of a 2 stroke gasoline powered mower which releases as many hydrocarbons into the atmosphere in 30 minutes as a car does in 90 minutes switch to an electric mower.

Ride a bike to work, take public transportation or car pool. My husband bought a bike and rides it to work when the weather permits, which in Texas is pretty often. We have not only helped the environment but a lot of money as we do not have to buy gas often anymore.

Dry your clothes on a clothes line. You will be saving on electricity and your clothes will smell fresh and clean.

Electronics:

LCD Flat Panel tv’s use 1/3 of the electricity of the tube based tv’s.

Just because they come out with a new gadget doesn’t mean you have to run right out and buy one. Use the one you have until it is no longer useable.

Recycle your non working computers, printers, I-Pods, computer game equipment and cell phones.

Donate working electronics to charities, companies and schools.

Use E Cards instead of the conventional greeting cards, you are saving trees and saving money. You are not having to buy the card, pay the postage and make a trip to the post office for mailing.

Go paperless, pay your bills online.

Save documents on your computer or to a disc instead of printing them and filing them.

Around The House:

Instead of going out and buying new furniture head out to the flea market, garage sales or re-sell shops. If more of us did this there would not be near as many materials being used to manufacture furniture.

For the expectant mother I recommend you never buy new maternity clothes, you are only going to use them for a short period of time. Once again the garage sales and the re-sell shops are a great place to shop.

The same goes for baby clothes, I am not saying never buy anything new, but we can save a lot and help the environment by buying used clothing. My grand daughters who I spoil unmercifully had clothes from garage sales most of their lives. I do buy them some new clothes but I can find very nice designer clothes for a fraction of the cost by hitting the better re-sell shops and the garage sales.

Used appliances when ever possible for me also.

I shop in pawn shops for tv’s, just bought an almost new flat panel tv for $180.00. I buy all my jewelry in pawn shops also. I save tons of money and have more jewelry than I would if I went out and bought it new. I see it as not having to mine for metals and gems.

Bottle your own water. Studies have shown that the water you buy is really no better than your own tap water. You can buy a nice water filtration system and save a lot of money by bottling your own water.

We all talk about re-cycling. Now they have FreeCycle. Check online for one in your community. People post what they have to get rid of and others that want it come and pick it up from your porch at a time that the two of you set up and you have just gotten rid of the things you no longer want and someone else needs. Charities also benefit from this site. Just go to www.freecycle.org to check in your area.

Use cloth diapers. Help the environment and your child will also benefit. The disposable diapers cause more diaper rashes than the cloth diapers do.

Use a ceiling fan to cool a room. Ceiling fans consume as little energy as a 60 watt bulb, about 98% less energy than central air.

Install a programmable thermostat and recycle your old mercury containing thermostats.

When using the oven, throw a cake in when you are baking the chicken, roast, etc… You can also bake two meats at once and have one for dinner and one for lunch the following day. I like doing a chicken for the following day as it is as good cold as it is warm.

Take your own containers to the restaurant to bring home any leftovers from the meal. You will not be using the Styrofoam containers and have nothing to throw out to the landfills.

Author: Cheryl C Mcneil
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Electric Pressure Cooker