The Sun Bay Paper Page 3 February 25, 2022 - March 3, 2022 A timeless tip but a good one: Always bring reusable bags to the grocery store. According to EarthShare, if you grocery shop once a week, in five years' time, you'll have prevented anywhere from 250 to 1,000 grocery bags from getting into the landfills. But why only bring reusable bags to the grocery store? Use them at the hardware store, when you shop for clothes or at any store where you can opt out of using a bag. And if you forget, ask if the store can put your items in a cardboard box -- there are usually lots in the back -- and put it in the recycling bin as soon as you get home. It's a well-known fact that houseplants are some of the best things to keep inside your home to purify the air. But having houseplants in every room of the house can be a little too much. Here's the good news: According to NASA, indoor plants absorb pollutants through their leaves and roots and make fresh air from it. In just 24 hours, they can remove 87 percent of the toxins in a room. So by moving houseplants room-toroom day by day, you can help purify the air throughout the whole house. Be sure they are placed in a sunny spot so they can thrive as you move them. For many of us, our computer is a necessary part of doing business. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, if every computer in the United States were switched to an Energy Star-approved model, we'd recoup about $1 billion in annual energy savings in just one year (and reduce greenhouse gas emission by 15 billion pounds). When shopping for new computer equipment, look for the Energy Star logo on desktops, laptops and small-scale servers to find the most energy-efficient models. Learn more at energystar.gov. EnergyStar Despite higher gas prices, it's always a good idea to maximize the fuel efficiency of your car whenever possible. One easy tip to improve your average miles per gallon is to take a look at your car's owner's manual. Find out what grade of motor oil is recommended; by using the recommended grade, you can improve your efficiency by 1 to 2 percent. Sometimes the recommended grade is actually the cheaper one! And always have your oil changed at a professional service station; all used motor oil is collected and recycled at a refinery. Recomended Grade Collecting rainwater on your own property is illegal in many states. In reality, yes, in about a dozen states, it is against the law. But you have to read the laws carefully to understand that it doesn't apply to smallscale collection at home. The laws simply require water rights permits when it comes to using public water supplies (like waterways), or when it becomes water collection that's done on a massive scale. But if you have a rainwater collection system that simply collects water for your own property use, not only is it perfectly fine, you may be eligible for tax credits for installing such a system. Legal in Florida Many of us are avoiding petroleum jelly-based products when it comes to skin care for everything from lip balms to body creams. We've nearly become experts when it comes to reading ingredients labels to avoid it. But some brands that use petroleum jelly -- a byproduct of the oil industry -- can get around listing petroleum jelly by calling it something else. When reading ingredient labels, be sure to also look for words like "paraffin," "petrolatum" or "mineral oil," which is basically the same thing as petroleum jelly. Danny Seo A Rose is a Rose Fluorescent tube lights are commonplace in commercial spaces, but also in laundry rooms and garages at home. While they do contain much less mercury than traditional CFL bulbs, they still have small amounts. Plus, as anyone who has replaced a tube light has probably witnessed, they are very easy to break. The good news is that LED technology has caught up with tube lighting. There are companies that are now creating LED tube lights that fit in the same fixtures, but have no mercury and last as much as 20 times longer. Search online to find suppliers. LED Tube Lights Moving Plants Reusable
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