Earth Day 2008 – Make a Difference One Switch at a Time

Tuesday, April 22 is Earth Day 2008, and it is a great reminder to make a difference, however small it may seem, and do what you can to help save the earth, whether through energy savings, recycling, education, etc.

Switch Off Unused Lights: Make the effort to turn off lights when you leave the room and shut down computers when not in use. Tired of yelling at the kids to turn off the lights? How about light switch plates that subliminally remind them to Save the Earth. (Someday they will thank us.) Or install motion-sensor lights that will automatically turn off those lights for you (or for those family members who never remember). Or insulate any light switches or outlets on home outside walls with foam insulation gaskets that help reduce airflow thereby reducing your heating and cooling bills.

Switch to Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs: Compact fluorescent light bulbs last for years, provide better quality of light and yet use only about 70% the energy of incandescent bulbs. For an average household, switching to CFLs can add up to nearly $200 in savings every year. It couldn’t be easier to make a positive difference!

Switch Your Attitude: It is no longer somebody else’s problem. It is important to understand the urgency of the situation in which we all find ourselves. Educate yourself and find out more about global warming and the rapid changes that are affecting our planet and the creatures on it. See Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth, join WeCanSolveIt.org, attend lectures such as the Livermore National Laboratory’s Science on Saturdays talk on Greenhouse Gas Reduction and carbon capture and sequestration (CCS). It is urgent that we all start making a difference and know what we are facing.

Switch to Reusable Containers: Both paper bags and plastic bags have a great impact on the environment, so the best solution is to switch to reusable shopping bags such as those cool, recycled bags I use from Trader Joe’s. Or carry your drinks in a reusable stainless steel hip flask that can last for years instead of a throw-away plastic water bottle.

Whether through learning, remembering, insulating, recycling, switching or just generally being more aware there are many approaches to helping the environment.

A little here, a little there – it all adds up, and we really all can make a difference.

If you’d like to see other Kyle Design energy-saving solutions and environmental awareness products such as the Motion-Sensor Light Switches, the Light Switch Plate Insulation Gaskets, the Global Warming Business Card Holder, Reusable Recycling Symbol Hip Flask or the Save the Earth Light Switch Plates, please click the links here or the photos above.

Technorati: Earth Day, Save the Earth, Earth Day 2008, Recycling, Recycle, Recycling Symbol, Recycle Logo, Switch Plates, Switchplates, Energy Saving Devices, Motion Sensor Lights, Insulation Gaskets, Global Warming, Business Card Holders, Business Card Cases, Al Gore, In Inconvenient Truth, We Can Solve It, www.wecansolveit.org, Trader Joe’s, CFL, Compact Fluorescent Lights, Livermore National Laboratory, Science on Saturday, Greenhouse Gass Reduction, CCS, Carbon Capture and Sequestration