Little things add up to big change!

1. Bring your own mug to the café.
   IMPACT: Every year, Americans drink more than 100 billion cups of coffee; of those, 14.4 billion are served in disposable paper cups ... enough to wrap the entire earth 55 times end-to-end! Source: www.ecofriendlycup.com
2. Bring reusable bags to the grocery store.
   IMPACT: If Californians cut their plastic bag waste in half,
   it would save over 2,000 barrels of oil a day – over 800,000 barrels a year – and keep 73,000 tons of rubbish out of our landfills.
3. Turn off lights, microwaves, or any other electric devices when you leave the room or house.
   IMPACT: You can save over ½ million pounds of greenhouse gas emissions every year by turning off your lights for an hour per day. Source: www.sustainability.uts.edu.au/toptentips.html#tip10
4. That funny looking light bulb can make a huge difference: Replacing one incandescent light bulb with an energy-saving compact fluorescent bulb means 1,000 pounds less carbon dioxide is emitted to the atmosphere and $67 dollars is saved on energy costs over the bulb's lifetime. Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Alliance to Save Energy
5. Power down: “For example, if all the world’s 1 billion PC’s were powered down for just one night – it would save enough energy to light up New York City’s Empire State Building – inside and out – for more than 30 years” Source: 1E Energy Awareness Campaign
6. Slow Down! Reducing your speed to 55 mph from 65 mph may increase your fuel efficiency by as much as 15 percent; cut it to 55 from 70, and you could get a 23 percent improvement. National Geographic Society, Green Guide
7. Eat Local Foods: In North America, fruits and vegetables travel an average of 1,500 miles before reaching your dinner table. Buy local whenever possible. National Geographic Society, Green Guide
8. Buy in Bulk: Packaging makes up a third of all garbage tossed in the U.S. To cut down on waste, avoid single-serving foods and beverages. Instead, buy items in bulk and portion them out into reusable containers. National Geographic Society, Green Guide. The American Association of Wine Economists estimates global greenhouse gas emissions from wine production and distribution to be 5,336,600 tons—roughly the same amount that one million passenger vehicles would emit in a year. What can you do? Buy bigger bottles or in bulk to cut back on the carbon spent for shipping. National Geographic Society, Green Guide
9. Plant a Tree: Trees help reduce greenhouse gases in the atmosphere by absorbing and storing carbon dioxide. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates that 100 billion metric tons of carbon over the next 50 years could be sequestered through forest preservation, tree planting and improved agricultural management. Chicago Tribune
10. Get a Reusable Water Bottle: Americans buy 28 billion single-serving plastic water bottles every year, and 80% of those end up in landfills, according to the Container Recycling Institute. Meeting the nation's demand for bottle water requires more than 1.5 million barrels of oil annually, enough to fuel 100,000 cars for a year, the Earth Policy Institute estimates. Chicago Tribune
11. Wash in Cold Water: Washing your clothes in cold or warm water instead of hot saves 500 pounds of carbon dioxide a year, according to climatecrisis.net. Drying your clothes on a clothesline six months out of the year would save another 700 pounds. Source: Chicago Tribune
12. Recycling aluminum saves energy: Creating a new aluminum can from scratch takes 95% more energy than making a can from recycled aluminum. Source: Earth911
13. Think before you toss: America is the queen of trash. Every day in the U.S., we produce enough trash to equal the weight of the Empire State Building. We throw away 2.5 million plastic bottles every hour, produce enough styrofoam cups annually to circle the earth 436 times and trash enough office paper to build a 12-foot wall form Los Angeles to New York City. We throw away 570 disposable diapers each second, and toss out enough aluminum cans to rebuild our commercial air fleet every three months. Each year we fill enough garbage trucks to stretch from Earth halfway to the moon. Source: http://webecoist.com
14. Recycle Your Cell Phone: In the United States alone, 120 million cell phones are thrown away each year. Recycle your cell phone at www.onemillioncellphones.com and the profits will be used to microfinance loans to the poor, not to mention saving the environment from harmful e-waste. One million cell phones recycled equals 350 trillion gallons of water saved from pollution and 100 thousand people helped.

1. Slow down – One of the best ways to save gas is to simply reduce your speed. As speed increases, fuel economy decreases exponentially. Try driving the speed limit for a few days; you will save fuel and not get to your destination much later.
2. Check your tire pressure – Under-inflated tires are one of the most commonly ignored causes of poor fuel economy.
• Tires lose air due to time (about 1 psi per month) and temperature (1 psi for every 10 degree drop); under-inflated tires have more rolling resistance, which means you need to burn more gas to keep your car moving.
• Get a reliable tire gauge and check your tires at least 1 time per month.
• Be sure to check when the tires are cold since driving the car warms up the tires and increases tire pressure.
• Proper tire pressure for your vehicle should be shown in the driver’s side door jamb.
3. Check your air filter – A dirty air filter restricts the flow of air into the engine, which harms performance and economy.Accelerate with care – Jack-rabbit starts are an obvious fuel-waster.
4. Accelerate moderately so the transmission can shift up into the higher gears.
• If you have a manual transmission, shift early to keep the revs down, but don’t lug the engine. Keep an eye well down the road for potential slowdowns.
• If you accelerate to speed and then have to brake right away, you are wasting fuel.
5. Remove excess weight from your car – Periodically clean out your car. It doesn’t take much to add extra weight to your car, and the more weight your vehicle has to move, the more fuel it burns.
6. Downsize – If you’re shopping for a new car, it’s time to re-evaluate how much car you really need. Smaller cars are inherently more fuel-efficient, and today’s cars are roomier than ever.
7. Use the cruise – driving at a constant speed will save fuel.
• Vehicles use considerably more fuel getting up to speed compared to keeping a vehicle moving at a constant speed.
• Even fluctuating your speed up and down on the highway by 10 mph will waste a considerable amount of fuel.
8. Don’t drive – Consider joining a carpool, vanpool, ride your bike or take public transportation.  

10 Ways to Save Water @ CCBC

1. Turn off faucets while washing hands or brushing teeth and save 4 gallons a minute.
2. Turn water off while shampooing/ conditioning your hair and save more than 50 gallons a week.
3. Drop tissues and other waste in the trash rather than toilet and save gallons each time.
4. Report leaks, dripping faucets, and running toilets.
• A dripping faucet wastes more than 600 gallons a year;
• A running toilet, more than 131,000 gallons.
• or Campus buildings, call Plant Operations at 443-840-xxxx.
5. Keep showers under 5 minutes. You'll save up to 1,000 gallons a month.
6. Wash full loads in dishwashers and washing machines. This could save up to 1,000 gallons a month.
7. Keep a pitcher of water in the refrigerator instead of running the tap for a cold drink.
8. Don't thaw food under running water.
9. Replace your shower head with a low flow version.
10. Make a conscious effort to do one thing every day at CCBC to conserve water.

Every drop counts!