Sure, here are some little tips many people don’t know about…
do you use a dishwasher? Dishwashers can be more efficient than washing by hand, but it’s important to turn off the little button that says “auto dry.” If you let the dishes air dry instead, you save a lot of energy. With your clothesdryer, make sure to clean the lint filter after each load. cleaning the lint out greatly increases the efficiency of the machine, so you’ll save energy. And don’t forget that a huge percentage of home energy costs go to heating water. The best thing to do is upgrade your water heater to an energy-star appliance…if you can’t do that, try to reduce your hot water usage- wash most of your laundry in cold (it works just as well for most loads) and cut your shower time if you can.
Another small thing—all your electrical appliances that are plugged in (Microwave, toaster oven, etc) continue to draw power from the outlet even when not in use—- especially appliances like microwaves that have a digital display—it is drawing power to display the time on the microwave’s clock. Plug all your appliances into a power strip, and when you’re not using them, shut off the power strip so that they’re not using energy.
Also, my biggest pet peeve is bottled water. It’s ridiculous to pay literally a thousand times more for water that is basically the same as tap water, and then throw away that plastic bottle. Drink tap water, or if your tap water tastes bad, get a britta filter. You can even buy a super fancy water filter that gets installed directly into your sink at home, and it will cost you less than 2 months of bottled water for your family.
My personal take on all of this is, if you want to make a big impact, it’s great to start with small lifestyle changes, but the best thing to do is really to get involved in some organization or group that is working for bigger change—greening your city, or working to hold public officials accountable. We all have a part to play, and that means that business and government need to do their part to. They won’t do it, though, unless people are organized and hold them accountable. The best thing you can do in terms of small easy things is to vote for candidates who support and protect the environment. It’s important to make sure that polluters don’t shift the discourse so that people think that individual lifestyle errors are responsible for our environmental problems. Sure, we can do our part, but the big pollution problems really come from irresponsible corporations who are putting their profit above the health of our children.