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As the cost of living continues to rise, energy reports and broadcasts are crammed with energy saving tips and suggestions. Some energy saving tips require initial investments, some just solicit a change of lifestyle. The best energy saving tips are those that require almost nothing but changing a habit. This one is about the wise energy saving choices.

1. Limit, as much as possible, the use of water. Of course water is not that expensive (at least for now); but saving water saves energy. When cleaning the driveway, the deck or patio, using the broom instead of the hose would save several hundreds of gallons of water a year.

2. A push mower is a good idea to mow a small lawn. Aside from not using electricity or fuel to ride the mowing machine, it is also good exercise.

3. Rakes are good leaf movers. Like the push mower, you do not need energy to fuel up a machine to get the job done. There is also a sense of nostalgia in using this traditional tool.

4. Use compact fluorescent light bulbs to light up your driveway or as a security light. CFLs are one of the most handy and energy efficient products that you can have. If you are worried about bugs sticking to the light, there are yellow CFLs that are available.

5. When shopping, avoid going for the disposable ones. Disposable products need more landfills and landfills emit dangerous gasses. Go instead for items that could be used several times over. Again when shopping, go for products that are made of better quality. They might be a little more expensive but generally, quality products last longer.

6. Bring your own bags when shopping. Paper bags are made from trees; the environment can use more of them. Plastic bags on the contrary are oil based and are not biodegradable. If you bring your bag with you, you do not only help in saving energy, you could also get a discount from your store.

7. Batteries contain toxic materials. They produce heavy metal like zinc, zinc, arsenic, cadmium, mercury etc. Thus, disposal needs proper care. Once the heavy metal in batteries seeped into the ground it has a good chance of contaminating the ground. When buying products that would need batteries, pick those that are rechargeable. That way battery disposal is limited and you save on the cost of buying new batteries.

8. Good thing that SUV sales everywhere are going down (well, at least for the environment and not for car manufacturers). SUVs use much more energy than compact sedans for the same distance. While using SUV’s could be fun, there is also that tinge of indifference to the current energy issues and environmental problems we are facing. Reducing the use of SUVs on the street may not mean much in terms greenhouse gas emissions but is a signal to manufacturers to build more energy efficient vehicles.

9.The use of solar power is an excellent idea if you want to tackle the issues of energy conservation and environment protection. If there is one thing that the world needs most at this time, it is the widespread use of solar power.

10. Energy saving devices may cost a little extra but the pays offs are much more than the extra cost in terms longer life spans and energy saved.

IN 1971, while en route to the moon aboard Apollo 14, Edgar Mitchell said upon viewing the earth: “It looks like a sparkling blue and white jewel.” But what would a person from space see today?

If special spectacles permitted him a view of the invisible gases of earth’s atmosphere, he would see a very different picture. In the magazine India Today, Raj Chengappa wrote: “He would see giant punctures in the protective ozone shields over Antarctica and North America. Instead of a sparkling blue and white jewel he would see a dull, dirty earth filled with dark, swirling clouds of dioxides of carbon and sulphur.”

What has punctured holes in our upper atmosphere’s protective shield of ozone? Is the increase of atmospheric pollutants really so dangerous?

How Ozone Is Being Destroyed

Over 60 years ago, scientists announced the discovery of a safe refrigerant that could replace others that were toxic and gave off a bad odor. The new chemical was composed of molecules having one carbon, two chlorine, and two fluorine atoms (CCl2F2). It and similar man-made chemicals are called chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs).

By the early 1970’s, the production of CFCs had grown into a huge worldwide industry. They were being used not only in refrigerators but also in aerosol spray cans, in air conditioners, in cleaning agents, and in the manufacture of fast-food containers and other plastic-foam products.

However, in September 1974, two scientists, Sherwood Rowland and Mario Molina, explained that CFCs gradually rise into the stratosphere where they eventually release their chlorine. Each chlorine atom, the scientists calculated, could destroy thousands of ozone molecules. But rather than ozone being destroyed evenly throughout the upper atmosphere, destruction of it has been much greater over the poles.

Every spring since 1979, large amounts of ozone have vanished then reappeared over the Antarctic.

This seasonal drop in ozone is called the ozone hole. Moreover, in recent years the so-called hole has been getting bigger and lasting longer.

In 1992, satellite measurements revealed an ozone hole of record size—larger than North America. And not much ozone was left in it. Balloon measurements revealed a drop of more than 60 percent—the lowest ever recorded.

Meanwhile, ozone levels have also been dropping in the upper atmosphere over other parts of the earth. “Latest measurements,” reports the magazine New Scientist, “show that . . . there were unusually low values of ozone concentration in 1992 between latitudes 50° North and 60° North, covering Northern Europe, Russia and Canada. The ozone level was 12 per cent below normal, lower than at any time in the 35 years of continuous monitoring.”

“Even the most dire predictions,” states the journal Scientific American, “are now shown to have underestimated ozone loss caused by chlorofluorocarbons. . . . And yet at the time, powerful voices in government and industry strongly opposed regulations, on the grounds of incomplete scientific evidence.”

An estimated 20 million tons of CFCs have already been released into the atmosphere.

Since it takes years for CFCs to drift up to the stratosphere, millions of tons have not yet reached the upper atmosphere where they do their damage. However, CFCs are not the only source of ozone-destroying chlorine.

“NASA estimates that about 75 tons of chlorine are deposited in the ozone layer each time a shuttle is launched,” reports the magazine Popular Science.

What Consequences?

The consequences of less ozone in the upper atmosphere are not fully understood. One thing that seems certain, however, is that the amount of harmful UV (ultraviolet) radiation reaching the earth is increasing, resulting in a greater incidence of skin cancer. “During the last decade,” reports the journal Earth, “the annual dose of harmful UV striking the northern hemisphere rose by about 5 percent.”

Just a 1-percent rise in UV is estimated to cause a 2- to 3-percent rise in skin cancer. The African magazine Getaway states: “There are more than 8 000 new cases of skin cancer in South Africa every year . . . We have one of the lowest levels of ozone protection and one of the highest incidences of skin cancer (the connection is no coincidence).”

That the destruction of ozone in the upper atmosphere would cause an increase in skin cancer was predicted years ago by scientists Rowland and Molina.

They recommended an immediate ban on the use of CFCs in aerosols in the United States. Recognizing the danger, many countries have agreed to stop production of CFCs by January 1996. In the meantime, however, the use of CFCs continues to pose a danger to life on earth.

The drop in ozone over Antarctica, reports Our Living World, “has allowed ultraviolet radiation to penetrate deeper into the ocean than previously suspected. . . . This has caused sizeable reductions in the productivity of the single-cell organisms that form the base of the oceanic food chain.” Experiments also show that an increase in UV reduces the yield of many crops, posing a threat to the global food supply.

Indeed, the use of CFCs is potentially catastrophic. Yet our atmosphere is being bombarded by many other pollutants. One is an atmospheric gas that in trace amounts is vital to life on earth.

Effect of Pollution

In the mid-19th century, humans began to burn ever larger amounts of coal, gas, and oil, adding large amounts of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. At that time the amount of this trace atmospheric gas was about 285 parts per million. But as a result of man’s increased use of fossil fuels, the amount of carbon dioxide has reached over 350 parts per million.

What has been the consequence of more of this heat-trapping gas being in the atmosphere?

Many believe that the increase of carbon dioxide levels is what has caused the rise in earth’s temperatures. Other researchers, however, say that global warming is due particularly to our sun’s variability—that the sun has been emitting greater energy in recent times.

Whatever the case, the decade of the 1980’s was the hottest since records started to be kept in the mid-19th century. “The trend continued into this decade,” reports the South African newspaper The Star, “with 1990 the hottest year on record, 1991 the third warmest, and 1992 . . . the tenth warmest year in the 140-year record.” The slight decrease over the past two years is attributed to dust ejected into the atmosphere when Mount Pinatubo erupted in 1991.

The future effects of the increase of temperatures on earth are hotly debated.

But one thing global warming evidently has done is to complicate the already difficult task of weather forecasting. New Scientist notes that wrong forecasts “may be increasingly likely as global warming changes the climate.”

Many insurance companies fear that global warming will make their policies unprofitable. “Faced with [a] spate of misfortunes,” admits The Economist, “some reinsurers are reducing their exposure to natural disasters. Others are talking of quitting the market altogether. . . . They are scared of uncertainty.”

Significantly, in 1990, the warmest year on record, a large portion of the Arctic ice pack retreated to an unprecedented degree. This resulted in hundreds of polar bears being stranded on Wrangell Island for over a month. “With global warming,” warns the magazine BBC Wildlife, “these conditions . . . might become a regular occurrence.”

“Weather experts,” reported an African newspaper in 1992, “are blaming global warming for a dramatic increase in the number of icebergs which are drifting north from Antarctica and presenting a hazard to ships in the south Atlantic.” According to the January 1993 issue of Earth, the gradual rising of the sea level off the coast of southern California is due, in part, to a warming of the water.

Unfortunately, humans keep pumping a staggering amount of toxic gases into the atmosphere. “In the USA,” states the book The Earth Report 3, “a 1989 report by the Environmental Protection Agency estimated that more than 900,000 tonnes of toxic chemicals are pumped into the air every year.” This figure is considered an underestimate because it does not include exhaust fumes from millions of motor vehicles.

Shocking reports of air pollution also come from many other industrialized countries. Especially horrifying have been the recent revelations of uncontrolled air pollution in Eastern European lands during decades of Communist rule.

Earth’s trees, which absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen, are among the victims of toxic air. New Scientist reported: “Germany’s trees are growing increasingly unhealthy, according to . . . the minister of agriculture [who said] that air pollution continues to be one of the main reasons for the forest’s failing health.”

The situation is similar in the Transvaal Highveld of South Africa. “The first signs of acid rain damage are now appearing in the Eastern Transvaal where pine needles are changing from a healthy dark green to a sickly mottled beige,” reports James Clarke in his book Back to Earth.

Such reports come from around the world. No country is immune. With chimney stacks that reach high into the sky, industrialized countries export their pollution to neighboring lands.

Man’s record of greedy industrial development does not inspire hope.

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MANY scientists from around the world believe that global warming is here and that it will continue to worsen as developing countries push forward in industrial development. Some three billion metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) are spewed out annually into the global atmosphere through the burning of fuels, such as coal, oil, and wood, for energy, and through deforestation burning.

According to some scientists, the so-called greenhouse effect, resulting from the gases of fuel combustion, threatens to warm the atmosphere 3 to 8 degrees Fahrenheit by the middle of the next century. This increase would be fatal to corals and the reef communities.

But the death of the coral reefs would also adversely affect terrestrial life. Natural History magazine observed: “The coral reefs, however, are themselves key players in the greenhouse scenario and may be as important as tropical rain forests in reducing greenhouse gases. As they deposit calcium carbonate for their skeletons, corals remove a large volume of CO2 from the oceans. Without zooxanthellae [coral’s symbiotic-resident algae], the amount of carbon dioxide corals metabolize is drastically reduced. Ironically, damage to this undersea ecosystem could accelerate the very process that hastens its demise.”

Some scientists believe that other gases released by combustion add to the greenhouse effect.

Nitrous oxide for one, and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) for another. In fact, each CFC molecule is 20,000 times as efficient at trapping heat as one molecule of CO2. CFCs have also been targeted as the main cause for the thinning of the ozone layer, which protects life on earth from harmful ultraviolet rays. The ozone at the North Pole and the South Pole has thinned sufficiently to cause holes. That is more bad news for corals. Experiments exposing miniature coral reefs that were already stressed by warm water to tiny increases in ultraviolet light aggravated bleaching. The magazine Scientific American ruefully observed: “Even if chlorofluorocarbon emissions stopped today, chemical reactions causing the destruction of stratospheric ozone would continue for at least a century. The reason is simple: the compounds remain that long in the atmosphere and would continue to diffuse into the stratosphere from the tropospheric reservoir long after emissions had ceased.”

On a personal level, individuals can act responsibly by not contaminating the oceans or coastal areas with litter or pollutants. If you visit a reef, follow instructions not to touch or stand on coral. Don’t take or buy coral souvenirs. If boating near tropical reefs, set anchor on sandy bottoms or floating moorings supplied by marine authorities. Don’t speed or churn up the bottom with your boat propeller.

Don’t discharge boat sewage into the ocean; find docks and marinas that will accept it. Bill Causey, manager of the Looe Key National Marine Sanctuary (Florida, U.S.A.), noted: “Man is probably creating the problem that causes the imbalance. We have to become conscious of it globally. If we continue to heighten public awareness of the threat of losing a major ecosystem, then maybe we can change things.”

On a regional level, laws to protect coral reefs are being passed and enforced. The state of Florida sues owners of ships that damage its reefs. The owners of a freighter that plowed up several acres of coral when it ran aground paid a $6-million fine. Part of the money was used to restore the marine habitat. Presently, using special adhesives, biologists are attempting to reattach coral that was damaged by a ship in 1994. Another fine, of $3.2 million, was levied against a company for damages done to a Florida reef by one of its freighters. Other countries are enacting similar sanctions. Popular sites for diving, such as the Cayman Islands in the Caribbean, have limited areas where diving is permitted. Australia created its Great Barrier Reef Marine Park to control activities there. But as all have seen, the more divers, the more damage to the reefs.

Will All Nations Join the Fight?

On a global level, alarmed scientists and leaders conclude that the solution is beyond one nation or even a group of nations. Pollution is carried around the globe by circling currents of air and water, impacting the reefs. Individual nations have no jurisdiction beyond their territorial waters. Pollutants dumped on the high seas eventually end up on the shores. A unified global effort and solution are needed.

No doubt many sincere and capable people in the world will continue to struggle to save earth’s awesome coral treasures. A world government that is sensitive to and cares for earth’s environment is clearly and desperately needed.

Happily, the Creator himself will rescue the global environment. When God made the first humans, he said: “Let them have in subjection the fish [and all marine life] of the sea.” (Genesis 1:26) Since God didn’t abuse or exploit marine life, his mandate to mankind must have meant that man should care for the global environment.

The Bible foretells: “There are new heavens [God’s heavenly Kingdom] and a new earth that we are awaiting according to his promise, and in these righteousness is to dwell.” (2 Peter 3:13) In the near future, that heavenly government will completely cleanse this polluted earth, including its oceans. Then, citizens of God’s Kingdom will care for and enjoy the beautiful oceans and their marine inhabitants to the full.

Climate Modeling

If earth’s temperature is rising—no matter what the cause or causes—how will it affect us and the environment? Precise predictions are hard to make. Nowadays, though, scientists have access to powerful computers, which they use to create digital simulations of the climate system. Incorporated into their models are the laws of physics, climate data, and natural phenomena that influence climate.

Simulations enable scientists to experiment with climate in ways that are otherwise impossible. For instance, they can “change” solar output to see how this affects polar ice, air and sea temperatures, evaporation rates, atmospheric pressure, cloud formation, wind, and rainfall. They can “create” volcanic eruptions and examine the effects of volcanic dust on weather. And they can examine the effects of human population growth, deforestation, land use, changes in the emission of greenhouse gases, and so on. Scientists hope that their models will progressively become more accurate and reliable.

How precise are present models?

Much, of course, depends on the accuracy of the data and the amount of it fed into the machines. Hence, climate projections vary from the mild to the catastrophic. Even so, says Science, “surprises could spring from the [natural] climate system.” And some already have, such as the unusually rapid rate of Arctic melting, which has amazed many climatologists. Still, even if policymakers had only a rough idea of the consequences of present action or inaction, they could make decisions today that might reduce problems tomorrow.

With that possibility in mind, the IPCC examined six different sets of computer-simulated scenarios—ranging from unrestricted greenhouse-gas production to business as usual to severe restraint—each producing different climatic and environmental results.

In the light of the predictions, analysts urge a variety of measures. These include mandatory limits on fossil-fuel emissions, penalties for offenders, more nuclear power generation, and the introduction of more environmentally friendly technologies.

Are the Models Reliable?

Present forecasting methods “oversimplify poorly understood climate processes” and “simply ignore others,” say critics. They also point to the inconsistencies in computed projections. One scientist who participated in the IPCC discussions said: “There are some of us who remain so humbled by the task of measuring and understanding the extraordinarily complex climate system that we are skeptical of our ability to know what it is doing and why.”

Some would argue, of course, that using an element of doubt as justification for doing nothing is gambling with the future. “How would we explain this to our children?” they say. Whether the climate models are accurate or not, we can be certain that the earth is in serious trouble. Its life-sustaining environment is being assaulted by pollution, deforestation, urbanization, and the extinction of species, to name just a few factors that no one can successfully dispute.

In view of what we know, can we expect mankind as a whole to make an about-face so as to spare our beautiful home—and us too? What is more, if human activity is causing global warming, we may have only years, not centuries, to make the needed changes.

At the very least, making such changes would mean promptly addressing the root causes of earth’s problems—human greed, self-interest, ignorance, inept government, and apathy.

WHEN a car is well maintained, it can provide safe transportation. But that vehicle when abused and neglected can be dangerous. In some respects, the same may be said of planet Earth.

In the opinion of a number of scientists, human-induced changes in earth’s atmosphere and oceans have made our planet a dangerous place by contributing to more frequent and more severe natural disasters. And the future looks uncertain. “We’re in the middle of a large uncontrolled experiment on the only planet we have,” said an editorial on climate change in Science magazine.

So that we can better grasp how human activity might be affecting the frequency and severity of natural disasters, we need to understand a little about the underlying natural phenomena.

For example, what causes severe storms, such as hurricanes, to form?

Planetary Heat Exchangers

Earth’s climate system has been likened to a machine that converts and distributes solar energy. Because the Tropics get most of the sun’s heat, the resulting temperature imbalance sets the atmosphere in motion. Earth’s daily rotation causes this mass of moving, moist air to form eddies, some becoming depressions, or areas of low atmospheric pressure. Depressions, in turn, may develop into storms.

If you observe the general path of tropical storms, you will notice that they tend to move away from the equator—either north or south—toward cooler regions. In doing so, storms also serve as massive heat exchangers, helping to moderate the climate. But when the temperature in the upper level of the ocean—the “boiler room” of the climate machine—exceeds about 80 degrees Fahrenheit [27°C], tropical storms may acquire enough energy to become cyclones, hurricanes, or typhoons—regional names for essentially the same phenomena.

In terms of lives lost, the worst natural disaster in U.S. history resulted from a hurricane that slammed into the island city of Galveston, Texas, on September 8, 1900. Storm waves claimed between 6,000 and 8,000 lives in the city, plus up to 4,000 in nearby areas, and demolished some 3,600 houses. In fact, not one man-made structure in Galveston remained unscathed.

As mentioned in the preceding article, there have been a number of powerful storms in recent years. Scientists are studying whether this is linked to global warming, which may be providing more energy to storm systems. Changes in the weather, however, may be just one symptom of global warming. Another potentially harmful consequence may already be in evidence.

Rising Sea Levels and Deforestation

According to an editorial in the journal Science, “sea levels have risen 10 to 20 centimeters [four to eight inches] in the past century, and more is in store for us.” How might this be related to global warming? Researchers point to two possible mechanisms. One is the prospect of the melting of land-based polar ice and glaciers, which would add to the volume of the oceans. The other factor is thermal expansion—as oceans become warmer, their volume increases.

The tiny Pacific islands of Tuvalu may already be experiencing the effects of rising sea levels. Smithsonian magazine notes that data collected on the atoll of Funafuti shows that the sea level there has risen “an average of 0.22 inches [5.6 mm] annually over the past decade.” In many parts of the world, population growth means more urban sprawl, more shantytowns, and more environmental degradation. These developments may tend to magnify the severity of natural disasters. Consider some examples.

Haiti is an island nation with a high population and a history of deforestation. A recent news report suggested that as bad as Haiti’s economic, political, and social problems may be, nothing threatens the country’s existence more than deforestation. This threat became tragically evident in 2004, when torrential rains caused mud slides that claimed thousands of lives.

Time Asia points to “global warming, dams, deforestation and slash-and-burn farming” as exacerbating factors in the natural disasters that have plagued South Asia. At the other extreme, deforestation can worsen drought by causing soil to dry out more quickly. In recent years, droughts in Indonesia and Brazil have paved the way for record-breaking fires in forests that are normally too wet to burn. Extreme weather, however, is by no means the only cause of natural disasters. Many lands are subject to disasters that are generated deep inside the earth.

When the Ground Convulses

Earth’s outer crust is made up of plates of various sizes that move in relation to one another. Indeed, there is so much movement in the crust that several million earthquakes may occur each year. Of course, many of these go undetected.

It is said that about 90 percent of all earthquakes occur along faults at the perimeter of plates. Although rare, sometimes very destructive quakes also occur within the plates. According to estimates, the deadliest quake in recorded history was one that struck three provinces in China in the year 1556.

It may have claimed as many as 830,000 lives!

Quakes can also have lethal aftereffects. For example, on November 1, 1755, a quake flattened the city of Lisbon, Portugal, which had a population of 275,000. But that was not the end of the horror. The quake caused fires and also tsunamis estimated to be up to 50 feet [15 m] high, which raced in from the nearby Atlantic Ocean. All told, the city’s death toll exceeded 60,000.

Again, however, the scale of such disasters hinges to some extent on the human element. One factor is population density in high-risk areas.

“Nearly half the world’s big cities now lie in areas of seismic risk,” says author Andrew Robinson. Another factor is buildings—the materials used and the structural quality. The adage, “Earthquakes don’t kill people; buildings do,” is all too often proved true. But what choice do people have when they are too poor to build earthquake-resistant structures?

Volcanoes—Builders and Destroyers

“At least 20 volcanoes will probably be erupting as you read these words,” states a report by the Smithsonian Institute in the United States. Broadly speaking, the theory of plate tectonics says that earthquakes and volcanoes will occur in similar regions—in rifts, especially oceanic rifts; in earth’s crust, where magma rises from the mantle through fissures; and at subduction zones, where one plate plunges under another.

Subduction volcanism is the biggest threat to people in terms of both the number of eruptions observed and their occurrence near populated areas. The Pacific Rim, dubbed the Ring of Fire, is peppered with hundreds of such volcanoes. A small number are also found at hot spots away from plate boundaries. The Hawaiian Islands, the Azores, the Galápagos Islands, and the Society Islands all appear to be the product of hot-spot volcanism.

Actually, volcanoes have played a long and constructive role in earth’s history.

According to a university Web site, as much as “90% of all the continents and ocean basins are the product of volcanism.”

But what causes some eruptions to be extremely violent?

Eruptions begin with an upwelling of magma from earth’s hot interior. Some volcanoes simply ooze lava, which seldom moves fast enough to catch people by surprise. But others explode with more energy than a nuclear bomb! The underlying factors include the composition and viscosity of the molten material that feeds the volcano and the amount of gases and superheated water dissolved in that material. As the magma nears the surface, captured water and gas rapidly expand. With the right magma composition, the effect is much like soda that blasts from an opened beverage can.

Fortunately, volcanoes often give advance warning of an eruption. Such was the case with Mount Pelée on the Caribbean island of Martinique in 1902. An election was imminent in nearby St. Pierre, however, and politicians encouraged the people to stay, despite the ash, sickness, and fear that pervaded the city. In fact, most shops had been shut for days!

May 8 was Ascension Day, and many people went to the Catholic cathedral to pray for deliverance from the volcano. That morning, shortly before 8:00 a.m., Mount Pelée erupted, venting a searing mass of pyroclasts—ash, cinders, obsidian, pumice, and superheated gas—that ranged from 400 to 900 degrees Fahrenheit [200-500°C]. Hugging the ground, the resulting dark cloud of death rushed down the mountain, overwhelmed the city, killed almost 30,000 people, melted the church bell, and set fire to the ships in the harbor. It was the deadliest eruption of the 20th century. Yet, it would not have been so deadly if the people had heeded the warning signs.

Will Natural Disasters Increase?

In their World Disasters Report 2004, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies states that during the past decade, geophysical and weather-related disasters have increased by over 60 percent. “This reflects longer-term trends,” says the report, which was published before the catastrophic December 26 tsunamis in the Indian Ocean. To be sure, if populations in high-risk areas continue to climb and forests continue to decline, there is little cause for optimism.
Additionally, many industrialized countries continue to pump ever more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. According to an editorial in the journal Science, procrastinating on emissions reduction “is like refusing medication for a developing infection: It guarantees that greater costs will have to be paid later.”

Pointing to those costs, a Canadian report on disaster mitigation stated: “Climate change can be argued to be the most pervasive and far-reaching environmental issue ever dealt with by the international community.”

At present, however, the international community cannot even agree on whether human activities contribute to global warming, let alone how to manage it. This situation calls to mind the Biblical truth: “It does not belong to man . . . even to direct his step.” (Jeremiah 10:23)

April 22, 2009, Earth Day helpful tips on the environment how we have an impact and can we do to help save our planet Earth. We are constantly bombarded with negative information about the environment, finances and natural resources? Feeling overwhelmed?

Here are some more useful tips to help your families and our beautiful Earth!

Each and every one of us can do something to help our world - starting right where we are, right now. Though not everyone can afford to donate cash or time to a cause, there are endless tactics that will decrease an individual’s contribution to the landfill and their resource consumption.

• Mirrors, placed strategically in a room can be used to make use of natural lighting more efficiently, and reduce energy use as well. When placed near indoor plants, mirrors act like a second window creating better growing conditions while giving the illusion of increased space and greenery to the ambiance of a room.
• When loading the clothes dryer, fluff the wet and tangled laundry before tossing into the machine. This allows for immediate and more efficient use of dryer energy. Very hot settings (which can actually shrink clothing) can thus be avoided.

Typically, the heated air from a clothes dryer is pumped outside and wasted. Consider purchasing a dryer vent converter - available at most hardware stores. These are little boxes that divert the heated air from the dryer into the house during the cold and dry winter months – making better use of your energy dollar while saving a little on heating costs. Be warned that this air is moist, and this may not be appropriate in all situations. Homes with dry static air or wood heat would benefit from the moisture, but buildings that already have a moisture problem (evident by mould and mildew or sweating and frosted windows) will only have their issues compounded by doing this.

• Instead of buying disposable dryer sheets for static control, consider using a liquid fabric softener with a reused rag or sock. Pour a Tablespoon of the liquid on the rag, roll it up and squeeze (to soak up all the softener) and toss in the dryer. Wash the rag periodically by throwing it in with a normal load. Just imagine the number of dryer sheets, the packaging they came in, along with the costs, energy and resources to produce them that can be avoided by this one simple act.
• There are many other little things we can do around our home, to save money and reduce waste. Instead of purchasing a plastic drip tray for potted plants, reuse plastic lids from peanut butter or mayonnaise. Often, just the right size of lid can be found for each potted plant, and most of these are dishwasher safe. Foil food trays also serve this purpose.
• Plastic containers that fresh herbs are sold in make useful storage packages in the kitchen. Dried herbs and vegetables store well in these containers as long as the seal is airtight. We once bought some very nice fresh ginger in Vancouver’s Chinatown and could not use it all in one recipe. Dave placed the peeled and sliced root in the herb containers covering it with red wine vinegar. Stored in the refrigerator it kept for months this way and made it easy to add fresh tasting ginger to any dish.

These are just a few ideas to demonstrate how easy it is to make a difference while saving some money. Imagine how many other small things you can do around the home or office. Once the ideas have begun to flow, they will cause a ripple effect cascading into other aspects of your life. Then, hopefully, you will think twice before throwing anything into the trash.

When we all do things together we are sharing this beautiful plant earth we all can make a huge difference together worldwide! Earth Day is Everyday!

The 39th anniversary of Earth Day will take place on April 22. Through the combined efforts of government, grassroots organizations and environmentally minded companies, Earth Day has evolved into a worldwide campaign to protect the global environment.

In the U.S., the Department of Energy (DOE) is also concerned about protecting our environment and resources. To address these issues, the DOE recently issued a mandate that now requires all new, central air conditioners manufactured after January 23, 2006, to have a seasonal energy efficiency ratio (SEER) of at least 13. SEER is a number similar to miles-per-gallon in cars; the higher the SEER, the more efficient your air-conditioning system.

According to the DOE, the 13 SEER standard is forecasted to save the nation 4.2 quads (quadrillion British Thermal Units) of energy over 25 years (2006 through 2030). This is equivalent to the energy consumed by nearly 26 million American households in one year. The standards are also expected to save consumers $1 billion over the same period.*

Manufacturers like the Unitary Products Group of York-a Johnson Controls Company, haven’t stopped at 13 SEER. York® also offers new home-cooling systems that reach 15 and even 18 SEER.

Much of the improved efficiency associated with 13 SEER units is the result of an increase in the surface of the coil found in a system’s outdoor unit, which is used to transport refrigerant. As a result, these outdoor units can be 50 to 90 percent larger than 10 SEER units and require as much as 40 percent more refrigerant than many indoor coils are capable of holding. It becomes very important, then, to match the size of the indoor coil with the new, larger outdoor unit.

A mismatched system can lead to lower comfort levels, a higher utility bill, increased stress on the system and large repair costs. A qualified dealer can make sure your system is matched and installed correctly and is efficient and economical to operate.

So, if you are considering replacing or upgrading the HVAC system in your home, talk to the experts at York. They can help you select a qualified dealer, who is equipped to maintain, repair and/or replace the components of your system.

Earth Day, celebrated April 22, is a day designed to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth’s environment. If one person can change things to reduce their Carbon Footprint and make a positive difference on the environment, imagine the difference a whole office can make.

The things we do in our everyday lives have a huge impact on our environment. Whether we realise it not, everyday, we are adding to the problem of global warming.

The idea of this article is to offer some tips which can help you reduce your office carbon footprint and help the environment by not adding to the global warming issue.

Did you really need to print that?

So, you’re sitting at your desk and receive an email, you decide you want a copy of the email, so you print it off. Was that really necessary?

Statistics show that we use over 11 million sheets of paper a year. That’s a lot of paper!

By reducing the amount of paper you use for printing, you are not only saving money, but you are having a positive effect on the environment, because the less paper we use, the less trees need to be cut down and the more oxygen we have.

Whose turn is it to water the plant?

Talking about trees and oxygen, by having a plant or two in your office, you are infact helping your office environment.

Imagine all those systems running in your office; computer, fax, printers, photocopiers and scanners, all these things make the air too dry, so by having plants in your office, you are infact increasing the humidity in the air.

Printer cartridge has run out again

So what do you do when the printer is ready for a refill? Infact, the question should be, what do you do with the empty cartridge?

In the last 10 years, 250 million print cartridges have ended up in either landfill sites or have been incinerated. It would take 1000 years for one cartridge to biodegrade.

With the amount of cartridges thrown away, if laid out, they would stretch across the radius of the moon!

There is now no excuse for anyone to throw an empty cartridge in the bin. More often than not, when you open the box of a new cartridge, there is a bag supplied for you to recycle the old one. All you need to do is put the empty cartridge in the bag and post it off for recycling.

Did you turn off your computer before you left?

Leaving your computer switched on, leaving the lights on, leaving the windows open and leaving office equipment on standby all burn up unnecessary energy.

All computers come with a power saving device, so there is no excuse to leave your computer on standby when you leave work for the day.

By changing your office equipment to power down systems, you are making massive savings to the energy we waste everyday.

You can also change your light bulbs to energy saving light bulbs. Compact fluorescent light bulbs will greatly help you reduce the amount of energy you use in your office on a daily basis.

Did you know that by leaving a window open overnight; you are wasting enough energy to drive a small car for 35 miles?

It isn’t necessary to leave windows open or lights on in an office overnight, or over a weekend for that matter. So makes sure the lights are off, the equipment is off and no windows are left open when you leave your office.

Whose turn is it to do the stationary order?

Did you know, in the UK we throw out enough rubbish every 2 hours to fill up the Albert Hall?

There is now a wide range of products that we can buy that come from recycling, so it isn’t always necessary to buy brand new products that have not been recycled.

Next time you are flicking through the stationary catalogue, watch out for products that you can buy that have been recycled. Buying recycled office stationary and equipment helps reduce the amount of rubbish we need to throw away, which means less rubbish ends up in landfills.

So there you have it. A few tips to help you help your environment which gives you an environmentally friendly office.

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