Tips For Thanks And a Conservation Christmas

Well, Thanksgiving has come and gone and now we march toward the Christmas holiday. Contemplating an appropriate post for a dramatic year, an unexpected e-mail arrived. A reader shared with us that she commends our attempt at cutting back our oil use/dependency. Lamenting her own inability to give up her “bus” as required by the needs and safety of her children, we pointed out that conservation efforts can occur on a multitude of levels, and that her methods needn’t specifically mirror our own. Anyway, in this inspirational e-exchange, our reader asked us to post a few ideas, as well as one of her own. This is no way constitutes a complete list, but this being a great idea, we’ll continue to post interesting finds. As the holidays continue to unfold, we thank all of you for your kind words, kudos and the appreciation some of you have shown for the conservation efforts of two small people in the world.

Happy Holidays to all! Good luck implementing any of the following conservation tips:

Install fluorescent light bulbs to ensure reductions in energy use.
Install adequate insulation in your home to ensure reductions in energy use.
Buy recycled products when available, i.e. recycled paper towels.
Recycle your glass, newspaper and plastics in areas where recycling is available.
Reduce use of plastic bottles - mountains of plastic bottles end up in landfills.
Investigate personal product choice – use your dollars to cast favorable VOTEs for companies practicing conservative production methods.
Designate an area of your yard for compost.
Install a rain barrel and use it for yard watering. Reductions in water use also reduce energy use in areas where hydropower is the source of electricity generation.
Repair dripping faucets or leaky toilets.
Turn off the faucet when brushing teeth and shorten showering time.
Carpool.
Use public transportation just once or twice a week to reduce use of fossil fuels, and still keep your car for really busy days.
Turn off the lights. You’ll look foxier by candelight anyway.
Don’t buy a fake Christmas tree. Think lead dust and crowded landfills.
Plug TV, VCR, DVD, Stereo system, computers, etc. into a surge protection plug. Power the whole mess off at the surge protector to stop electrical “leak” into the electronics.
Turn off your car and curb pollution while waiting at the drive-thru, school pick-up area or bank drive-up ATM.
Buy locally grown foods to combat fossil fuel use in long distance food shipments. Check out this cool mashup from www.GoGreenCharleston.org to find local food sources.
Last, simply buy less.

Still haven't had enough? Here are ten more.

As always, feel free to post your comments and include other green tips or conservation ideas we’ve not listed here. Ya’ll take care!