| The Ultimate Harry Potter Analysis Source |
| Choosing what is Right over what is Easy |
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| Books and Wands Goes Green! |
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Books and Wands has compiled a list of 10 Easy, Fast
and Cost Efficient Ways of Going Green in your every
day life!
and Cost Efficient Ways of Going Green in your every
day life!
- Plug your electronics such as: computers, TVs,
DVD players, lamps, gaming units, amps,
accessories, etc. into a surge protecting power
strip with a turn off switch. When you are
finished using the appliance/tech gadget or
other electronic device, after making sure
everything is shut down properly, i.e., your
computer, switch off the power strip.
- This simple act will stop your devices from
continuing to draw electricity from the socket
(even though it’s off it will still draw the
current), reduce the emission of carbon dioxide
from your tech gadgets, and lower your electric
bill all in one go!
- NOTE: The power strip isn’t required, it’s just
easier than running around your whole house
unplugging and re-plugging everything.
- When a light bulb goes out in your house,
replace it with and energy efficient light
(those curly-cue bulbs they now make in all
shapes and sizes) or consider an LED bulb
(they’re not just for Christmas trees
anymore!). These lights use less wattage to
produce the same brightness than your regular
bulbs. Though they’re sometimes more expensive
than regular light bulbs, they will keep your
electric bill down AND be replaced less often.
You win in the long run...and so does the
environment!
- Let’s not forget to conserve energy by turning
off lights when we no longer need it, when
leaving one room for another, or leaving the
house.
| Copyright © 2007 | www.booksandwands.com | All Rights Reserved Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling, Bloomsbury, Scholastic and Warner Brothers Entertainment. No copyright infringement intended of any and all source material. No profits were made from this site. |
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- Recycle Paper: loose leaf, old note book pages, printer paper,
newspapers, magazines, and your junk mail! You can recycle
phone books, catalogs, wrapping paper, and corrugated
cardboard. Pizza boxes, smooth cardboard and cardboard tubes
(like the roll of paper towels or toilet paper), cereal boxes,
paper bags, flattened out cardboard boxes, cardboard egg
crates, etc.
Recycle Plastics: bottles, containers, jugs (i.e., laundry
detergent, gallons of milk) packaging, etc. You can also
recycle your milk and juice cartons in this group. The plastic
bags you get from stores – many grocery stores now collect
used bags for recycling.
Recycle Glass: all the obvious apply. And though most
city/state recycling programs don’t recycle light bulbs, you
can take advantage of Home Depot’s recycling program. Look for
a store near you!
Recycle Metal: metal drink cans and food trays, wire hangers,
empty aerosol cans, paint cans (dried out/lid removed), foil
products, household items containing at least 50% metal
(i.e., irons, pots and pans, doorknobs, scissors, locks and
chains) empty canned goods’ canisters (rinse them and peal the
paper labels), you can even recycle used aluminum/tin foil
(rinse it off). You can also recycle bulk metal like metal
filing cabinets, but for big ticket items you might want to
double check your local city government office.
Recycle Textiles: Instead of tossing old clothes and shoes in
the garbage, consider dropping them off at local charities
that accept clothing donations. The Salvation Army is a good
one. Often there are bins located in supermarket parking lots
(but you should do some research to ensure your donation is
going to a reputable charity).
Recycle...Paint?: Check your local Habitat for Humanity for
more information, but sometimes they can make use of unwanted
paint. Check other charities/building projects in your area as
well.
Recycle EVERYTHING: Some office stores like Staples accept
batteries and empty print cartridges. IKEA stores accept
batteries for recycling. Grocery stores accept plastic bags,
plastics and cans. Sometimes certain department stores accept
old jeans that are in good condition. The world is going green
– you’ve just got to keep your eyes open for opportunities!
For more information, contact the Recycling Powers that Be in
your area: check with your local government, or try Earth 911
and the National Recycling Coalition.
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- After bringing your drained batteries to Staples and IKEA to
recycle them, consider making the switch to rechargeable
batteries. Your normal everyday batteries from AAA to 9Volt
are sold as rechargeables now and come with charging stations.
They’re sold at almost every store and are so easy to get your
hands on there’s no excuse not to use them. You can buy them
online here: Green Batteries or AtBatt.com or even on Amazon.
- This website will provide some more information about
rechargeable batteries and battery recycling: Call 2 Recycle
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- Perhaps recycling isn’t in your area or your object doesn’t
quite fit the list, well how about donating your item to
charity. Before making the trip to the local branch, first
check with the charity and make sure your article(s) is in
good condition, usable/working, clean and won’t cause more
problems that it’ll fix.
Here are some suggestions, but you might have more in your
area if you look:
Habitat for Humanity: will accept tools, building materials,
furniture, and appliances in good condition. It also accepts
vehicles.
Lion’s Clubs International: recycles old eyeglasses and
redistributes them in developing countries.
Nike Re-Use A Shoe: will accepts worn-out athletic
shoes/sneakers/kicks of ANY brand and through some form of
magic create material that’s used for “sports surfaces” like
in the playground!
The Salvation Army: accepts household items and clothing at
its many location nationwide.
Goodwill Industries International: works just like the
Salvation Army; Goodwill operates local centers that accept
donations of clothes and household items.
Hands Across the Water: This is a wonderful organization that
collects books and sends them to school and libraries in need
around the world.
For those with cars they’d like to get rid of, please consider
making a tax-deductible charitable donation of the vehicle to
a charity. For information about car donation programs, check
out Charity Navigator.
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branches make recycling electronics easy, they accept them right
in the stores.
in the stores.
Some programs have limitations: they’ll recycle the phone, but
not the accessories, so be careful!
To locate an electronics recycling center near you, visit the
National Center for Electronics Recycling.
Here’s a list of websites that will help recycle your mobile
phones and donate to charities:
- Collective Good www.collectivegood.com
Phones 4 Charity www.phones4charity.org
Wirefly www.wirefly.org
Cell Phones for Soldiers www.cellphonesforsoldiers.com
Eco-Cell www.eco-cell.org
Recellular www.recellular.com
Shelter Alliance www.shelteralliance.net
- The Collective Good accepts all electronics and accessories
from all over the world; Shelter Alliance accepts cell phones
and reprograms them for domestic abuse victims or seniors to
call 911, they accept from the US, PR and CAN; HopeLine from
Verizon Wireless donates used phones to victims of domestic
abuse. Eco-Cell will accept cell phones and accessories and
donate to a zoo of your choice.
Larger devices such as computers and TVs can be donated to
schools as well. Earth 911 and Tech Soup have information
about finding a computer refurbisher or recycling program near
you.
Staples, the office super store, has an electronics recycling
program of its own.
However, whether you donate your computer to a school or
recycle it, use a hard drive disk-cleaning software to wipe
your hard drive clear of your personal information. For help
with this service, check out E-Cycling.
Most recycling places that accept computer monitors will also
accept TVs, because the technology is similar. Earth 911 can
provide you with information about recycling any electronic
device. And for recycling appliances, there’s also Eco-Cycle.
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- Organic Foods – Here’s the Skinny
The Quickest and Easiest way to tell what’s really organic and
what just has a pretty label? Look for the USDA’s National
Organic Program label. The USDA Organic Program has strict
rules and monitoring systems just like any other facet of the
USDA. When you see the label that means the producer has been
certified and has met the standards.
If you’ve been to the grocery store lately, you’ve seen all
sorts of labels and “organic” claims, but here’s what the USDA
labels mean:
100 Percent Organic: All ingredients in the product are
organic.
Organic: At least 95% of the product’s ingredients are organic.
Made with Organic Ingredients: At least, 75% of the product’s
ingredients are organic.
Organic ingredients noted on the ingredients statement: Less
than 70% of the product’s ingredients are organic, so the
producer can only identify the actual organic ingredients
within the ingredients listing on the product label.
For Meats, there are other terms as well:
Natural: Meat may not have artificial colors, flavors,
preservatives, or other artificial ingredients.
Grass Fed: The cows were fed grass or hay rather than grain
which is considered nicer and greener because cows can more
easily digest the grass (their natural diet of choice).
Free-Range: Chickens, or whatever the animal, weren’t confined
to cages, they were allowed to wander around with varying
levels of freedom. (Think Chicken Run! the movie from the guys
who make Wallace and Gromit.)
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- When buying new appliances or replacing the broken down old
shipwrecks that finally gave out on you, buy appliances with
the Energy Star symbol. Energy Star ensures that these
products conserve and use energy efficiently.
- Washing your clothes in cold water also conserves a lot of
energy. Think before you wash a load if it’s absolutely
necessary to use warm water. In most cases, the cold won’t
hurt the garment AND your energy consumption goes down, as
well as your hot water bill.
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- In the summer and winter, we pampered idiots are used to
controlling our temperatures with heating and cooling units.
- Now, no one’s saying you should suffocate yourself in the dead
of August, but learning to raise/lower your AC/heat when you
leave the room (if you have individual units) or when you
leave the house for extended periods of time, like going to
work or on vacation, would conserve energy and save you money
in the long run.
Already do that, you say? Want more?
Add weather-stripping to doors and windows.
Tuck insulating foam inserts behind switch plates and face
plates of electrical outlets on exterior walls. Be careful
with this – remember, electricity is a temperamental friend
and will shock you or burn your house down just as soon as
light your bulb, so buy these inserts from a home improvement
store.
Install retractable awnings that shade windows in the summer,
but can be moved in the winter to let in the sun.
Plant trees around the house. Not only will nature love you,
they will help provide shade in the summer, loose their leaves
in the winter to let in the sun and will provide a nice
privacy barrier between you and your nosy neighbors.
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- Many stores now carry environmentally conscious cleaning
products, such as Method and Seventh Generation. These
cleaners may or may not be more expensive than the other
brands depending on where you live, but here are some ideas to
avoid buying any expensive cleaning product!
- Use Baking Soda
Baking Soda is basically the wonder cleaner, it works magic
and can clean just about anything. Here are some ways you can
use it:
Polish the taps and other chrome fittings with water mixed
with a little baking soda.
Clean counter tops, appliances and other surfaces with a small
amount of baking soda on a damp cloth; it’s a mild abrasive.
Clean your fridge inside and out with a solution of 3
tablespoons baking soda dissolved in ½ cup warm water.
Clean the inside of your oven by moistening the walls with a
damp cloth, sprinkling baking soda on the surfaces, and
leaving it for an hour before wiping it off with a cloth.
Soak dirty pots and pans in a basin of hot water with 2 or 3
tablespoons of baking soda for about an hour. Then scrub them
clean with an abrasive scrubber.
For wet red wine or coffee stains, pour soda water on the
stain. If that doesn’t work, pour baking soda on the stain,
rub it in and then brush it off.
Use baking soda on mildew in the shower and on shower
curtains. Add just enough water to the baking soda to turn it
into a think paste. Use an old toothbrush for cleaning the
grout between tiles.
Pour ½ cup baking soda down your kitchen or bathroom drain
followed by ½ cup vinegar and then some boiling water. This
combination breaks down fatty acids that block drains and
helps to keep drains smelling fresh.
You can also scoop about 4 ounces of it into a warm bath and
it will make your skin smooth (according to my mom).
And you can clean you clothes with it. Gain makes a special
detergent with baking soda. But all you, you enlightened wiz
kid, need to do is scoop a cap full in with your load and it
will brighten colors and whiten whites.
Another common household Super Substance is vinegar. It clears
grease and deodorizes (we’re talking regular distilled white
vinegar, not balsamic).
Vinegar will clean lime scale off bathtubs, sinks and shower
heads. Soak the shower head in vinegar and then brush off the
built-up lime scale with an old toothbrush.
For shiny windows: Spray a mixture of equal parts vinegar and
water.
For stubborn marks, sprinkle baking soda over the problem area
and then pour some vinegar on top of it. Be prepared for some
bubbling froth though.
Some other tricks:
- Castor Oil is good for conditioning leather;
Cornmeal removes grease stains if you rub it in the stain
and then brush it off;
Lemon juice works on lime scale and for stubborn
sink/tub/etc stains, soak a tissue in lemon juice and set
it on the stain...bottled lemon juice is easier to manage
than squeezing fresh lemons and works just as well;
Olive Oil will take fingerprints off stainless steel and
makes a good floor polish when you mix one part vinegar to
three parts olive oil.
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I hope we’ve been able to help you on your way to going green.
It’s our planet and it’s up to us to take care of it. It does
everything for us; the least we can do is treat it right. And as
you can see, it doesn’t have to be hard, time consuming or
expensive.
All it takes is being just a little more conscious of our actions.
And really, don’t you read books like Harry Potter because you
like the idea of saving the world?
Here’s your chance!
It’s our planet and it’s up to us to take care of it. It does
everything for us; the least we can do is treat it right. And as
you can see, it doesn’t have to be hard, time consuming or
expensive.
All it takes is being just a little more conscious of our actions.
And really, don’t you read books like Harry Potter because you
like the idea of saving the world?
Here’s your chance!
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