For God's Earth

“For God's Earth” is a regular feature in the weekly bulletin at St. Andrew's, sponsored by the Environment Committee and offering ideas to help us be better environmental stewards, both at home and in the broader world. Here you can find a listing of some past suggestions.

Still more eco-friendly cleaning using baking soda

Baking soda is an excellent multi-purpose cleanser. It's abrasive and can dissolve dirt, mildew, grease, and wax. Baking soda paste is great for removing dirt and grime. An all-purpose baking soda spray can be made by shaking a mixture of 4 tablespoons baking soda and 1 quart warm water. Use this mixture on anything from the bathtub to the fridge. Wet stains on the oven and then shake baking soda over them, scrub with steel wool and watch even old rust stains disappear. Baking soda also acts as a natural deodorizer. Add 1/2 cup of baking soda to the rinse cycle instead of fabric softeners as well as help remove odors from clothes. Place a box in the refrigerator and freezer to absorb odor. Sprinkle it your carpet before vacuuming to eliminate food and pet odors. Neutralize food and cat litter odors by sprinkling it at the bottom of the garbage and litter box. From http://www.aboutmyplanet.com/daily-green-tips/cleaning-products/.

More eco-friendly cleaning using vinegar

Vinegar is a natural disinfectant and deodorizer and is a great all-purpose cleaner (except on marble). The strong smell will disappear when it dries. Use it to clean your kitchen, toilet, floors, and windows! Mix 1 part water to 1 part vinegar to clean the stove, appliances, counter tops, stone, and brick surfaces. Add 1/2 cup of vinegar to the rinse cycle instead of fabric softener. Pour vinegar around the inside rim of the toilet bowl and scrub to get rid of rings. Mop the floor in the bathroom with a diluted vinegar solution. Add a couple teaspoons to a spray bottle filled with water for window cleaner.

Eco-friendly cleaning using lemons

Lemons are acidic and using them as cleaning agents adds antibacterial and antiseptic properties. Clean & shine brass and copper with lemon juice. A lemon cut in half and dipped in salt is good for cleaning spots off copper fixtures. Freshen the drain and kitchen by putting a whole lemon peel through the garbage disposal. Finally, pour lemon juice on white linens & clothes and allow them to dry in the sun to bleach away stains.

Save energy in your kitchen

Clean refrigerator coils twice a year, more often if you have pets. Condenser coils are located at the bottom or rear of your refrigerator. If they are allowed to accumulate dust and dirt as much as 25 percent more energy is required to maintain proper temperature. From http://emd.wa.gov/hazards/haz_simple_ways_to_save_energy.shtml.

Use cloth towels instead of paper ones

A household that uses one roll a week could save more than $100 annually by making this baby step. Americans send 3,000 tons of paper towels to a landfill daily. Furthermore, the production to make paper towels white involves chlorine bleaching, which releases cancer-causing toxins into the environment. From http://dte.spokesmanreview.com/?cat=4.

Manage and pay your bills online

According to Javelin Strategy & Research, if every U.S. home viewed and paid its bills online, the switch would cut solid waste by 1.6 billion tons a year and curb greenhouse-gas emissions by 2.1 million tons a year. You will no longer need to worry about USPS not delivering your payment check on time, or worry about shredding paper statements. You will also, however, save a little money on postage stamps!

Declining bird populations in Maryland

A recent report by Audubon says that over the past 40 years, the populations of 20 species of common birds have plummeted. Several species once common in Maryland and DC have been especially hard hit. These species include the Northern Bobwhite (87% decline), Eastern Meadowlarks (87%), Whip-poor-will (73%), Field Sparrows (81%), and Grasshopper Sparrows (91%).

Buy recycled paper products and help preserve bird breeding grounds

Paper products such as tissues, toilet paper, and paper towels, not made from recycled materials are made by cutting down trees that serve as vital bird and other wild-life habitat. Much of that cutting goes on in the Canadian boreal forest, a breeding ground for up to 3 billion birds each spring. From the National Resources Defense Council.

Create your own patch of habitat for local birds in your yard

Habitat loss due to development and intensifying agricultural production are among the major reasons for declining populations of common birds of North America, according to a recent Audubon report. You can help! Sow your yard with native grasses, shrubs, and trees to form microhabitats where local birds can find food, shelter and nesting sites. Adding a birdbath will provide a source of water for these birds as well. From the National Resources Defense Council.

Consider using recycled paper towels

Replacing just one roll of 180-sheet virgin fiber paper towels with 100% recycled paper towels would save 3.7 million cubic feet of landfill space and 526 million gallons of water each year. From http://www.planetgreengame.com.

Unplug those electronics when not in use

In the average US home, 40% of electricity used to power home electronics is consumed while the products are turned off. From http://www.planetgreengame.com.

Recycle your ink cartridges

For every ink cartridge recycled, one half gallon of oil is saved. Canon, Hewlett-Packard, Lexmark, and Xerox are a few of the major printer/scanner vendors that have ink cartridge recycling programs. The following website has links to the recycling programs each of these companies offer: http://printscan.about.com/cs/choosingaprinter/a/reycling.htm.

Save energy when doing the laundry

After the washer cycle is completed, run an additional spin cycle to reduce the amount of time (and energy!) required to dry your clothes completely. Thanks to Keith and Celia Arnaud for this energy saving tip that originally came from Organic Housekeeping by Ellen Sandbeck.

Water conservation in the home

Conventional U.S. toilets use five gallons of water per flush, and the average family of four uses 881 gallons of water per week just by flushing the toilet. Placing a plastic milk jug full of water into the toilet's cistern is a simple way to reduce the amount of water used with each flush!

Stay young

A typical 1700 sq. ft. wood-frame home requires the equivalent of clear cutting oneacre of forest. Avoid wood products from old-growth forests; instead choose materials from sustainably-managed forests that have the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certification.

Switch to compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFL's)

CFL's typically require less than one-third the energy to produce the same amount of light as common incandescent bulbs. If one bulb in every American home were replaced with a compact fluorescent bulb, this would be equivalent to eliminating emissions created by 800,000 cars! From www.PlanetGreenGame.com.