The Giving Hands

Now, what better ways to start a new year than to commit ourselves to the little things that we can do to save our planet? It really doesn’t matter whether it is a commitment to use reusable bags instead of plastic bags, or to switch to using compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFL), or to reuse an old toothbrush, as long as we do something about it.

So throughout January 2009, I will be sharing some little tips or ways or things that we can do to save our planet — things that we can do at home, when gardening, at work as well as changes that we can make to our lifestyles and environment.

Some tips to get you started toward a greener life in the new year:

• Check your taps (faucets) and mend any leaks and drips immediately because one leaky tap that drips every 3 seconds can waste more than 100 liters (30 gallons) of water in a month.
• A microwave uses 14% less energy than a conventional oven. It is also more efficient if you heat up large amounts rather than lots of little quantities.
• Bring your own ceramic or china mug to work instead of using disposable styrofoam (polystyrene) cups.
• Instead of buying several magazines every month, make a deal with your friends to buy one title each and swap. This saves you and your friends money as well as paper. Or alternate the magazines you buy, limiting yourself to one a month. Or read magazines online.
• Use public transportation because one busload of people is worth 40 cars. Every time you step into a bus, you take 40 cars off the road.

If you have your own little tips to share, do leave them in the comments! :D

Happy New Year to you, and I hope you have a happy and productive 2009!

I introduced theme-blogging last month, and for a start, I blogged about plastic bags in the month of December 2008.