Easily Green Your Daily Routine - 30 Tips

We can all do our part to protect the planet by using less and acting more. Going green is not as difficult as you might think. Here we walk through 30 easy ways to green our daily routine.

IN GENERAL:

• Plant a tree! One for every person on the planet – by the end of this year! 

• Find needy homes or charitable organizations for things that you no longer need or want rather than throwing it away.

DAILY ROUTINE:

AT HOME:

• It would seem to go without saying, but many of us forget that we can save water in simple ways like not letting the tap run while shaving, washing your face, or brushing your teeth.
• Insulating your water heater will help save valuable energy, and you can go the extra mile by installing showerheads with a low flow in your bathrooms for bathing purposes to help save water. You can also put a timer on your heaters to save power.
• Using an electric razor or hand razor with replaceable blades instead of disposable razors goes a long way to cutting back on waste. And plant a tree.
• Use towels for drying your face and hands instead of tissues that are used and thrown away. Also, hang your towels to dry so that they can be reused several times. You are after all clean when you use them!
• Juice or yoghurt lovers can do their bit by buying juice in concentrates and yoghurt in reusable containers instead of single serving packages.
• Many of us like to leaf through the paper as we munch on breakfast, but consider reading the dailies in communal spaces like the office or coffee shops. However, if you prefer to have your own copy, make sure you recycle!
• When packing your lunch, opt for reusable containers for food storage instead of wrapping the food with aluminum foil or plastic wrap.
• When deciding what you're going to eat for the day, go vegan(avoid using or consuming animal products)once a week. Many people may not know this, but raising animals for food generates a considerable amount of greenhouse gases!
• As you leave the house, don’t forget to switch off all the lights and appliances at the wall unit (if you have this feature) and unplug chargers as they continue to consume even if they are not charging; saving energy helps reduce air pollution.

GETTING TO WORK:

• Don’t go anywhere without your cloth bag so you can just say no to plastic whenever you shop.
• Radical as it may seem, in today’s “the easier the better” society, the easiest way to reduce your carbon footprint is by avoiding driving altogether. Power down and Instead try biking, walking, carpooling, public transport or an occasional telecommute.
• If you have no other choice than to drive to work, look for the most fuel- efficient car model for your next purchase and keep your tyres inflated to the correct pressure.

• If you’re one of the lucky few blessed with clear stretches of road on your way to work, use cruise control, as it saves fuel and also helps you maintain a constant speed.
• If you’re among the majority of drivers who spend their mornings stuck in traffic, consider turning your engine off if you will be idling for long periods of time. And plant a tree.
• For those who suffer from road rage, remember that aggressive driving lowers your mileage, so if you want to save on fuel and save the planet while you’re at it, accelerate gradually-- something to keep that in mind the next time that bad driver cuts you off! Just count to 10 and say the planet needs me!

AT WORK:

• Do you have a morning hot drink routine? Using a washable mug is an environmentally-friendly alternative to non-biodegradable styrofoam or plastic cups.
• Leave a cup and reusable bottle for water at work to eliminate buying drinks, which get served in plastic cups, or bottled water. 80% of plastic bottles are recyclable but only 20% are actually recycled.
• When you need a pad for lists and messages, turn over an old document and write on the back of that instead.
• If there isn’t an office recycling system, start one yourself! Recycling our trash actually contributes to reducing global warming emissions. And it is estimated that 75% of what is thrown in the trash could actually be recycled, though currently only 25% is.
• When you must have a paper copy, make sure you default your printer option to use both sides. This is an easy tree-saver!
• Most computer accessories like ink cartridges and CDs and DVDs are made of materials that could be reused. Computer cords and speakers are fairly standardized, meaning they can be used for a variety of computer models and makes.
• Lower your office’s carbon footprint by seeing computers, monitors, printers, copiers, speakers and other business equipment to their energy saving feature and turning them off at the end of the day. And plant a tree!
• Turning off all unnecessary lights, especially in unused offices and conference rooms is an easy way to save energy.
• If you’re in search of something to personalize your workspace, look no further than the humble houseplant. Houseplants are good for the environment because they remove quantities of pollutants present in the air.

AFTER A LONG DAY:

• In the summer/warmer months, consider using an interior fan in conjunction with your window air-conditioner to spread the cooled air more effectively through your home. While you’re at it, in winter, lower your thermostat and put on a jumper. In summer, increase it and wear lighter clothes, you will also save money!
• Don’t place lamps or TV sets near your air-conditioning thermostat as it senses heat from these appliances, which can cause the air-conditioner to run longer than necessary.
• When cooking dinner, match the size of the pan to the size of the heating element to lower energy wastage.
• When you are feeling at your laziest, don’t throw clean clothes in the hamper to avoid hanging them up! Wear jeans more than once…
• When you wash, use only eco-friendly products in your home. It’s best for you and the environment! And did we mention plant a tree! 

Ref: http://www.unep.org/

Steps for bringing down Road Accidents in India (2)

• Raising of lower age limit for two wheeler and Heavy Vehicle license to 21.
• Helmet should be made compulsory by law in all states, OR impose a lower speed limit for those who do not use helmet.
• Helmet should be made compulsory for back seat riders also
• Ensure that all Helmet users are fixing the Chinstrap of Helmet.Otherwise it will not help during an accident.
•  Ensure that ONLY good quality Helmets are available in the market.
• Strict enforcement of existing traffic rules.
• Law should be modified such that the person who made the accident has to bear (say) 0 to 10 % of the insurance claims, depending on severity of negligence. Also the compensations should be made very huge, making accidents unaffordable so that everyone will be very vigilant.
• All those who do not maintain the safe distance for the speed should be punished. 
• Safety awareness should begin from childhood, as it is difficult to impart awareness to a grown up a human. If safety awareness is imparted at childhood, safety will be a habit.
• Video / Computer Games that simulate Racing should be banned by Government OR discouraged by parents as it will develop racing habit in children.
• All sorts of Motor sports especially racing should be banned in India by government. Telecast of Motor Sports and Racing also should be banned.
• Racing and over speed / highly risky riding, driving by Heroes should not be filmed in cinemas and TV serials. Government should censor such scenes.
• Children below a certain age should not be permitted to do cycling in busy roads / roads where heavy vehicles are plying.

Decade of Action for Road Safety by WHO (3)

                                  The road safety tag was developed as the key visual identity for the Decade and is intended to unite efforts which take place in the context of the Decade. The aim is to encourage groups marking the Decade to “wear, believe, act” by wearing the tag and displaying it on advocacy materials for Decade-related events, reflecting on the impact of road traffic crashes and the possibilities for prevention, and taking action to ensure greater safety on the roads.

Decade of Action for Road Safety by WHO (2)

Launch of the Decade of Action for Road Safety

 

The Decade is a historic opportunity to offer Member States and their partners a framework for action which could ultimately save millions of lives. The vision is a world in which mobility is safe for all those who use the world’s roads. The alternative is grim: if no action is taken to address the current crisis, road traffic fatalities are forecast to rise from the current level of nearly 1.3 million deaths annually to more than 1.9 million by 2020. The goal of the Decade is to stabilize and then reduce the predicted number of lives that could be lost. WHO and the United Nations regional commissions, in cooperation with other partners in the United Nations Road Safety Collaboration and other stakeholders have developed a Global Plan for the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020 through an extensive consultation process including 
face-to-face discussions with the major stakeholders and public comment through the Internet. 

The Plan provides an overall framework for activities which could be implemented in countries over the Decade. 
Five major categories or “pillars” of activities are proposed: 

1. road safety management;  
2. safer roads and mobility;   
3. safer vehicles;  
4. safer road users; and 
5. postcrash response. 

The Plan also proposes indicators to measure progress in each of
these areas. Governments, international agencies, civil society organizations, the private sector and other stakeholders are invited to use the Plan as a guiding document for the events and activities they will support as part of the Decade.

Decade of Action for Road Safety by WHO (1)

Road Safety

Improving global road safety

Note by the Secretary-General
The Secretary-General transmits the report on improving global road safety, prepared by the World Health Organization in consultation with the United Nations regional commissions and other partners of the United Nations Road Safety Collaboration.

Introduction

1. Nearly 1.3 million people in the world die each year of road crashes, 

90 percent of them in low- and middle-income countries. 

Another 20 to 50 million people suffer serious injuries. 

Road traffic injuries are also the leading cause of death for people from 10 to 24 years of age. 

Significant numbers of road traffic fatalities and injuries can be prevented by addressing the leading causes, which include 

excess speed, 

• lack of seat-belt and 
• child restraint use, 
• drinking and driving, 
• lack of helmet use by riders on two-wheel and three-wheel motorized vehicles, 
• poorly designed and inadequately maintained roads, 
• unsafe infrastructure and vehicles, and 
• inadequate trauma care.

2. On World Health Day in 2004, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Bank jointly launched the World report on road traffic injury prevention, stressing the importance of road traffic injury prevention and making several recommendations on how countries can address the problem.