Earth Day Challenge

This Sunday, April 22, is Earth Day. A day dedicated since 1970 to mobilizing "people of all nationalities and backgrounds [to] voice their appreciation for the planet and demand its protection." I appreciate our planet, so for the occasion of Earth Day, I will blog all week about the "little" things you can do in your kitchen (and around the house) to save energy and water. Little things with a big impact!

I hope you will find these tips useful. I would love to hear about your own precious Earth-preserving tips. You can leave comments on this blog, on my Facebook page or on Twitter.

So let's get started...

Day 1—Introduction

Green Your Kitchen 
Over 20 percent of the energy used in the United States is consumed in residential houses¹. In addition, over 3.8 billion gallons of water are used in residences every day². If we combine our efforts, saving energy and water at home will have a huge positive impact on our environment.

This week's blog posts will help you reduce your energy and water consumption in the kitchen. You will learn how to measure your current consumption and how to perform simple upgrades, such as how to set your refrigerator temperature optimally. Additional tips will guide you in adopting environmentally friendly behaviors, such as unplugging your unused kitchen appliances.


Be green in 21 days — Washing your hands in cold water, turning off the water while washing the dishes, switching off the lights when you leave the kitchen, and recycling are small steps that will soon add up. New habits—good or bad—only take an average of 21 days to form³. If you can make a conscious effort to reduce your use of energy and water for three weeks, chances are you will keep behaving that way effortlessly for the rest of your life.

Five Upgrades You Can Perform in Minutes 

1. Set your refrigeration and freezer to the optimal temperatures 
2. Turn down your hot water temperature setting 
3. Reduce your faucet flow rate 
4. Use energy-efficient lighting 
5. Unplug unused electric appliances 

I will blog about these and other tips and resources in the coming days. Stay tuned...


Sources:
¹ U.S. Energy Information Administration, Annual Energy Review 2009
² U.S. Geographical Survey, Estimated Use of Water in the United States in 2005
³ Maxwell Maltz, Psycho-Cybernetics, 1960