Make a change on Earth Day.

I know that Earth Day is still more than a month away and a lot of people think it is just a day for environmentalists. I don’t see it that way. For me, it’s a day to do something for the environment, how small the act may be.

Step down on your energy habits!

1.) Most people do not know that chargers still chew up power even if their device has already been charged. For energy hogs, uplugging your chargers once the battery is full is already a huge step. According to a European-led Commission, if this simple habit is practiced by even a tiny fraction of the globe, enough energy can be saved to power thousands of households. Do check your gadgets when charging and help reduce your utility bill and unwanted carbon emissions.

2.) Proper ethics in using your computer is another way to have a power diet. In an article entitled “Do you need to turn off your PC at night?“, Microsoft rolled out a few myth breakers.

Turning your PC off uses more energy than leaving it on. Not true. The small surge of power you use when turning it on — which varies per PC make and model — is still much smaller than the amount you use in keeping it on for lengthy periods.

Turning your PC on and off wears it out. A decade ago, there was something to this, but not today, say Hershberg and others. It used to be that PC hard disks did not automatically park their heads when shut off, and that frequent on/off cycling could damage the hard disks. Today’s PCs are designed to handle 40,000 on/off cycles before a failure, and that’s a number you likely won’t reach during the computer’s five-to-seven-year life span.

Screen savers save energy. Not true. Screen savers, at a minimum, can use 42 watts; those with 3D graphics can use as much as 114.5 watts, according to Don McCall, a Dell product marketing manager who does power measurement studies for the PC manufacturer. “It’s absolutely wrong thinking that a screen saver will save energy,” he says.

Your computer uses zero energy when “off.” That’s true only if it is unplugged. Otherwise, the PC utilizes “flea power,” or about 2.3 watts, to maintain local-area network connectivity, among other things, McCall says. In “hibernate” mode, your PC uses the same 2.3 watts; in “sleep” mode, your PC uses about 3.1 watts. Monitors do use zero energy when turned off.

3.) Electric fans use more energy when they are oscillating. It is advised to focus the electric fan on one spot.

4.) The louder the volume of your television sets and radios are, the more energy it sucks up.

5.) Change your incandescent bulbs to energy-efficient compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs. Fluorescent bulbs give out approximately four times as much brightness per watt. Use a 25-watt CFL bulb instead of a 100-watt incandescent bulb. It makes you save energy. CFLs also last about ten times longer.

Lose carbon calories. Start your power diet now and gear up for Earth Day!

 1.) I turned off the faucet while brushing my teeth.

Did you know: Faucets can spout 2 to 3 gallons per minute.

2.) I walked a short distance from my place to the bus stop and commuted to get to work, instead of riding a car.

Did you know:According to the British Heart Foundation, walking around 10,000 steps a day will keep your heart healthy. So walk, walk, and walk. Take one step at a time. It’s the most doable and cheap workout.

3.) I placed the air conditioner on timer mode last night. I used an electric fan to keep the room cool when the aircon went off.

4.) I turned off the radio when I switched the television on.

5.) I purchased a cloth bag for shopping instead of using plastic.

6.) I threw candy wrappers in trash bins.

Source: www.sanriotown.com

Sanrio Town is definitely an ideal community to live in. Not only does it have friendly, fun, exciting and oh-so-cute characters, it also has lush greenery around. Most of us would probably want to live in such an environment. It’s just sad that our environment now is no longer as livable as it used to be. Take for example the condition of our air.

Source: www.unep.org

“A breath of life” fittingly describes clean air. However, with polluted air, this phrase becomes doubtful. Breath of life? Or otherwise? On the average, we breathe around 20,000 times a day or approximately 35 lbs of air. It is, in fact, the most vital resource that we have. Without air, a person can die in just a few minutes.

A lot of potential problems result from inhaling polluted air. Sneezing, itchy eyes, dizziness and coughing are just some of the symptoms resulting from contact with unhealthy air. Coughing and sneezing are the body’s mechanisms to rid of the foreign dust particles.

Cars contribute around 70% of the air pollution in cities. A diesel-fed vehicle that idles for more than 30 seconds spits around 40 hazardous substances, of which 11 are carcinogenic/cancerous.

Anyway, I am reposting an article from CNN.com about simple steps to help the environment. Read on.

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