Save money and energy with these electronics

• If you are considering buying a stereo, don't.  An MP3 player is a much greener choice.  A stereo uses 120 kilowatt hours of electricity per year, you'll spend $13.20, and using it will put 206 pounds of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.  An MP3 player, however, has a much smaller footprint.  It will only use 6 kilowatt hours of electricity per year, cost you $0.66, and its use will put 10 pounds of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.  
  
• If you are considering cable versus satellite, go with satellite service if it is available to you. Digital cable uses 239 kilowatt hours of electricity per year, will cost you $26.29, and puts 410 pounds of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Satellite, on the other hand, uses 124 kilowatt hours of electricity per year, costs $13.64, and will put 213 pounds of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.  
• A desktop computer uses 255 kilowatt hours of electricity per year, costs $28.05, and emits 437 pounds of carbon dioxide.  A laptop, though, only uses 83 kilowatt hours of electricity per year, costs $9.13, and emits 142 pounds of carbon dioxide.
• A cordless, landline phone uses 26 kilowatt hours of electricity per year, costs $2.86, and emits 45 pounds of carbon dioxide.  A cellular phone uses 3 kilowatt hours of electricity per year, costs $0.33, and emits 5 pounds of carbon dioxide.  
• If you are going to break down and get that giant TV that you've been eyeing for a long time, then get an LCD rather than a plasma TV.  The plasma TV, on average, uses 441 kilowatt hours of electricity per year, costs $48.51, and emits 756 pounds of carbon dioxide. But an LCD only uses 77 kilowatt hours of electricity per year, costs $8.47, and emits 132 pounds of carbon dioxide.

Remember to recycle all of your old electronics too.  Don't just throw them away!                

Eco News

I read a lot...books, magazines, the Internet.  I seem to spend a lot of my reading time lately on environmental issues.  It is something I am really interested in learning more about.  I want to be educated on what I can do to make a difference.  Here are some of the more interesting bits of info I have read recently.

From Self magazine's July 2008 issue: Clif bar and TerraCycle have a program called the Wrapper Brigade.  The nationwide initiative recycles packaging that consumers submit and is weaving it into material for backpacks, gym totes and other products to be in Target stores next year.  Wrapper Brigade also donates two cents per wrapper to a charity of your choice. 

From Self magazine's July 2008 issue: 61% of women agree that it is difficult to tell which beauty products are natural or organic, a study from the Benchmarking Company, a research firm in McLean, Virginia, reports.  Look up eco-friendly products at GreenerChoices.org. 

From Body + Soul magazine's July 2008 issue: Two companies give new life to old clothes-

The Urban Renewal collection by Urban Outfitters features pieces constructed from discarded clothing and accessories.  

Goodwill Industries teamed up with designer Nick Graham to create William Good, a repurposed clothing line that aims to save 100% of unsold donated items from landing in the trash.  Find current styles at ecocitizenonline.com or, next spring, at retailers around the country.

From Body + Soul magazine's July 2008 issue: If we recycled 100 million unused cell phones, we could save enough energy to power 194,000 homes in America for a year.  To find an e-cycler, visit epa.gov/cellphones.        

Every Day Is a Chance to Live Green

I strive to live every day by my motto that "less for me means more for others."  By this I don't mean that people should take more than their share of resources because others are doing without.  I mean that if each and every one of us made small changes to our lifestyles, we could save countless resources for others. 

• According to Diet for a Small Planet by Frances Moore Lappe, if you sit down to an 8 oz. steak, the "feed cost" of that steak is 45-50 people with empty bowls in front of them, bowls that could have been filled with a full cup of cooked cereal grains.
• If we recycled 100 million unused cell phones, we could save enough energy to power 194,000 homes in the US for a year.  
• We go through 100 Billion plastic bags per year in the US, less than 1% of which get recycled.  An estimated 12 Million barrels of oil is required to make them, and the annual cost to US retailers of giving them out is estimated at $4 Billion.  
• The chopsticks that you get with your Chinese takeout cost China approximately 25 Million trees a year to make.
• Americans consume an estimated 70 Million+ water bottles a day, and only 14% get recycled. 
• Each person in the US uses an average of 700 pounds of paper products per year.

So I don't eat a lot of red meat.  I do eat it, though, I won't deny it.  I know being a vegetarian would be even better for the planet, though. I have had the same cell phone for a little over two years.  It is only the second one I have ever owned (I lost my first cell phone).  When this phone finally does need to be replaced, all I have to do is return it to AT&T, because the carriers recycle used cell phones.  

I carry a reusable bag with me absolutely everywhere.  They make them to fit on your belt buckle or key chain.  

My boyfriend and I rarely if ever order takeout.  It is environmentally disastrous, not to mention lazy and bad for your waistline.

I rarely drink bottled water.  On occasion I have bought a bottle of water or juice while out, but I ALWAYS recycle the bottle.  

We do not keep paper towels or paper napkins in our apartment.  I use sponges and old socks for cleaning, and we simply wash our hands after a messy meal, or if really necessary, wipe our hands on a cloth towel.  

We swapped out all of the regular light bulbs in our apartment with CFLs.  I turn off the lights when I leave a room, and I shut off and/or unplug appliances I am not using.  

For every bag of garbage we make, we make 2-3 bags of recycling.  

We eat as local and as healthy as we can afford to-organic as much as possible.  

We don't own a car.  We both own a bicycle, though.  And we both walk a lot and use a fair amount of public transportation.  

We don't have an air conditioner.  We have a ceiling fan and a window fan, and we turn them off when we are gone.

I just live this way because I feel it is the right thing to do.  I don't feel like I am sacrificing anything.  I feel blessed by what I do have and feel that everyone should have the chance to experience abundance in their lives.  If everyone on Earth consumed the way we did in the US, we would need 5-6 Earths just to satisfy the demand for resources.  I personally think that says that we, as a country, are thoughtless and greedy.  The Earth is not ours to plunder.