Lauren A. Britton

• Environmental Tips

  • Save WATER: Water that comes through the pipes to a faucet has undergone a lot a processing and uses a lot of energy to be pumped to you. Here are some ideas:
    1. Use less water pressure.
    2. Turn off the water while brushing your teeth.
    3. Take shorter showers.
    4. Check for leaks (every drip counts!).
    5. Shut the water off while washing your hands. It is the friction of your hands together while using some soap and that will remove the bacteria...
  • Stop drinking BOTTLED WATER: The water that comes through the pipes to your place is fine to drink. It has been processed and deemed healthy to drink. Water bottles are made with petroleum products -> BAD. There is a lot of energy (gasoline) required to bring the bottles long distances to you, just because you won't drink out of the tap. You are also depleting the water resources from somewhere else so you don't have to clean a mug and get the water from a FAUCET. There are numerous filters out there to filter tap water if you are worried about impurities. I use one at home.
    1. Stop buying bottled water.
    2. Use the tap water from the faucet.
    3. Use a nice mug/cup/glass and reuse it.
    4. Just in case you didn't read #1: STOP buying bottled water!
  • Turn Things OFF: It takes energy to run all electronic items. This energy has to come from somewhere. If you turn things off, then you are not being an energy vampire. The more you leave running, the more coal needs to be burned, gas needs to be converted, reactors need to run. The more you leave things on the more pollution is emitted into our world.
    1. Shut your computers off when not using them. It doesn't hurt them to reboot.
    2. Unplug appliances when not using them. Obviously not the fridge.
    3. Shut your car off when you are going to be parked for 10seconds or more. (Unless you drive something from the early 80's or before).
    4. Televisions can be unplugged when not using them for the night.
    5. Lights.
  • RECYCLE: It takes less energy to recycle something than to make it from scratch. It also lets us not deplete more earthly resources than we have to. There are recycle bins all over Rutgers. When you are not near one, just save the item to be recycled until you will be close to one again.
    1. Cans
    2. Bottles
    3. Glass
    4. Paper (Can also use the back of a page to use as scrap)
    5. Newspaper
    6. Plastic
    7. Cardboard
  • REDUCE: The less stuff you buy/aquire, the less strain on the earth to provide it (energy, natural resources, imported resources, ....)
    1. Use a cloth shopping bag instead of getting plastic/paper bags. You wouldn't believe what a strain the plastic/paper bags put on our earth.
    2. Think if you need something before you get it.
    3. You don't always have to get the newest items if old ones still serve the same purpose. Don't let a advertising campaign decide what you need to buy. Think for yourself.
    4. Think about the materials that are used to make your new item. What can you do with it when it served it's purpose. Will it be recycled? Will it go to a dump and breakdown into something toxic. Did it take a lot of energy/resources to make? Were the byproducts to make it harmful to the earth?
  • REUSE: Similar to reducing, reusing helps reduce the amount needed to be created and therefore eventually thrown out or recycled. Find another use for something you already have or fix it to keep doing the task it exists for.
    1. Reuse the same cup/mug/glass for the day and save on cleaning products and water.
    2. Donate clothing in good shape for someone less fortunate to use.
    3. Reuse the backside of paper that was printed on for scrap/calculations/shopping lists ...
    4. Don't wash clothes just because they have been worn, judge them by how much they have been soiled.
    5. Reuse towels for a week before washing them. Keep them fresh by hanging them up to be properly air dried/ventilated.
    6. Use RECHARGEABLE Batteries. Nonrechargeables are terrible for the environment. Let's lessen the impact that they have by using rechargeables over and over again.
    7. Use the library instead of buying books and magazines that you will not look at more than once or twice.
    8. Go to a thrift store to give a product a second (and probably better) life. ;)
    9. Hold a garage sale for things you want to get rid of, but want money for. It's a great way to meet people in your community too.
  • CLEANING PRODUCTS: Some of this was taken from http://www.newdream.org/newsletter/greencleaning.php
    1. Lye, hydrochloric acid, phosphoric acid, and sulfuric acid -- the active agents in many drain cleaners, oven cleaners, and toilet cleaners. These chemicals can burn the skin, cause internal burns if ingested, and explode if used incorrectly. There are many non-toxic and environmentally friendly products out there, or you can read up on how to make your own. Rutgers advertises on a lot of buildings that they use environmentally friendly products.
    2. Chlorine bleach is a lung and eye irritant and contains trace amounts of organochlorines -- extremely persistent and toxic chemical compounds known to cause cancer in animals, among other serious health problems. There are much better options for bleaching something. There are oxygen bleaching agents. They may take a bit more time to work (soak it longer) but you usually get a whiter white with less harm to the fabric. If you are using bleach to kill mold and stuff, use a steamer, or some good elbow grease.
    3. Ammonia is a strong eye and lung irritant. We will be reading about this in lab this week. If there are warnings listed in lab to to this in the hood, do you really think it is a good choice to use it as a cleaner? Do not mix bleach and ammonia... as we learn in lab this week, it makes a deadly gas.
    4. Phosphates are naturally occurring minerals used in automatic dishwashing detergents as a water softener. When released back into the environment, phosphates can cause algae blooms in lakes and ponds that kill aquatic life. Look for "phosphate-free" dishwashing detergents, try a homemade recipe of half borax and half washing soda instead.
    5. Petroleum products. Cleaning products in your house may (probably) have them in their recipes. They are hazardous to your health and the environment. They are also using non-renewable resources (fossil oil ---yuck!) They are hidden with names like: diethylene glycol, nonylphenol ethxylate, and butyl cellosolve.
    6. Antibacterial soap - there really is not any good reason to use this stuff. Studies have shown if you use regular soap and use a lot of friction rubbing your hands together removes as much or more bacteria and other baddies. Antibacterial soap just produces super bacteria that learn to adjust to the harsh chemicals, then what are we supposed to do when we really get sick. On this note, you MUST finish your course of antibiotics when a doctor prescibes it. Just because you feel better doesn't mean all the bacteria are killed. You are just making the surviving bacteria that much stronger to your antibiotics. I ask you, what will you do when the bacteria no longer respond to the medicine?
    7. 'Can I use this around asthmatics?' or 'Does this contain endocrine disruptors?'" he advises. If a company does not provide a satisfactory answer, decide whether it's worth doing business with that company.
    8. Cleaning your home shouldn't be a HAZMAT operation. With a little care, common sense, and a few basic ingredients, your home can be sparkly clean and healthy -- without breaking the bank.