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| Going Green |
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 Marin couple Cools the Earth - CARLEEN AND JEFF CULLEN AREN’T YOUR TYPICAL ENVIRONMENTALLY MINDED MARIN PARENTS. Neither came from a commune; nor do they have geological, astrological or mythological middle names. In fact, a couple of years back they were prototypical Manhattanites enjoying the hard-earned but surprisingly big success generated from the sale of Carleen’s biotech company, Ovid Technologies, which she founded with her brother. They could live anywhere and they chose Marin. They could do anything – and they created a countywide school-based anti-global warming campaign called Cool the Earth (cooltheearth.org) Their first foray into making a difference was Cancel-a-Car, based on the concept that every 12,000 pounds of carbon emissions prevented is equal to taking a car off the road. How does it work? A simple coupon book. Students are given point-based actions in the form of coupons, to be returned to school once their parents complete specific energy-saving tasks. For more information email info@cooltheearth.org
Ten Cooool Take Action ideas:
Walk or Bike to School
Save 540 Pounds of carbon
Just walking or riding a bike to school an average of 10 days a month reduces 190 lbs. of carbon.
If you do drive, carpooling saves 95 lbs.
The Average American car gets 23 mpg and emits one pound of carbon for every mile driven. Even short trips add up and walking or biking gives off zero carbon!
Use Your Tap
Save 580 pounds of carbon
Buy a reusable water bottle and refill from the tap, lessening your purchases of bottled spring water. By buying just two less bottles of spring water a week, you save 580 lbs. of carbon every year. Look for reusable bottles at our upcoming water bottle drive.
Spring water takes lots of energy to collect, bottle and transport- much more than tap water.
Cold Water Wash
Save 1,500 pounds of carbon
Whenever possible, use the cold wash cycle and save 1,500 lbs. of carbon. Try washing only when you have full loads. Use the dryer’s “moisture sensor” feature to turn off the dryer as soon as clothes are dry.
With recent advancements in detergents, cold water really does the job. Try it!
No Waste Lunch
Save 133 pounds of carbon
Have you seen your school’s garbage cans after lunch? The volume of waste is amazing. The average child generates 67 pounds of lunchtime garbage in a year. Going to a No Waste Lunch will save 133 lbs of carbon preventing the waste from going to the landfill.
Go No Waste by following these simple steps: 1) Pack food in reusable containers; 2) Pack drinks in reusable bottles; 3) Bring home uneaten food.
Update Your Lights
Save 1,780 pounds of carbon
Replace 10 incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescents (CFL’s), and save 1,780 lbs. of carbon annually.
CFL’s come in all shapes and sizes, watts and tones.
Look for them at our light bulb drive or at most hardware and drug stores.
CFL’s use one-fourth the energy, last 10 times longer and produce more light per watt than incandescent.
Power Down
Save 1,000 pounds of carbon
Turning off your electronics is essential.
But did you know these devises still use electricity when they are turned “off”?
Unplug DVD’s, Xbox, PC’s, printers, and chargers when not in use, or put on power strips and turn off strip when not in use. This saves 1,000 lbs. of carbon.
Home electronics still use power even when turned off.
This “phantom load” accounts for 5% of all U.S. household power.
Lower Food Miles
Save 140 pounds of carbon
Eat locally-grown fruits and vegetables and save 140 lbs. of carbon.
Locally grown means big energy savings in transportation products.
Tire Pressure Check
Save 250 pounds of carbon
Keep car tires inflated properly and save 250 lbs. of carbon.
This is the easiest thing to do. Check tire pressure whenever you fill up. You will improve your gas mileage and reduce carbon in the air.
Tire gauges are available at most gas stations and at most hardware stores for less than $5.
Shorter Showers
Save 350 pounds of carbon
Install low flow shower heads and save 350 pounds of carbon. Whenever possible, use cold wash cycle and save 1,500 lbs. of carbon.
Using less hot water means less energy to heat the water. Low flow showerheads reduce water flow while adding in air, resulting in strong spray with less water. With recent advancements in detergents, cold water really does the job. Give it a try! using the moisture sensor prevents over-drying your clothes.
Reduce Junk Mail
Save 840 pounds of carbon
Stopping just 30% of your junk mail stream saves 300 trees and 840 lbs. of carbon a year. Almost all junk mail goes from mail box to “out” box. Most catalogs use virgin paper, contributing to de-forestation and taking lots of energy for production and transportation.
Go to: www.dmaconsumers.org
Registering here should reduce your junk mail by more than 30%
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