Green Your Day

Electrical appliances and chargers (including cancer cell phone chargers) left plugged in drain electricity like there’s no tomorrow - even when they’re not in use! Yes, even appliances that are switched off can draw power from the grid (it’s called phantom load).

For example, a TV set that’s switched on for 3 hours a day (the average time Europeans spend watching TV) and in standby mode during the remaining 21 hours uses about 40% of its energy in standby mode. Forty (freikin) percent of all electricity is used to power home appliances while they’re turned off!

Yeah, but what could I possibly do about it?

1. Switch your TV and other appliances off completely - don’t use standby modes!
2. Unplug, unplug, unplug: Just as you know to turn off the oven when you’re done using it, condition yourself to unplug entirely an electrical appliance when you’re done using it. It’s really that easy - even a child could do it (though I wouldn’t necessarily recommend that a child do it…)

Sidenote:

I just did a quick scan around my house to see what appliances were currently not in use and unplugged them. I counted 14 energy wasting appliances (not including those that are currently in use. )

Ordering in food to your home or your office can be fun every once in a while (I’m rather addicted to it myself…) But ever notice all the “stuff” that comes along with your meal? A typical order of one simple meal can usually include most (or all) of the following:

A plastic fork, a plastic knife, a plastic spoon, 1 or 2 paper napkins, a small paper packet of salt, a small paper packet of pepper, a toothpick, freshener wipes in their little paper cover and the little plastic bag that holds all these unnecessary items together! Oh, and not to mention a plastic cup and/or straw for your drink!

What the means is that one simple meal (that you didn’t even make yourself!) can result in a bag full of waste that goes straight to the garbage! Un-freikin-believable!

“Yeah, but what could I possibly do about it?”

Believe it or not, all it takes is one simple sentence upon ordering: “And I won’t be needing the utensils and stuff, thank you.”

Use your own utensils, use your own salt and pepper, use your own cups and as for the “freshening wipes”… oh, for green’s sake, just wash your hands!

Some offices in Israel and around the world have already been officially declared “green” and are no longer offering disposable coffee cups to their employees (good for them!) But just because your office is not environmentally aware, doesn’t mean you have to go along with the crowd!

“Yeah, but what could I possibly do about it?”

1) Suggest a green movement to the company bosses, removing all disposable coffee cups and utensils from the office kitchen. If the bosses don’t seem convinced, you could always mention how much MONEY they will be saving (bosses love that!)

2) Teach by example: When CEOS have their heads so far up their butts that they can’t seem to grasp how important such a decision is, well, then there’s nothing left to do but be your own boss! Just Say No to the disposable cups by officially declaring today (and every day) “Bring Your Coffee Mugs to Work Day”. Simply put, BE the change that you want to see in your office!