Go Green With Us!

Easy tips on going green!

(This is a shortened excerpt reprinted from Living Green, Business Courier, Jan 18, 2008, article entitled ‘Simple Efforts Can Mean Big Results’.)

Making good choices for the environment does not need to be complicated. Anyone can be a good steward of the EARTH through countless efforts that add up.

Ways to get started in your home, community and workplace:

1. Recycle!
2. Avoid eating fast food.
3. Buy recycled products.
4. Close the refrigerator door to conserve energy.
5. Don’t throw away all that paper. Make scratch pads with the clean side of used paper in the office. Let the kids draw on the clean side at home.
6. Insulate your home. Install weather stripping. Apply caulk around the doors and windows.
7. Open the blinds to let in natural light.
8. Support public transportation.
9. Try walking or bicycling for errands.
10. Use the library for books and movies or swap with friends.
11. Cut your home energy usage, turning off the lights, television, and computer when you’re not using them.
12. Replace light bulbs with super efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs).
13. Reuse things whenever possible.
14. Use canvas bags at the grocery store.
15. Use cloth napkins.
16. Buy efficient electronics and appliances.
17. Get reclaimed building products at Building Value or check Craigslist.com for other usable items.
18. Re-gift! Donate usable items to a charity or organization.
19. Buy locally grown food.
20. Upgrade to low-flow toilets and shower heads.
21. Use rechargeable batteries instead of disposable.
22. Bring a coffee cup to work instead of using paper cups.
23. Buy a hybrid vehicle.
24. Give up packaged disposable razors and use old-fashioned safety razors.
25. Say goodbye to coffee filters and use a reusable or permanent filter.
26. Recycle old socks as dusting mittens.
27. Stop printing things you don’t need on paper.
28. Encourage your office, school, or church to create and distribute newsletters and communications electronically.
29. Drink tap water or invest in a filter for your faucet.
30. Set your thermostat a few degrees higher in the summer and lower in the winter.
31. Make your own cleaning supplies with baking soda, soap, and vinegar.

Recycling at CSL

CSL recycles. You can do it at home too. Check out the links below for ideas.

At CSL, we have certain places to put trash so it may be disposed of in the most Earth-friendly way:

Inside the building

1. Clear bins found upstairs and downstairs, labeled “Recycle Paper here”, for bulletins and other paper with no food stuck to it.
2. White trash cans – non-recyclables, such as paper with food stuck to it, lids of bottles,cardboard, styrofoam and plastic film.
3. Tan Bins – recyclables such as plastic bottles (lids removed), aluminum cans, cardboard with no food stuck to it.

Outside the building

Paper Retriever Program: You can bring all your paper from home and place it in the big green and yellow bin in the CSL parking lot. CSL receives a small rebate from the amount of paper we collect. Most of all, it helps to make the earth a cleaner, happier place.

Green Links

Lists of Environmental Organizations

U.S. and Canadian Parks
EPA Resources for non-profits

Environmental Organizations

http://www.cinciearth.org/
http://www.edf.org/
http://www.imagoearth.org/index.html
http://www.nature.org/
http://www.nrdc.org/
http://www.sierraclub.org/
http://ohio.sierraclub.org/miami/index.html
http://www.ucsusa.org/
www.worldwildlife.org/

Local Nature Preserves and Preservation Groups

http://www.highlandssanctuary.org/
http://millcreekrestoration.org/

Local Spiritual/Environmental Conferences

http://www.earthspiritrising.org/

Recycling and Other Environmental Information

http://www.hcdoes.org/
http://www.keepcincinnatibeautiful.org/
http://www.paperretriever.com/