Saturday's celebration of Earth Day has sent us looking for ways to celebrate and make every day Earth Day. Mother Earth News, a 35-year-old popular magazine for those who want to sustain and enjoy the planet, shares a few of their ideas with readers in their April-May issue. We pass along a few of them.
Instead of buying a hybrid, how about considering a motorcycle? Mother Earth News publisher Bryan Welch bought a $3,000, used BMW that gets about 60 miles per gallon. Check your air pressure when you fill up. If every driver kept their tires inflated, we could save up to 2 billion gallons of gasoline per year.
Use grass clippings and kitchen scraps as mulch and nutrient rich soil for gardens and don't mow your grass too short. Reduce your unwanted mail by registering your name with the Mail Preference Service sponsored by the Direct Marketing Association. It'll help reduce the amount of mail sent to you.
Program your furnace to save money. Set a programmable thermostat to hit target temperatures when you're home and to pull back by 8 to 10 degrees while you're away or sleeping. It'll save 10 percent on fuel costs in a typical home. Replace your standard incandescent light bulbs with superefficient compact fluorescent light bulbs. The bulbs cost more but can last up to 13 times longer and use a quarter of the electricity.
The average American meal travels 1,500 to 2,500 miles before consumption. Patronize farmers' markets and eliminate that fuel and environmental costs. Clean out the closet and reduce land fill waste by joining the Freecycle Network and convert your junk into someone's treasure. Finally, the magazine recommends e-trash be recycled. Find a home for your old computers, cell phones, televisions and other electronics.
