Make Your Own Reusable Bag

A great site from Kroger where you can design your own reusable bag, enter it in a contest - even order one! Check it out: http://www.designareusablebag.com/design-a-bag/.

EH2ED Day 25: Tread Lightly

Use public transportation, carpool, walk, or bike whenever possible to reduce air pollution and save on fuel costs. Leaving your car at home just two days a week will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by an average of 1,600 pounds per year. If you can work from home, you'll reduce air pollution and traffic congestion - and save money.

EH2ED Day 24: Get a Mug Shot

Coffee may be an indispensable part of the day, but you can always get rid of disposable cups! Over its life span, a mug or travel mug will be used about 3,000 times, resulting in 30 times less solid waste and 60 times less air pollution than using the same number of take-out cups.

EH2ED Day 23: Take Up with Shady Characters

Plants not only lower greenhouse emissions and provide habitats for wildlife; they can also lower home energy costs. Trees with high canopies on the west side of your property will provide shade from the afternoon sun. Deciduous trees and vines are useful on your home’s southern side, providing foliage to shade against the summer sun while allowing light and warmth during the winter.

EH2ED Day 22: Don’t Top Your Tank:

When you “top off” your tank at the gas pump, most of that little bit of gas vaporizes and contributes to air pollution. You end up paying for that gas and don’t even get to use it! “Topping off” is also bad for the sensor in your gas tank.

EH2ED Day 21: eCycle it!

Take your old computer, DVD player, or other electronics to an electronics recycling center. Reusing and recycling materials like copper, gold, and others saves natural resources and reduces mining and processing. eCycling also helps avoid land, air, and water pollution by capturing and reusing hazardous substances such as lead or chromium.

EH2ED Day 20: Here’s the Poop!

You can help reduce polluted storm water runoff by just picking up your pet's poop and dispose of it properly. Leaving pet waste on the ground increases public health risks by allowing harmful bacteria or organic material to wash into the storm drain and eventually into local water bodies. So remember - always scoop the poop!

EH2ED Day 19: Think Global, Drink Local

Even though we have some of the best and safest tap water in the world, American buy 28 billion+ bottles of water a year. Manufacturing these bottles uses 50 million barrels of oil and produces up to three tons of CO2 a year. Drink tap water from a reusable bottle – you’ll save money and help protect the environment. Take a ook at my personal favorite: www.lovebottle.com.

EH2ED Day 18: Tune It Up for the Environment

So you own a plain-vanilla, nonhybrid, American-made gas guzzler and can't afford a hybrid. Now what? If you can boost your gas mileage from 20 to 24 m.p.g., your old heap will put 200 fewer pounds of CO2 into the atmosphere each year. Just giving your engine a tune-up can improve gas mileage 4% and often much more. Replacing a clogged air filter can boost efficiency 10%. And keeping tires properly inflated can improve gas mileage more than 3%.

EH2ED Day 17: Buy recycled-content paper!

Each ton purchased saves 4,000 kW-h of energy, 7,000 gal. of water and 17 trees, and a tree has the capacity to filter up to 60 lbs. of pollutants from the air.

EH2ED Day 16: Plant a row for the Hungry!

Backyard gardeners, plant an extra row in your and donate the extra harvest to a soup kitchen, food or hunger relief agency. Visit www.GroGood.com to take a pledge, obtain tips and techniques on how to grow an edible garden, and find information on local food agencies that accept fresh produce donations.

EH2ED Day 15: Pay Your Bills Online!

Eliminating your paper trail by banking and paying bills online does more than save trees. It also helps reduce fuel consumption by the trucks and planes that transport paper checks. If every U.S. home viewed and paid its bills online, the switch would cut solid waste by 1.6 billion tons a year and curb greenhouse-gas emissions by 2.1 million tons a year.

EH2ED Day 14: Get Out of Hot Water

Turn your hot water heater down by just ten degrees and knock off three to five percent from your power bill.

Make a Pet-Safe Carpet Deodorizer

Having a pet increases the odors in your home, especially on the carpets and upholstery they spend all day lounging on. While strongly scented carpet powders can most certainly help you get the smells outs, most store bought powers have all sorts of compounds in them you may not want your pets sniffing up. Fortunately over at the home design blog Re-Nest, they've shared a simple and pet-friendly alternative to store bought powders:

Baking soda is an ever-popular deodorizer and it's pet-safe. Crush up a handful of dry lavender and mix with a cup of baking soda, and sprinkle that over your carpet. If you'd like to use essential oils, mix a few drops of your favorite(s) in with baking soda (not enough to make it wet), and then break up any clumps and sprinkle that over your carpet.

Let it sit for a bit, vacuum it up, and you've got fresher and fido-friendly carpets. If you have your own pet-friendly cleaning tips, share them in the comments below.

EH2ED Day 13: Now You’re Really Cookin

Use the right-size pot on your burners. You’ll save energy and save about $36 annually for an electric range or $18 for gas.

EH2ED Day Twelve: Take the ENERGY STAR Pledge!

Help improve air quality, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and conserve resources in South Carolina! Take the ENERGY STAR Pledge at http://tinyurl.com/cv3aqn and join with millions of Americans who are taking small steps that make a big difference in the fight against global warming.

PepsiCo Tests Green Vending Machines

NEW YORK (Reuters) - PepsiCo Inc is testing greener vending machines, a move that helps the soft drink maker reduce its environmental footprint and gives businesses a little relief on their electric bills.

The test involving 30 machines in the Washington, D.C., area has just begun. Pepsi hopes to begin rolling them out worldwide over the next several years, said Robert Lewis, vice president of packaging and equipment development.

The new machines use 5.08 kilowatt-hours of energy per day, down about 15 percent from a nationwide average of 6 kilowatt-hours used by current machines. Current machines already use 44 percent less energy on average than the machines used six years ago.

"That was the equivalent of burning five 100-watt bulbs constantly," Lewis said, referring to the 2003-era machines. "We're currently down to about two 100-watt bulbs. They're not using a lot of energy as it is."

The new machines also emit about 12 percent less greenhouse gas, in part by keeping the drinks cool with carbon dioxide instead of the usual hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), which scientists say contribute to global warming.

The green machines, which have won the praise of Greenpeace, are the latest step PepsiCo is taking to promote its more environmentally friendly ways. Both PepsiCo and Coca-Cola Co have come under fire for issues such as using too much plastic, and have made changes such as making lighter bottles and conserving more water.

CUTTING COSTS

The new machines are more expensive than current equipment, Lewis said, but declined to say by how much.

PepsiCo, whose brands include Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Sierra Mist and Aquafina, currently has about 4 million to 5 million vending machines and coolers around the world.

Vending machines are typically owned and serviced by the company's bottlers, which share their revenue with the offices, schools and stores that house them. Therefore, those customers will not incur any charges for the new machines, yet will benefit from lower energy bills, Lewis said.

PepsiCo worked with Greenpeace Solutions, an arm of the large environmental organization, to develop the program.

Greenpeace Solutions Director Amy Larkin said PepsiCo was leading the way to improve a technology that people use every day but rarely think about.

"They're transforming the industry in a way that is going to be more climate-friendly to a great degree, so what can I do but applaud that," Larkin said.

While Pepsi's greener vending machines are the first in the United States, Unilever Plc's Ben & Jerry's ice-cream brand introduced coolers that use carbon dioxide, she noted.

Coca-Cola has introduced HFC-free vending machines in Britain, and used them at official venues at last year's Beijing Olympics.

EH2ED Day Eleven: Go Green at Work!

A greener workplace can mean a lighter ecological footprint, a healthier and more productive place to work, and good news for the bottom line

Midlands businesses can visit CPAC (http://www.coccpac.com/?pageid=12) for help sheets and other information, including our free Green Business membership program!

EH2ED Day Ten: Mow It the Green Way!

Instead of using a gasoline-powered mower, go for an electric model. Midlands residents can trade in their old mowers for a great discount on an electric one from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, April 18 at the Central Midlands Lawnmower Exchange.

ED2ED Day Nine: Turn Down the Boob Tube

Reduce the brightness of your TV screen and cut your TV's power consumption by 30-50%. The factory setting is often much brighter than necessary. If you have an LCD TV, you can usually turn down the backlight.

ED2ED Day Eight: Buy Local Produce

Buying your produce at your local farmer's market is a great way to go green because 1) it diminishes the eco-perils associated with long-distance transportation; 2) local growers use fewer pesticides and practice sustainable farming methods; and 3) local grown food generally involves far less packaging. And if you live in the Midlands, you're in luck: today is the last day of the Midlands Plant and Flower Festival, 12 to 5 p.m. at the State Farmers Market on Bluff Road.

ED2EH Day Seven: Visit the Library!

Instead of buying books, CDs, movies and magazines, borrow them! The library is free, local and eco-friendly! Imagine how many resources are saved when hundreds of people share one book from a central location!

EH2ED Day Six: Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

Leaving your car at home twice a week can cut greenhouse gas emissions by 1,600 pounds per year. Save up errands and shopping trips so you need to drive fewer times. If you commute to work, ask if you can work from home at least some days, and you'll reduce air pollution and traffic congestion - and save money.

EH2ED Day Five: What Size Is Yours?

Do you know your carbon footprint? Visit CPAC's Web site to figure out how big yours is and how you can reduce it: www.coccpac.com