SEQL: Sustainable Environment for Quality of Life

Ways to Save the Environment!
Some stuff I could use.. as a reminder:

In Your Home – Conserve Energy
1. Clean or replace air filters on your air conditioning unit at least once a month.
2. Wrap your water heater in an insulated blanket. (i thought this was interesting. My household uses a central electric, so I can't wrap any heater in a blanket. I do have an idea of how those heater tanks in toilets of many other homes would look like! - Cute)
3. Set your refrigerator temperature at 36 to 38 and your freezer at 0 to 5 .
4. When using an oven, minimize door opening while it is in use; it reduces oven temperature by 25 to 30 every time you open the door. (I don't bake now, but maybe next time........ right?!)
5. Clean the lint filter in your dryer after every load so that it uses less energy.
6. Unplug seldom used appliances (errrrr................)
7. Install weather stripping around all doors and windows. (whats this?)
8. Shade outside air conditioning units by trees or other means.

In Your Home – Reduce Toxicity
9. Eliminate mercury from your home by purchasing items without mercury, and dispose of items containing mercury at an appropriate drop-off facility when necessary (e.g. old thermometers).
10. Review labels of household cleaners you use. Consider alternatives like baking soda, scouring pads, water or a little more elbow grease.
11. Use traps instead of rat and mouse poisons and insect killers. (so... where do we find cockroach traps in sunnysingapore?)
12. Have your home tested for radon.
13. Use cedar chips or aromatic herbs instead of mothballs (I SO TOTALLY AGREE!)

In Your Yard
14. Avoid using leaf blowers and other dust-producing equipment. (no more yard! in highrise apartment now ;D )
15. Leave grass clippings on the yard-they decompose and return nutrients to the soil.
16. Use recycled wood chips as mulch to keep weeds down, retain moisture and prevent erosion. (i didn't know this..)

In Your Office
17. Encourage your school and/or company to print documents with soy-based inks, which are less toxic.

Ways To Protect Our Air
18. Recycle printer cartridges.
19. Avoid slow-burning, smoldering fires. They produce the largest amount of pollution. (for all the bbq fanatics ... )
20. Burn seasoned wood - it burns cleaner than green wood.
21. Use low-VOC or water-based paints, stains, finishes and paint strippers.
22. Paint with brushes or rollers instead of using spray paints to minimize harmful emissions. (remember, remember...)

Ways to Use Less Water
23. Check and fix any water leaks. (Don't give excuses...We're all guilty.)
24. Install water-saving devices on your faucets and toilets.
25. Install a low-flow shower head. (thats so uncomfortable.... in more ways than one... *shifty eyes*)
26. Turn off washing machine's water supply to prevent leaks.

Ways to Protect Our Water
27. Revegetate or mulch disturbed soil as soon as possible.
28. Never dump anything down a storm drain. (TSK!)
29. Have your septic tank pumped and system inspected regularly.
30. Check your car for oil or other leaks, and recycle motor oil.
31. Take your car to a car wash instead of washing it in the driveway.
32. Learn about your watershed. (what is this watershed thing?)

Create Less Trash
33. Buy items in bulk from loose bins when possible to reduce the packaging wasted.
34. Avoid products with several layers of packaging when only one is sufficient. About 33% of what we throw away is packaging.
35. Buy products that you can reuse.
36. Maintain and repair durable products instead of buying new ones. (so sad, the fun is when you actually go SHOPPING! for the stuff!)
37. Compost your vegetable scraps. (errr.. ewww)


Current MSN Nick: True yoga? or Pure Yoga?