Be Conscious, save the earth
Earth Day. Let Earth Day be an inspiration for reducing your personal earth footprint by being conscious of your consumption and making a plan and an effort to conserve resources. How do you plan to honor the earth on April 22nd?
First, measure your impact on the earth and create a baseline for reducing that impact:
- Calculate your and your family’s Carbon Footprint
- Think about and measure your and your family’s Plastic Footprint
- Have an energy audit done for your home and calculate your HERS rating. The best way is to have a thorough audit done by a trained and certified HERS rater but a simple on-line survey like the one PECO offers its customers will provide a rudimentary baseline.
- Calculate your and your family’s Water Footprint
Now that you have a baseline of your consumption, what actions can you take? More than anything become conscious of your actions:
- Become a Conscious Electric Consumer take a look at your consumption for the past year and then make a plan for reducing the amount of power you use. If you can, switch your power provider to a clean energy supplier.
- Become more conscious of the waste you generate and take the One-Bag-A-Week Challenge. Ways to reduce waste include: Recycling mixed recyclables, recycling your electronics, properly disposing batteries, donating unused clothing, donating or selling home furnishings and requesting to be taken off junk mail lists.
- Become Conscious Water Consumer and make plan for reducing the amount of gallons you use every day. Install a low-flow showerhead or use a shower pebble to help you manage your water usage inside and install a rain barrel to capture water for your summer garden.
- Be conscious of your indoor environment: open the drapes up and let the sunshine in, open
the windows and let the fresh air in. - Be a Conscious Cleaner and use natural products to clean you will be healthier and so will your house.
- Become a Conscious Consumer by seeking recycled and recyclable, locally made products that are packaged in recycled/ recyclable materials.
- Be conscious of the miles you put on your car. Think about ways to group errands, reduce commute miles and reduce your carbon footprint.
- Build a Conscious Community by sharing your consumption information with your neighbors and making group goals for reducing.
- Be conscious of the earth. Plant a tree, a bed of flowers or a salad garden. Sit outside and enjoy the sunshine. Join a clean-up group. Smile and be glad for it.
