"Tips that help your wallet, and the planet..."

These are some useful tips for reducing your "ecological tireprint" I found on the environmentnetwork.org website.

Drive Efficiently

-Slow down and save (For every 10km/h over 100km/h fuel efficiency drops by 10%.)

-Easy on the pedal (Jackrabbit starts from one set of lights to the next increases fuel consumption by 37%)

-Smooth sailing (Keeping a steady speed uses less fuel. Accellerate smoothly and avoid hard breaking.)

-Be idle free (10 seconds of idling uses more fuel than restarting your engine.)

-Combine trips (Combining several trips into 1 [like trips to the grocery store, etc.] can cut fuel use and emissions from 20-50%.)

-Travel light (Every additional 100 lbs. increases fuel consumption by 2%.)

-Use a fuel consumption display (You can keep track of instantaneously how many litres per hundred kilometres you are using. If you can adjust your habits, you could reduce consumption by 10%.)

Maintain and Save

-Tire pressure (one under-inflated tire can increase fuel consumption by 4% and reduce the life of the tire by 15 000 km.

-Motor oil (Using worn out oil can increase fuel consumption by 4%.)

-Air Filter (Fuel use can increase by 10% if air filter is clogged.)

-Tune ups (Keeping your car in tune can reduce consumption by up to 15%.)

Drive Less

-Carpool (It saves you money and reduces pollution.)

-Let someone else do the driving (Take transit, you can relax on the way to work and it's cheaper than taking a car.)

-Get active (Choose to bike or walk instead of drive!)

-Telecommute (Work from home - save the drive.)

More tips are available at http://environmentnetwork.org/ecoDriver.htm. It is worth it to take a look! These tips are not only pretty easy, but they'll save you money and cut emissions at the same time. Take it upon yourselves.

Going green isn't that hard!

I found an inspiring little video on Youtube.com and it's not very long! So I think anyone reading my blog should watch it. Going green isn't that hard. Click here!

You Can Save The Earth

Everyday I see litter and I see people polluting. Just last week when I took my dog for a walk at the boardwalk in Collingwood, there was a lady in her car with it running when I arrived. I took my dog all around the boardwalk and through the park and when I got back to my car the lady was still in her car with it running! I couldn't believe it. I really wish I had said something to her like, "You know, Collingwood is an idle-free community," but I just couldn't muster up the courage to knock on her window. This was about a week ago and I'm still kicking myself for it. Too often on my walks I come across garbage and feel that I must pick it up, so most of the time I do. And if I pass a piece of garbage without picking it up I will feel guilty for the rest of the day as if I were the one who originally littered. This is how I felt about the lady in her car. I know it was not my fault that she was sitting there idling, but I feel guilty because I did not do my part to tell her to shut off her car. She must have been there for at least half an hour.

This is the year 2009! We have known of our pollution crisis for many, many years, so it just boggles my mind when I see people deliberately littering or purposely not shutting off their car. Yesterday, when I was at school another student dropped his pop can outside in the parking lot and stomped on it. I said to him, "I hope you're going to pick that up and recycle it." Unbelievably, he just looked at me as though I was less than him for even thinking that and just said something like, "Yeah right. I'm not picking up garbage." Attitudes like his are not going to save this planet. A friend I was with picked up the can and I recycled it. At least not everyone thinks the same way as him. It is very hard to get across to those types of people, but I have done it. Just by repeatedly recycling when possible, or throwing garbage in the trash, people start to do as I do. They can see that it is not hard and just takes a tiny little bit of effort and it eventually pays off. Parks start to look cleaner and more beautiful. Roads, as ugly as they may be, look a lot better when they are not edged with garbage.

I urge everyone - PLEASE do your part by not littering. And if you feel like doing something even more positive, all you have to do is if you see garbage on the ground, pick it up. It is as simple as that, and every little bit of effort helps.

Isn't this Earth beautiful? We can all do our part to keep it this way. =)