TOTALLY GREEN INC: 10 Tips for a Healthy, Sustainable Spring

TOTALLY GREEN INC: 10 Tips for a Healthy, Sustainable Spring Spring Cleaning This year, consider opting for recycled papers and green cleaning supplies while you start on your spring cleaning. Visiting a local car wash reduces water consumption by 50% or more; on top of that, commercial car washes are needed to properly drain chemical-ridden waste water directly into the sewage system, and thus reduces the land's exposure to harmful chemicals. So what should you do with all those dry clean only items? Opting for Professional Wet Cleaning, which involves careful, computer-controlled, item-specific laundering and more eco-friendly chemicals and cleaners, is one of the better alternatives to traditional dry-cleaning. Even refueling your car at night is more environmentally friendly than doing so during the day, since gasoline evaporates far more readily into the atmosphere while the sun is still out. Commercial Car Washes Commercial Car Washes are actually greener than opting to wash your car at home. Increasingly, energy providers are adopting more flexible energy-rate policies, in order to encourage consumers to use more off-peak energy in lieu of peak-rate energy. Wash Your Clothes in Cold Water Up to 90% of energy consumed by washing machines can be attributed solely to heating the water, even though most loads can run with cold water. Control Your Thermostat! Heating and Air Conditioning consume a huge amount of energy and drive up the cost of your energy bills, so adjust your room temperatures, and turn off your heater/AC while you're away throughout the day. Safer Sunscreens As everyone this spring starts spending more time in the sun, pay increased attention to the contents of your sunscreen. Unplugging saves energy and perhaps money. Exercise Outside for a Green Workout Instead of hitting the gym or using your exercise machines at home, take your daily workout outside for the spring weather. Washing most of your clothes in cold water, and, whenever possible, hang-drying certain items, can drastically reduce your energy consumption. Sunscreen has recently been linked to damage of the coral reefs, that are extremely important to the biosphere and are adversely affected by the heavy amount of sunscreen use in the regions where they can be found. By purchasing locally they benefit native peoples, and give tourists the opportunity to explore the unique and exotic biospheres that surround these sites. They also promise to be a vital potential source of future health solutions, information, and disease cures. Opt for Professional Wet Cleaning In addition to being one of the most unsustainable practices around, dry-cleaning involves many dangerous chemicals and toxins, including the carcinogen and neurotoxin PERC, which is used by approximately 85% of dry cleaners. Taking a Spring Vacation? Look into many of the coolest Eco-tourism locations. On top of that, most sunscreen has been found to contain oxybenzane, a substance linked to low birth weight, allergies, cell damage, and hormonal disruption. For more information on smarter consumption of sunscreen, check out one of the many guides for buying sunscreen that are available online through many on many environmental advocacy websites. Eating Green: Superfoods for Spring One of the quickest ways to eat green is to buy more local foods, particularly healthier, in-season fruits and vegetables, at your local farmers' market. Use More Off-Peak Energy Especially as the weather gets warmer, running high-energy appliances and other energy-guzzling devices at night can have a dramatic environmental impact. Another alternative is Liquid Carbon dioxide cleaning, which utilizes no new carbon dioxide emissions, but can be a lot more expensive than professional wet cleaning. One of the best alternatives to an AC that you can turn to is the "swamp cooler," which consumes up to 75% less energy by using an evaporative air-cooling process. TOTALLY GREEN INC: 10 Tips for a Healthy, Sustainable Spring Trade News selected by Local Linkup on 07/03/2012