A New Way to Park

In today’s modern society, car usage is vital for many people to go about their daily lives.  Unless you walk, ride a bike, or have access to public transportation, you are most likely to drive a car to get around.  With rising gas prices, people are looking for ways to reduce their gas consumption.  

One way you could do this is to pull all the way forward into a parking space.  This EGOlogical tip is very simple and will help reduce the amount of carbon emitted from your car as well as save you money.  If there is no parking block in the way, go ahead and pull into the spot in front of it.  That way when you are ready to leave, you will just have to pull forward and be on your way instead of having to go in reverse, back up, maybe idle a little because you have to wait for a pedestrian to pass by, and then put your car in drive and drive away. 

All those steps may seem small, but they add up to wasting gas and emitting more carbon into the atmosphere than you would be if you took the step to simply pull into the space in front it of.  Now I know not ALL parking lots have spaces that would allow you to practice this tip, but if you ever are in a parking lot that does, keep this EGOlogical tip in mind.  

Say NO to "Add a Minute/Thirty Second" Buttons

(I know this post is a little longer than others, but I guarantee this is one of the best ones!) 

A microwave is probably one of the most important appliances in your kitchen.  As I noted in a previous entry, microwaves use less energy than a stove does to heat up or cook an item.  Therefore, they are more environmentally friendly.  I did, however, forget to mention one trick to warming up/cooking in your microwave. Alright, now let’s pretend last night you cooked a delicious meal consisting of spaghetti and meatballs.  You didn’t finish all of it so you put the leftovers in a reusable container (not a plastic bag) and set it in the fridge.  The next night you decide to eat your leftovers and prepare to eat them.  After placing the bowl of spaghetti and meatballs in the microwave, you punch in the desired amount of time you wish to heat up your dish. 

After years of microwave experience, you probably guestimate it will take 2 minutes will do the trick.  Now there were probably a few things going through your mind when you chose 2 minutes as the magical time it will take to heat up your food.  For example you may think that 2 minutes might be a little too much and make your food too hot to eat and enjoy right away, but you didn’t just want to warm it up for only 1 minute and 30 seconds because it may be too cold. 

However, this is when I step in and yell, “WAIT!  STOP RIGHT THERE!”  All our lives we have been accustomed to punching in exact amounts of time in intervals of a minute or thirty seconds.  Some models of microwaves even have buttons that let your “add a minute” or “add thirty seconds” so you don’t have to manually type it in.  Therefore, all you simply have to do is to think beyond that natural instinct and type in a number that you think would heat up your spaghetti and meatballs perfectly.  For example, maybe try putting your meal in for 1 minute and 48 seconds.  Not 1:30 and NOT 2 MINUTES.  Who said the number needs to be rounded to the nearest tenth?  NO ONE!   Another example may be if the box of oatmeal says to cook a bowl of oatmeal for a minute and thirty seconds, maybe try putting it in for 1 minute and 24 seconds.  It will still cook just the same. 

By reducing the amount of time you heat /cook your item in the microwave, the less energy you will be using.  This will reduce the amount of pollution caused by your energy needs and also save you money on your electric bills.  Kitchen appliances use up the most electricity in your home.  Don’t forget, each second adds up!  Be EGOlogical and start using your microwave unconventionally!

Vampire Power Sucks

Electronic devices such as laptops, Ipods, and cell phones are items that college students utilize in their everyday lives.  In order for these devices to function, they must be charged through and electronic outlet.  Once done charging, most people leave them plugged into the wall without realizing they are wasting electricity.  Regardless to the fact the device is not plugged in, the charger is still sucking out the same amount of energy.  As Vampire Power Sucks has pointed out, this waste of energy is called “vampire power” and contributes to approximately 10% of your electric bill.  You can prevent this energy loss by unplugging unused devices and save a lot of money.  Explore this website brought to you by iGo: www.vampirepowersucks.com to learn more about vampire power, calculate how much energy you lose, what you can do to prevent it, and how to encourage others to do the same.  Good luck!

Hunger + ? = BAD

We all do it…  You’re sitting there watching TV or busy studying/facebooking at home and then all of the sudden you get that hungry feeling and walk into the kitchen to grab a snack.  Your first move is probably to open your pantry/cabinet to see what kind of snacks are inside, but nothing in there satisfies you so you then open the FRIDGE and STAND THERE for a LONG TIME browsing your options.  


Alright, now let’s take a moment to realize what you have just done.  By keeping the fridge open for longer than you need it is a waste of energy because the cold air escapes and it takes more energy to make the fridge cold again once closed.  So next time you’re hungry, have an idea of what you want to snack on or choose quickly and do not to stand there with the fridge wide open trying to make your decision.  This will reduce the amount of energy you consume while also saving you some money on your energy bills.

Recycle Your Electronics

My teammate shared with me this online recycling program called, Gazelle.  Gazelle allows you to send in your old electronics and get cash for however much they are worth based on their pricing scale.  Another awesome feature is they pay for the shipping of your items.  Once Gazelle receives your electronics, they will send them off to the correct safe electronic recycling center.  Recycling your electronics is extremely important so that their chemicals don’t contaminate landfills when tossed out.  Gazelle allows you to save the environment and make a little extra cash at the same time!  Check it out at: www.gazelle.com

What time is it?

When asked the common question, “What time is it?” most college students pull out their cell phones and illuminate them to view the digital time.  However, there are plenty of clocks all around you displaying the time.  Instead of wasting your phone battery to look at the time, just glance at the clocks hanging on the wall of the classroom, library, or office you are in.  By prolonging the life of your phone battery, you will have to charge it less, reducing your energy bills.  

Dim Your Computer Screen

My friend brought this up during our environmental policy class yesterday.  Dim your computer to save your battery life on your computer.  Dimming your screen makes the screen darker so you use less energy to power it making your battery last longer.  A longer battery means less charging time and less charging time means smaller energy consumption reducing your energy bills.   

Blackle

My blog is mainly dark in color because it uses less energy.  I got the idea from the search engine site, Blackle.  Blackle is just like Google, but the background is black to make screens around the world darker utilizing less energy than a bright screen would. 

Give Blackle a try!

Blackle