Free ways to help the environment

Unfortunately, going green isn’t always cheap. At least that’s what I’ve noticed in my efforts to live on the green side of things. For example, organic food is better for the environment but it’s usually more expensive. The same goes for the plethora of green products on the market.

Here are a few free things you can do to help the environment today.

1. Stop the catalogs.

Clean out your mailbox by going to http://www.catalogchoice.org/#welcome. This free service lets you say no to all those unwanted catalogs that make their way into your mailbox each week.

2. Inflate your tires.

Consult your owners manual to find the appropriate pressure for your car’s tires. By keeping your tires properly inflated you save a little gas, but more importantly you reduce the wear on your tires. You’ll leave less rubber on the road and your tires will last longer.

3. Switch to online bill payments.

This service, available at most banks, will reduce the number of envelopes being driven around the country and this little tip can actually save you money. Many banks are now offering incentives for online bill payment services.

4. Educate yourself.

If you’re not sure where to start, let me suggest a book called Cradle To Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things by William McDonough and Michael Braungart. This book will change the way you think about green. Even the book itself is constructed with the environment in mind. And you don’t have to spend money to read. This book and many others are available at your local library.

Each of us can effect change one little step at a time. If you’d like more ways to help the world in which we live, visit http://blog.blogactionday.com/environment/50-quick-painless-ways-you-can-help-the-environment-today/. This website offers 50 quick, painless ways you can help the environment today.

Wanda Shapiro

Oak Woodland Restoration at Malibu Creek State Park

Guidance employees teamed up with Culver City
Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts in November to plant
Oak trees and native grasses and to pull mustard plant
weeds at Malibu Creek State Park. We drove through
burn areas but were happy to discover that the park itself
was spared in the recent wildfires. Oak Woodland Restoration
volunteers provided all the tools and instructions.

Oak Woodland Restoration volunteer, Jo, demonstrates
native grass planting techniques.

Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts work side by side with
Guidance volunteers.

The Guidance Green Team

Nothing satisfies like a good dibble!

Jon tries his hand, or foot, at dibbling while son, Alex,
admires his technique.

Alex gets to the root of the mustard plant problem.

Steven between two freshly planted Oaks. Job well done
Everyone!

Green IT

Data center energy savings are a huge opportunity. Data centers consume more energy per square foot than any other part of an office building. But they're part of an information and services supply chain that begins with raw materials and ends with the disposal of waste. The chain includes people, the space they occupy, and the cars they drive. Along the way, the chain increasingly gobbles energy and spews greenhouse gases. The it department is in a unique position to change that. And therefore as per Gartner Green IT is in top 10 strategic technologies for 2008.


Please find some recommended resources for Green IT below:

• 5 Steps to Green IT
• Why it matters
• Green IT insight article