Column: Eight Ways to Save

Everyone wants to save money this year, which is good news for the planet. Here’s how you can save $600 in one year — just by being green!

1. Turn off the lights and unplug appliances. A little diligence will shave 15 cents a day off your electricity bill. For the year, save $50.
   
   
2. Keep your car tires inflated properly. For every 10˚ Fahrenheit the temperature drops, your tires lose about seven kilopascals. Add air in cold weather; bleed air in hot weather. Save $60.
   
   
3. Air dry your laundry. Drying a load of laundry requires about 14 megajoules of energy (60 cents worth of electricity). It’s free when you hang it to air dry. Save $75.
   
   
4. Compost kitchen scraps. Instead of paying to throw away your kitchen waste, create your own organic fertilizing compost. Save $20.
   
   
5. Set back your thermostat. Turn down the heat at night and when you leave the house — or better yet, invest in a programmable thermostat. Save $180.
   
   
6. Wash clothes in cold water. Washing in cold water saves more than replacing your washing machine. Heating hot water requires 24 megajoules of energy per load in an older machine, or 12 MJ in a new high-efficiency machine. But it’s zero MJ for cold water in either one. Save $100.
   
   
7. Install a low-flow shower head. Older shower heads use up to 10 gallons per minute. A 3.5 gpm efficiency standard was set in 1980 and raised to 2.5 gpm in 1994. A new 1.75 gpm fixture could save up to – liters of warm water per shower. Save $50.
   
   
8. Carpool, bicycle or walk. The IRS figures that gas, depreciation, insurance, etc. to drive a car one mile adds up to 50.5 cents. Once a week, skip a short trip by car. Save $65.

It’s a good feeling to save money. But it’s an even better feeling to save what money can’t buy.

As I save money being green, I imagine mountains standing intact, not mined for coal; streams running clear, not clouded with uranium tailings; air safe to breathe, not fouled by incinerators; and wilderness still unspoiled, not sacrificed for roads, wellheads and pipelines. So for our planet’s sake, start saving!

For more green ideas for saving money, and detailed calculations, visit www.FWHorch.com/gogreen.