Tips on living more sustainably
“The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit.” Nelson Henderson
There are lots of ways in which we can all live more sustainable, ‘future-friendly’ lives. Many of them are small, simple acts that cost nothing in time, money or effort, but which make a huge difference.
Here are a few examples:
- Maintain your tyre pressure. A well-tuned car with properly inflated tyres uses up to 3 per cent less petrol.
- Recycle your newspapers. Recycling a stack of newspapers a metre high will save a good-sized tree.
- Switch to low energy light globes. If every American household swapped just one globe to a low energy globe, it would save enough energy to light more than 2.5 million homes for a year and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of nearly 800,000 cars.
- Clean your air conditioner. An air conditioner with a clogged filter has to work harder, which means higher power bills and the creation of more greenhouse emissions.
- Turn it off at the plug. Appliances left in standby mode can use up to half the power they would draw when turned on. Turn them off at the plug.
- Limit screen-saver use. Rather than saving energy, a screen saver draws power for the monitor. Instead of using screen savers, set your computer to go to sleep mode.
- Give experiences instead of buying things as gifts. So take your brother to the football instead of buying him another CD.
Here are some links to websites that contain useful advice for sustainable living.
www.environment.nsw.gov.au
www.sustainability.vic.gov.au/
www.planetark.com.au
www.acfonline.org.au
Information on Rebates
There is a wide variety of rebates available to help you make your home and garden more environmentally-friendly and water and energy efficient. Helping the environment also helps you because often the environmentally-friendly option means cheaper long-term running costs.
For further information visit www.sedo.energy.wa.gov.au.