4 Eco-Resolutions to Make in 2012
By Amanda Schupak
If You've Got 5 Minutes for the Environment...
Reset the schedule on your automatic sprinklers so your lawn is irrigated in the early morning or late evening. Evaporation during daytime hours means as much as 30 percent of water never makes it into the soil, which can amount to 126 gallons of water wasted each week at your house alone.
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If You've Got 30 Minutes for the Environment...
Older toilets use as much as seven gallons of water with each flush-when less than a gallon can do the trick. Not ready to replace a gallon guzzler? Fill a plastic bottle with water and a bit of sand or gravel and submerge it in the tank (careful to keep clear of the stopper) for a do-it-yourself low-flow throne.
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If You've Got an Afternoon for the Environment...
Tweaking the energy efficiency of your home doesn't have to mean replacing your appliances. The U.S. Department of Energy's energysavers.gov site gives step-by-step instructions on conducting a home-energy assessment and shows how a few freebie changes-closing the fireplace damper, lowering the hot-water heater to 120 degrees-can save water, energy and dollars.
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If You've Got $1 for the Environment...
Each year the average U.S. home receives 1.5 trees' worth of junk mail-mostly unopened credit card offers, solicitations, and catalogs. For a measly buck, you can register to block junk mail at dmachoice.org.
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