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What are the State and Tax Incentives available for my business?
What are the Facts on Water and its consumption?
What are the best ways to start an Office Paper Recycling Program?
What are the best ways to Measure the Success of Office Paper Reduction?
How much can I save with a hand dryer versus a paper towel dispenser?
How can I save specifically on the electricity use for computers?
How should I dispose of old computers?
What are the details on my options for energy exterior office lighting?
What are the details on the energy saving for office equipment?
What is the breakdown on how much electricity my equipment uses?
What do I need to know about saving money on water consumption?
What can I do to increase my gas mileage while reducing emissions?
What are the benefits of commuting?
What are the (non) dirty details on an Electric Scooter?

What are the State and Tax Incentives available for my business?

State Incentives:

The Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency (DSIRE) is a comprehensive source of information on state, local, utility, and federal incentives that promote renewable energy and energy efficiency.

You can choose Renewable Energy, Energy Efficiency or both and then just click on your State to learn about the incentives. To see your options: Click Here (http://www.dsireusa.org)

Tax Deductions for Commercial Buildings:

A tax deduction of up to $1.80 per square foot is available to owners or designers of new or existing commercial buildings that save at least 50% of the heating and cooling energy of a building that meets ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2001. Partial deductions of up to $.60 per square foot can be taken for measures affecting any one of three building systems: the building envelope, lighting, or heating and cooling systems. These tax deductions are available for systems “placed in service” from January 1, 2006 through December 31, 2008. Extension of the incentives is subject to legislation.
For Details from the Energy Star website: Click Here (http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=products.pr_tax_credits#s8)
Tax Incentives for Renewable Energy:
The tax incentives that are designed to encourage energy efficiency include income, corporate, property, and sales incentives. Most are implemented through tax credits, allowances, and deductions. States often have expiration dates for their incentive plans. Most incentives last 5-10 years with an option to renew. In addition, some states limit the length of time the incentive is available after the installation or equipment purchase date.

Income Tax
Some states offer taxpaying residents a tax deduction from adjusted gross income, to cover the expense of conversion equipment that switches their main energy source from gas or electricity to renewable energy sources. Some states offer personal income tax credits up to a certain percentage or predetermined dollar amount for the cost or installation of renewable energy equipment. Allowable tax credit percentage rates vary between 5% and 40%. Available credit may be limited to a certain number of years following the purchase or installation of renewable energy equipment.

Corporate
Much like income tax incentives, corporate incentives allow corporations to receive credits ranging from 10% to 35% for the costs of equipment and related expenditures for renewable energy systems. Tax incentives also may be awarded to industrial and commercial corporations that provide energy savings or recycle waste. Some states allow the tax credit only if a corporation has invested a certain dollar amount in a given project. Examples of incentives include tax deductions for solar or wind space and water heating equipment, and deductions for any income received from royalties related to patents that encourage energy savings or alternative energy development.

Property
State property tax incentives are more frequently available than any other type of tax incentives for renewable energy. Tax incentives range from straightforward local property exemptions for renewable energy systems, to special assessment of property with value-added by a renewable energy source.

Sales
Sales tax incentives typically exempt purchases of renewable energy equipment from the sales tax.

For more details from the U.S. Department of Energy: Click Here (http://www.eere.energy.gov/states/alternatives/tax_incentives.cfm)

What are the State and Tax Incentives available for my business?

State Incentives:

You can choose Renewable Energy, Energy Efficiency or both and then just click on your State to learn about the incentives. To see your options: Click Here (http://www.dsireusa.org)

Tax Deductions for Commercial Buildings:

Sales
Sales tax incentives typically exempt purchases of renewable energy equipment from the sales tax.

For more details from the U.S. Department of Energy: Click Here (http://www.eere.energy.gov/states/alternatives/tax_incentives.cfm)

What are the Facts on Water and its consumption?

WATER FACTS:

Water covers nearly three-fourths of the earth's surface.
Most of the earth's surface water is permanently frozen or salty.
Over 90% of the world's supply of fresh water is located in Antarctica.
The earth's total allotment of water has a volume of about 344 million cubic miles.

Of this:

315 million cubic miles (93%) is sea water!
9 million cubic miles (2.5%) is in aquifers deep below the earth's surface.
7 million cubic miles (2%) is frozen in polar ice caps.
53,000 cubic miles of water pass through the planet's lakes and streams.
4,000 cubic miles of water is atmospheric moisture.
3,400 cubic miles of water are locked within the bodies of living things.

If all the world's water were fit into a gallon jug, the fresh water available for us to use would equal only about one tablespoon.
It doesn't take much salt to make water "salty." If one-thousandth (or more) of the weight of water is from salt, then the water is "saline."
Saline water can be desalinated for use as drinking water by going through a process to remove the salt from the water. The process costs so much that it isn't done on a very large scale. The cost of desalting sea water in the U.S. ranges from $1 to $16 per 1000 gallons.
The overall amount of water on our planet has remained the same for two billion years.
The United States consumes water at twice the rate of other industrialized nations.
1.2 Billion — Number of people worldwide who do not have access to clean water.
6.8 Billion — Gallons of water Americans flush down their toilets every day.
Each day almost 10,000 children under the age of 5 in Third World countries die as a result of illnesses contracted by use of impure water.
Most of the world's people must walk at least 3 hours to fetch water.
By 2025, 52 countries—with two-thirds of the world's population—will likely have water shortages.
The average single-family home uses 80 gallons of water per person each day in the winter and 120 gallons in the summer. Showering, bathing and using the toilet account for about two-thirds of the average family's water usage.
The average person needs 2 quarts of water a day.
During the 20th century, water use increased at double the rate of population growth; while the global population tripled, water use per capita increased by six times.
Water use in the United States alone leaped from 330 million gallons per day in 1980 to 408 million gallons per day in 1990, despite a decade of improvements in water-saving technology.
On a global average, most freshwater withdrawls—69%—are used for agriculture, while industry accounts for 23% and municipal use (drinking water, bathing and cleaning, and watering plants and grass) just 8%.
Water used around the house for such things as drinking, cooking, bathing, toilet flushing, washing clothes and dishes, watering lawns and gardens, maintaining swimming pools, and washing cars accounts for only 1% of all the water used in the U.S. each year.
Eighty percent of the fresh water we use in the U.S. is for irrigating crops and generating thermoelectric-power.
More than 87% of the water consumed in Utah is used for agriculture and irrigation.
Per capita water use in the western U.S. is much higher than in any other region, because of agricultural needs in this arid region. In 1985, daily per capita consumption in Idaho was 22,200 gallons versus 152 gallons in Rhode Island.
A corn field of one acre gives off 4,000 gallons of water per day in evaporation.
It takes about 6 gallons of water to grow a single serving of lettuce. More than 2,600 gallons is required to produce a single serving of steak.
It takes almost 49 gallons of water to produce just one eight-ounce glass of milk. That includes water consumed by the cow and to grow the food she eats, plus water used to process the milk.
About 6,800 gallons of water is required to grow a day's food for a family of four.
The average American consumes 1,500 pounds of food each year; 1,000 gallons of water are required to grow and process each pound of that food—1.5 million gallons of water is invested in the food eaten by just one person! This 200,000-cubic-feet-plus of water-per-person would be enough to cover a football field four feet deep.
About 39,090 gallons of water is needed to make an automobile, tires included.
Only 7% of the country's landscape is in a riparian zone, only 2% of which still supports riparian vegetation.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimate that 70% of the riparian habitat nationwide has been lost or altered.
More than 247 million acres of United States' wetlands have been filled, dredged or channelized—an area greater than the size of California, Nevada and Oregon combined.
Over 90% of the nearly 900,000 acres of riparian areas on Bureau of Land Management land are in degraded condition due to livestock grazing.
Riparian areas in the West provide habitat for more species of birds than all other western vegetation combined; 80% of neotropical migrant species (mostly songbirds) depend on riparian areas for nesting or migration.
Fully 80% of all vertebrate wildlife in the Southwest depend on riparian areas for at least half of their life.
Of the 1200 species listed as threatened or endangered, 50% depend on rivers and streams.
One fifth of the world's freshwater fish—2,000 of 10,000 species identified—are endangered, vulnerable, or extinct. In North America, the continent most studied, 67% of all mussels, 51% of crayfish, 40% of amphibians, 37% of fish, and 75% of freshwater mollusks are rare, imperiled, or already gone.
At least 123 freshwater species became extinct during the 20th century. These include 79 invertebrates, 40 fishes, and 4 amphibians. (There may well have been other species that were never identified.)
Freshwater animals are disappearing five times faster than land animals.
In the Pacific Northwest, over 100 stocks and subspecies of salmon and trout have gone extinct and another 200 are at risk due to a host of factors, dams and the loss of riparian habitat being prime factors.
A 1982 study showed that areas cleared of riparian vegetation in the Midwest had erosion rates of 15 to 60 tons per year.
One mature tree in a riparian area can filter as much as 200 pounds of nitrates runoff per year.
At least 9.6 million households and $390 billion in property lie in flood prone areas in the United States. The rate of urban growth in floodplains is approximately twice that of the rest of the country.
If all the water in the Great Lakes was spread evenly across the continental U.S., the ground would be covered with almost 10 feet of water.
One gallon of water weighs 8.34 pounds.

What are the best ways to start an Office Paper Recycling program?

The Seven Steps to Set up an Office Paper Recycling Program:
Beyond reducing the amount of paper used, many offices establish recycling programs to divert paper from the wastebasket. Office paper recycling programs are relatively easy to set up, especially if you follow these steps:

Step 1. Appoint a Recycling Coordinator
The first step in setting up a paper recycling program is to appoint a recycling coordinator. This person should do the necessary research; design the recycling program; implement and manage the program; and be a liaison between management, employees, and outside recyclers.

Specific responsibilities of the coordinator frequently include:
•Developing a plan of action with measurable goals and a feasible timetable.
•Representing and promoting the program to both management and employees.
•Obtaining management authorization to purchase needed equipment and supplies and for negotiating contracts with recyclers and brokers.
•Informing employees about the recycling system and their roles in the project.
•Working with haulers and recycling markets.
•Designing the collection system to be used.
•Identifying and ordering collection, storage, and equipment needs.
•Monitoring program results to identify and resolve problems.
•Listening to and evaluating feedback from management and employees.
•Reporting the results of the recycling program. It is only human nature to wan to know the SCORE, so make sure to let your team members know about the impact that they have made! Generally, businesses select one person to serve as recycling coordinator, although several
individuals are likely to help in overall planning and implementation. The initial efforts may necessitate that the recycling coordinator spend considerable time away from normal job assignments. Once the program is established, time demands will decrease and stabilize

Step 2. Determine What is Recyclable
Learn what types and quantities of paper are in the office waste stream.

Step 3. Identify the Markets
Contact potential recycling markets. Determine the recyclers’ prices and services. Learn about restrictions on contaminants and establish an acceptable schedule for pickup. Seek outside technical assistance from
consultants, waste haulers, local and state government, and local recycling businesses to
help you with terminology, pricing, and markets.

Step 4. Design the Recycling Program
In cooperation with management and employees, design the recycling program. As part of this step, the coordinator should target specific paper grades for recycling, identify the types of containers needed and identify the program’s personnel requirements. The coordinator should also be prepared to “sell” the
program to management and employees. Most office paper recycling systems follow a
three-part process:

Employees put paper into recycling containers. These recycling containers may be at employee desks and/or in more centralized locations.
Custodial personnel transport paper from recycling containers to recycling dumpsters at the building’s loading dock or waste area.
A designated hauler empties the recycling dumpsters and hauls the paper to a recycling facility.

There are many variations within this basic approach. Some offices have employees transfer paper from desktop to centralized containers. Other offices have custodial personnel empty desktop containers as well as centralized containers. Since most office waste is paper, some offices further encourage recycling by limiting trash containers.
Other office paper recycling tips include:

Step 5. Implement the Program
The keys to successful program implementation are acceptance, education, and promotion. To
encourage and maintain participation, consider the following:
•Send a “kickoff” email memo, signed by top management to all employees and part-time staff members. The memo should explain the program’s operating procedures and
indicate that program success depends upon full cooperation of all employees. Consider adding a note at the bottom of the email that is an example for everyone to use in their signature, like “Consider the environment before printing this email.”

Fact Sheet
•Hold meetings with management and all relevant employees to explain program objectives and operating procedures. Answer questions about the program and explain how recycling will benefit the company and its staff. Provide literature explaining the need for resource conservation, waste reduction, and an end to throw-away habits. Solicit employee volunteers to help watch for contamination in recycling bins.
•Place posters throughout the facility explaining operating procedures for recycling. Include the name and telephone number of the recycling coordinator so that questions can be easily addressed.
•Consider prepare an article on the recycling program for the company website as part of an “Environmental Policy” section and or email newsletter. You may find that this type of brand differentiation helps to retain and attract additional staff, customers, clients, and strategic partners.

Step 6. Monitor the Program
The coordinator should observe operating procedures, watching for undesired contaminants in recycled paper collection containers. Educate new employees. As the recycling practices become ingrained in most employees, the program will proceed smoothly.

Step 7. Follow-up
The recycling coordinator should start gathering quantity data when the first pick-up of recycled paper is made. Maintain a log of pounds of recycled materials shipped from the facility and monies received for the materials. Publicize this information on bulletin boards and/or in the office or company newsletter so that both management and employees will know how the program is progressing.

What are the Ways to Measure the Success of Office Paper Reduction?

Paper is the number one item used and wasted in offices. Making before and after comparisons is at the heart of learning how many resources and how much money you are saving.

Why Measure?
Measuring success provides you with information to help promote your program and find ways to improve it. Top management, shareholders, employees, and customers will learn how your organization is eliminating waste, saving money, and helping the environment. Activities to Measure: What you measure depends on the paper saving and recycling activities your organization uses. The most common activities are:
Reducing images printed or photocopied by use of routing slips, e-mail, electronic faxing, viewing online, current and shorter mailing lists, and reducing print overruns.

Increasing the amount of duplex (two-sided) copying and printing.
Reducing page sizes or weight.
Reusing paper by making scratch pads from paper used only on one side.
Conducting employee awareness campaigns.
Collecting paper for recycling.
Buying recycled paper.

It’s as Easy as One, Two, Three…

Establish a baseline—measure "before scenario."
Start the activity you are trying to measure.
Determine impact of change—measure the "after scenario" and make comparisons to baseline.

Baseline Measurement
Baseline measurements are used to gauge success and are extremely important. It is much easier to collect this information before you implement change, rather than trying to find it later!

A baseline may include several months or even years of tracking. The type of information collected depends on what change you are trying to measure and your need for accuracy. Usually there is a trade-off between the degree of accuracy and how much effort it takes to make the measurement. In many cases, a reduction of two or three percentage points could be within the margin of error in measuring waste generation. Compensate by measuring over long time periods (e.g., fiscal year, same month in different years). Methods are discussed below.

After establishing a baseline, implement the change you want to measure, then revisit the numbers. Perhaps you have identified new benefits or problems to track. Finally, create the "after scenario" and determine the benefits and costs of the change you are measuring.

Types of Measurements
Here are a few types of measurements you may want to consider taking:

Paper measurements. Reduction in paper purchased, increase in paper collected for recycling, increase in paper purchased with recycled content, reduction in waste generated.
Financial measurements. Savings in purchasing costs, printing costs, postage, handling and transportation costs, disposal costs, total annual savings, payback periods (if equipment purchased). Remember to include any labor costs associated with your program.
Customer and employee satisfaction.
Reduction in errors and lost records.
Storage needs.
Amount of resources saved (energy, water, trees, etc.).

This fact sheet focuses on how to measure overall paper reduction, paper reduction from duplexing, and efforts to buy more recycled paper.
Paper Basics
The most common office paper is 20-lb white ledger. You will probably just want to measure 20-lb paper, unless your office uses significant amounts of other paper types.

Measuring Paper-Saving Activities
Below are two methods for measuring paper reduction. Use the first one if you want an overall measurement from combined activities. The second method is for measuring paper reduction from duplexing. Do not sum your results from the two methods or you will be double counting!

Table A: White Office Paper Basic: 20-lb paper
	Weight	Volume	Number of Sheets	Cost (dollars)
One (non-metric) ton (2,000 lbs.)	1 ton	4.33 cu yd	200,000	$600 - $1,000
One case (10 reams/case)	50 lb.		5,000	- $25
One ream	5 lb.		500	- $2.5
One sheet	.16 oz		1	$.003 - $.005
One foot stack of unused paper			3,000
Postage for extra ounces of first class mail
$/ounce				$.23
$/ ton			200,000	$7,000
$/extra sheet			1	$.035
Disposal for one ton (assume $25/cu yd)				$110

Method 1: Overall Paper Reduction

This method enables you to measure the impact of your combined paper reduction activities (e.g., duplex copying, electronic mail, electronic reports, policy to allow handwritten corrections, etc.). You can also use the equation that follows to calculate paper conserved through employee education.
To calculate your organization’s overall paper reduction, follow the steps outlined below:

Determine the amount of paper used (company-wide or by department) prior to starting your paper reduction efforts. You can do so by examining paper purchasing records for the previous year. Alternatively, review records of paper distributed to various departments or floors, if available.
Track the amount of paper used after the corporate policy or education efforts. You can do so through purchasing records or by tracking paper use at a paper distribution point over a representative period of time.

How much can I save with a hand dryer versus a paper towel dispenser?

How can I save specifically on the electricity use for computers?

Since computers play an increasing role in our work and personal lives, energy demands, costs, and waste are escalating dramatically. Consider the following:

An average desktop computer requires 85 watts just to idle, even with the monitor off. If that computer were in use or idling for only 40 hours a week instead of a full 168, over $40 in energy costs would be saved annually.
One computer left on 24 hours a day costs you between $115 and $160 in electricity costs annually while dumping 1,500 pounds of CO2 into the atmosphere.
A tree absorbs between 3 and 15 pounds of CO2 each year. That means up to 500 trees are needed to offset the annual emissions of one computer left on all the time!
If each household in a region the size of the metro Boston area turned off its computer for just one additional hour per day, it would save $3.2 million in electricity costs and prevent 19,000 tons of CO2 from heating the atmosphere.
Electricity production is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, ahead of transportation.
In a typical desktop computer, nearly half the power coming out of the wall is wasted and never reaches the processor, memory, disks, or other components.
The added heat from inefficient computers can increase the demand on air conditioners and cooling systems, making your computing equipment even more expensive to run.
Even though most of today’s desktop computers are capable of automatically transitioning to a sleep or hibernate state when inactive, about 90 percent of systems have this function disabled.
Some 25 percent of the electricity used to power home electronics—computers, DVD players, stereos, TVs—is consumed while the products are turned off.

Myth Busters:

1. You should never turn off your computer.
Your computer is designed to handle 40,000 on/off cycles. If you are an average user, that’s significantly more cycles than you will initiate in the computer’s five-toseven- year-life. When you turn your computer off, you not only reduce energy use, you also lower heat stress and wear on the system.

2. Turning your computer off and then back on uses more energy than leaving it on.
The surge of power used by a CPU to boot up is far less than the energy your computer uses when left on for more than three minutes.

3. Screen savers save energy.
This is a common misconception. Screen savers were originally designed to help prolong the life of monochrome monitors. Those monitors are now technologically obsolete. Screen savers save energy only if they actually turn off the screen or, with laptops, turn off the backlight.

4.Network connections are lost when computers go into low-power/sleep mode.
Newer computers are designed to sleep on networks without loss of data or connection. CPUs with Wake on LAN (WOL) technology can be left in sleep mode overnight to wake up and receive data packets sent to the unit.

Saving your money and the planet one computer at a time:

When Buying…
Purchase an Energy Star–compliant computer. Note that laptop models use much less energy than desktop units. Purchase flat-screen monitors—they use significantly less energy and are not as hard on your eyes as CRTs. Look for surge protectors with a master control outlet, which automatically senses when the computer is not in use and cuts power to it and all your peripherals. Consider a smaller monitor—a 14-inch display uses 40 percent less energy than a 17-inch one. Look for products like APC SurgeArrest with 7 or 11 Outlets includes Power-Saving Essential technology
www.buy.com

When Operating…
Review document drafts and e-mails onscreen instead of printing them out. Save electricity and paper. E-mail communications as an alternative to paper memos and fax documents. Choose dark backgrounds for your screen display—bright-colored displays consumer more power. Reduce the light level in you are working on your computer. Overall, plan your computer-related activities so you can do them all at once, keeping the computer off at other times.

When you’re not using the computer…
Power off your monitor when you are not using it instead of using screen savers. Screen savers do not save energy or your screen unless you’re using an old monochrome monitor. Turn off all printers and peripherals unless
you are using them. Do not leave the computer running overnight or on weekends. Enable the standby/sleep mode and power management settings on your computer. Plug your computer into a surge protector with a master control outlet, which automatically senses when the computer is not in use and cuts power to it and all your peripherals. Turn off your computer at night so it runs only eight hours a day—you’ll reduce your energy use by 810 kWh per year and net a 67 percent annual savings.

When Printing…
Consider using an ink-jet printer—although a bit slower than laser printers, inkjets use 80 to 90
percent less energy. Buy vegetable or non-petroleum-based inks—they are made from renewable resources,
require fewer hazardous solvents, and often produce brighter, cleaner colors. Network and share printers where possible. Print on recycled-content paper. Look for non-chlorine bleached papers with 50 to100 percent post-consumer waste. Use double-sided printing functions.

The Phantom ‘Vampire’ Power Drain
In your office or home when your computer, plasma TV, or stereo is off, you probably think it is using as little power as possible. These devices have high standby power use. What’s more, all of the peripherals connected to your computer—
printer, monitor, USB hub, scanner, DSL/cable modem, etc.—continue to consume “idle current” as well. There may be as many as 20 devices drawing standby power in your home. These include any device with a remote control and external power supply (or adapter), permanently illuminated digital displays and LEDs, and many new larger appliances, such as air conditioners and refrigerators. Given the different size of offices the averages are less accurate than for home. To give you some perspective, According to the Department of Energy, “vampire energy loss” represents between 5 and 8 percent of a single family
home’s total electricity use per year. On average, that equals one month’s electricity bill. Taken across the United States, it adds up to at least 68 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually—that’s the equivalent output of 37 typical electricity-generating power plants, costing consumers more than $7 billion. The result of all this wasted energy? More than 97 billion pounds of carbon dioxide seeping into the atmosphere each year. On a global scale, standby energy accounts for 1 percent of the world’s carbon emissions, according to Alan Meier of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California.

Three Things to Remember:
1. About 25 percent of the electricity used to power home electronics is consumed when the devices are turned off.

2. It takes less energy to boot up a computer than it does to leave it running for more than 3 minutes.

3. Plug functionally related electronics into a surge protector (or UPS) that features a master outlet/controlled outlet technology to avoid vampire energy use. Example: Plug a computer into the master outlet and the peripherals (printer, speakers, etc.) into the controlled outlets. When the computer powers down, the master outlet automatically shuts off power to the peripherals.

Look for products like APC SurgeArrest with 7 or 11 Outlets includes Power-Saving Essential technology. To Learn More and Check Pricing: Click Here
(www.buy.com

Also look for energy efficient Back Up Drives. The APC Back-UPS ES now incorporates a variety of features to make it the "greenest" battery backup in its class. To Learn More and Check Pricing: Click Here

www.buy.com

How should I dispose of old computers?

A recent study by the EPA shows that electronics make up approximately 1 percent of the municipal solid waste stream. Research completed in Europe shows that electronics waste is growing at three times the rate of other municipal waste. Clearly, an essential part of green computing includes proper disposal of components that you
no longer use.

In a 2006 report, the International Association of Electronics Recyclers projects that with the current growth and obsolescence rates of the various categories of consumer electronics, approximately 3 billion units will be scrapped during the rest of this decade, or an average of 400 million units a year.
Gartner has estimated that 133,000 personal computers are discarded by U.S. homes and businesses each day.
Each year 130 million cell phones are retired.
According to the EPA, we generated 2.6 million tons of e-waste in the U.S. in 2005, or 1.4 percent of total discards. Of this amount only 12.6% was recycled.
About 68 percent of consumers stockpile used or unwanted computer equipment in their homes.

Share your old Computers if they still work.
If your old computer is less than five years old, chances are someone else can put it to good use. Donating electronics for reuse extends the life of valuable products and keeps them out of the waste management system.
Schools, non-profit organizations, and lower-income families are ideal candidates. You may also be able to
take advantage of tax incentives for computer equipment donations. Remember that a functional, complete system, including monitor, wiring, printer, and software licenses, is preferable to a non-working, incomplete setup. Chances are, your recipient may not have the resources or expertise to make good use of a single component.

Resources to help me find a suitable recipient?
Here are three organizations that can provide information on donating your computer:
Goodwill Industries: Many Goodwills accept computer donations to help individuals with disabilities and other
disadvantages upgrade their job skills and enter the workforce. www.goodwill.org
Materials Exchange: Many materials exchanges accept electronics. You’ll find a state-by-state listing at this site.
www.epa.gov/jtr/comm/exchstat.htm
Reuse Development Organization (ReDO): ReDO is a non-profit

Responsibly dispose of non functioning Computers.
If your computer cannot be reused, recycling it is your next waste management option. Recycling electronics avoids pollution and the need to extract valuable and limited virgin resources. It also reduces the energy used in new product manufacturing. Contact your city or town to see if it offers computer and electronics collections as part
of household hazardous waste services, or if there is a recycling drop-off center in your area. Also, check with TV repair shops, charitable organizations, an electronics recycling company, or even local electronics retailers—they may be your best option for recycling. To find an electronics recycling organization in your area, visit the following web site: EIA Consumer Education Initiative (CEI): This site will help you find environmentally responsible options for donating and recycling electronics in your community. www.eiae.org

What are the details on my options for energy exterior office lighting?

Energy Efficient Outdoor Lighting

IDA Information Sheet No. 52 (April 1992)

The efficient and effective use of electrical lighting outdoors can offer major energy and cost savings. This information sheet suggests some of the things that can be done. Most of the suggestions apply to indoor lighting as well, where they also offer significant savings.
There are several clear cut measures that can be taken to improve energy savings. New, much improved light sources are now available which provide considerable more light per unit of energy. Most newer fixtures offer better light control, putting light where it is needed rather than wasting a great deal of the light produced by the lamp. Replacement of older fixtures and lamp[s with the newer, improved ones can greatly improve efficiency.
Lamp efficiency is measured in lumens per watt. A lumen is a unit for measuring the amount of light; a watt is a unit for measuring the amount of electrical energy used. The lamp that gives the most lumens per watt is the most efficient lamp. The table below lists the lighting efficiency of some of the common lamps used for outdoor lighting:

Type of Lamp	Lumens per watt	Average Lamp Life (hours)
Incandescent	8 - 25	1000 - 2000
Mercury Vapor	13 - 48	12000 - 24000+
Fluorescent	33 - 77	10000 - 24000
Metal Halide	60 - 100	10000 - 15000
High Pressure Sodium	45 - 110	12000 - 24000
Low Pressure Sodium	80 - 180	10000 - 18000

Incandescent: It is the most common type of lamp used in homes, indoors and outdoors. It is the most energy inefficient of the common lamp types. It produces light by electrical energy heating a filament of fine wire that glows white-hot when the current flows through it. It produces a great deal of heat relative to the amount of light, only 10 percent of the energy goes to producing light. It has been called a heat source that happens to produce some light at the same time. The 40 watt bulb is often adequate for most lighting applications, such as a porch light, especially if it is used in a fixture that actually controls the light output rather than scattering it everywhere. Many of the existing fixtures are very inefficient and waste a good deal of the light (remember that the lamp is inefficient too). Replace incandescent lamps with more energy efficient lamps in good fixtures. One can use the mini-fluorescent lamps in an efficient fixture, or for even more efficiency use a low wattage LPS lamp in a well shielded fixture. Consider also time clocking and incandescent fixtures as mentioned below.

Mercury Vapor: It is commonly used for a number of outdoor applications, such as "security" lighting, as well as indoors for some applications. It has a relatively long life compared to most other lamps,, expecially compared to incandescent. These lamps are a quartz tube filled with mercury gas under pressure. Light is produced when an electric current passes through the mercury vapor. Like all such high intensity discharge (HID) lamps, a "ballast" is required to start and to operate the lamps at the correct voltage and current levels. For savings, one can and should use the lowest possible wattages for the application. Many of the existing fixtures have a great deal of associated glare due to lack of adequate light control. With a good fixture, less light is wasted and lower wattages can be used. In a glare free lighting environment, remarkable low light levels still give excellent visibility. It is in the high glare areas, even with much higher levels of lighting, that we have difficulty seeing well at night. When replacements are indicated, one should replace not only the lamp but the fixture. Use a more efficient light source, such as MH, HPS, or LPS, and use a high quality fixture, on that controls the light output to the areas needed and one that is glare free. A cost analysis study will show remarkable energy saving potentials.

Fluorescent: These are about four times as efficient as incandescent lighting. They are commonly used for indoor applications. Energy savings are possible here by using lower wattage lamps (using more efficient lamps T-8, for example), disconnecting ore removing some of the fixtures (ballasts must be disconnected too, rather than just removing the lamp), replacing the existing ballasts with more energy efficient ones (electronic, solid state, or energy savings ballasts), or redoing the entire lighting system with more energy efficient fixtures.

Metal Halide (MH): These lamps are used for both outdoor and indoor applications. They are currently the most energy efficient of the "white light" sources. They produce light when an electric current flows through the gas within the lamp envelop. They are about twice as efficient as mercury lamps. Use this light source at night when it is necessary to render colors closely to what they would appear in the daytime. As with all light sources, one should not use more wattage than is necessary for the application. "More light" is not always better. In many applications, such overkill is counterproductive to visibility, especially if it is also producing glare.

High Pressure Sodium (HPS): Its main usage is outdoors, for street lighting, parking lot lighting, and other such applications. It is more energy efficient than metal halide and is a good choice when true color is not critical. The light output is an orange-gold color. It's a very commonly used throughout the U.S.

Low Pressure Sodium (LPS): This light source is the most energy efficient of all, and it is an excellent choice when used with a quality fixture that controls the light output. The light is produced from glowing sodium gas within a tube, and so the LPS fixtures is an excellent choice for street lighting, parking lots, and security lighting. There is no color rendering at all, but adequate color rendering is quite possible with system designs that also use a few MH or florescent fixtures to improve color rendering. For example, in equivalent fixtures (ones that offer good light control), a 175 watt mercury vapor fixture could be replaced by a 100 watt HPS or a 55 watt LPS. The 35 watt LPS is equivalent to a 200 watt incandescent. It is easy to see that considerable energy saving is possible. Remember also that if the installation is glare free, a low level of overall lighting offers excellent visibility. More is not always better.

Lighting controls: Controlling when and where the lights are used, how long they are on, and how bright they are all can be a major factor in conserving energy. Devices range from a simple on/off switch to computers programed to activate light automatically. Turn light off when not needed. Use individual controls rather than lighting large areas off of one switch. Use timers. Don't burn outdoor lights in the daytime. Use photo-sensors when possible. Some of the newer applications use motion sensors for room light control, and such systems are also feasible for outdoor applications.
Finally, don not forget lamp and fixture maintenance as a factor. Keep the fixture clean from dust and dirt. Such contamination can reduce light output in some cases up to 50 percent.

Example of Cost Comparison: (Assume that a well designed fixture is being used in these cases, so that the light output by the lamp is not wasted by an inefficient fixture. A bad fixture could be wasting more than 50 percent of the lamp's light.) Compare a 175 watt mercury (These are generally found in poor fixtures!) to a 100 watt HPS and a 55 watt LPS lamp. All of these lamps are outputing about 8000 lumens, quite a lot of light. They are wattages that would commonly be used for residential street lighting. We assume 4100 burning hours per year, from dusk to dawn, and 8 cents (U.S.A.) cost per kilowatt-hour (KWH) of use. The total wattage of the system includes the wattage used by the lamp and the ballast together. It is easy to see the potential saving gained with efficient lamps.

Lamp Wattage	Total Wattage	KWH Use/Yr	Oper $/Yr	100 lamps	10000 lamps
175	208	853	$68.22	$6822	$682,200
100	130	533	42.64	4264	426,240
55	80	328	26.24	2624	262,400

What are the details on the energy saving for office equipment?

Office equipment is the fastest growing electrical load in the business sector. With the widespread use of desktop computers, printers and other devices, an office can have hundreds of units and the energy costs can add up. Energy use from office equipment has surpassed lighting in many buildings where office equipment and miscellaneous loads can account for up to 2.5 Watts per square foot of floor space while lighting only makes up 1.5 Watts. In a recent study by APS, office equipment and other miscellaneous uses accounted for over 40 percent of electricity consumption in large office buildings with most of that by office equipment1. Since office equipment accounts for an increasingly large share of the electricity bill, it is important to consider energy use characteristics when you are shopping for new equipment. By purchasing the most efficient products, the electric bill will be reduced, adding to the bottom line. Energy-efficient offices help to protect the environment as well.

How Much Does Office Equipment Cost to Run?

Computers, printers, fax machines and copiers consume energy even while they are not in use. The following table provides a summary of typical electrical power requirements and annual energy use for common office equipment. The table compares the annual energy cost of equipment that is turned off at night and over the weekends and equipment that is left on round the clock. By multiplying these values by the number of devices in your office you can get an estimate of
how much money is spent on electricity to power these devices, and how much more it costs to leave them on all the time.

Typical Power Requirements and Energy Use of Office Equipment

A: Equipment Typical Power Requirements (Watts)

B: Annual Energy Cost – Off at Night

C: Annual Energy Cost – On 24 Hours/Day

Equipment:	A	B	C
Computer	55	$9	$39
Monitor (15”)	75	$12	$54
Laser Printer	60	$14	$44
Fax Machine	35	$9	$27
Copier (small)	115	$30	$83
Copier (large)	310	$80	$224

Characteristics of Energy-efficient Office Equipment
Energy-efficient office equipment has been developed and promoted through a partnership between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the office equipment manufacturing industry. The ENERGY STAR Office Equipment Program promotes and labels energy-efficient computers, monitors, printers, fax machines, scanners, copiers and multi-function devices. This energy-efficient equipment automatically powers down when not used for a period of time and can be recognized by looking for the familiar ENERGY STAR label. With ENERGY STAR equipment, energy use can be reduced by 50 percent or more. This also helps reduce the load on air conditioning equipment and it helps to protect the environment. The power management features of different types of office equipment are summarized below.

Computers and monitors – Because of their large numbers, computers are the largest energy consumers among office equipment. ENERGY STAR computers and monitors automatically power down when not in use and are available from almost every manufacturer. Both computers and monitors power down to about 15 percent of their maximum power
usage. If you use screen savers make sure they are compatible with your computer’s power management features, as many will actually prevent your computer from going into the power-saver mode. It may also be necessary to make sure that the power saving features are enabled on your computers and that you have the power-down time set to an acceptable level for your operation. Energy Star computers and monitors save about 50 percent on electricity costs.

Printers – Energy-efficient printers also benefit from power management technology which puts them into low power mode after a pre-determined period of inactivity. ENERGY STAR printers power down to 15 to 45 Watts or less depending on the type of printer, and can save over 60 percent on annual energy costs. Printers with double-sided printing capability are more energy efficient and also help reduce paper costs.

Fax machines – Because fax machines need to be available 24 hours a day, they have a huge potential for power saving technology, they also power down to 15 to 45 Watts or less when not in use, and can save over 50 percent on annual energy costs. While fax machines save energy by going into low power mode during periods of non-use, they still receive faxes at any time.

Copiers – Copiers are the most energy intensive pieces of office equipment. They take a lot of energy to keep warm so the toner can fuse to the paper. Energy consumption can be quite high, even when not in use. ENERGY STAR copiers are equipped with power saver features that allow them to go to low-power mode after 15 minutes of inactivity and to an offmode of five to 20 Watts after two hours of inactivity. This ensures that the equipment is off in the evening and weekends.
These features can reduce annual electricity costs by up to 60 percent. Copiers with double-sided or duplex copying also help to save energy and reduce paper costs.

How Much Can I Save with Energy-efficient Office Equipment?

The following table provides an estimate of the savings that can be achieved with ENERGY STAR rated office equipment. The savings can be dramatic. Multiply these values by the number of devices in your office to estimate how much money could be added to the bottom line with energy-efficient office equipment.

Energy Cost Savings with ENERGY STAR Office Equipment

A: Annual Energy Cost Savings – Off at Night
B: Annual Energy Cost Savings – On 24 Hours

Equipment	A	B
Computer	$2	$20
Monitor (15”)	$4	$40
Laser Printer	$4	$25
Fax Machine	$3	$15
Copier (small) --	$50
Copier (large) --	$140

How Much More Does Energy-efficient Office Equipment Cost?

Because so many manufactures have joined the ENERGY STAR program, power saving features have become nearly standard on many types of equipment. As a result energy-efficient equipment often costs no more than standard efficiency. Ask for ENERGY STAR rated products and how they compare to the other brands of non-rated equipment they offer.

Other Tips for an Energy-efficient Office
Here are a few other tips and things to watch for in making the office an energy-efficient operation. Power management features reduce energy consumption, but energy is still used in the power down mode. For
greatest savings, turn equipment off at the power source when not in use overnight or on weekends. Plug-in timers automatically turn equipment off at the power sources at certain times of day. They are especially useful for copiers and printers. For copiers, be sure to check with the equipment supplier to find out if the copier needs to remain on
continuously.

If the computer must be left on at night and weekends, save energy costs by turning off the monitor. Turn the monitor off if the computer will not be used for a half-hour or so. Monitors typically use more energy than the computer itself.
Power-saver features need to be set up by the user on many products. Check the setup when you install new equipment and periodically to ensure that the power-saver functions are still working.
Screen savers do not save energy. Their purpose is to extend the useful life of the screen and avoid images being “burned” into the screen. Make sure the screen saver is compatible with the power management features of the computer and that the settings allow the unit to go into the power saver mode.
Laser printers consume more energy than inkjet printers. Color printers use more energy than black and white.
Liquid crystal displays use less energy than conventional monitors.
Laptops draw about one-tenth the power of a conventional desktop computer. You can connect a laptop computer to a conventional monitor and still save almost half the energy of a standard computer.

What is the breakdown on how much electricity my equipment uses?

The math of electricity:

Annual Energy Use = (# of watts) X (hours used per day) X (days per year) / 1,000 = kilowatt hours (kWh)
Approximate Cost = ___kilowatt hours X ($1.12 to $.18 per kWh depending on your region and utility company)

Examples of energy consumption and costs: (Where do you stand with your staff?)

Scenario #1: (most wasteful)
Light: 100 watts, 40 hours/week, 50 weeks/year	$36.00
Computer ON 24 hours: 350 watts, 24 hours/day, 365 days/year	$575.00
Computer Monitor ON 24 hours: 300 watts, 24 hours/day, 365 days/year	$473.00
TOTAL:	$1,084

Scenario #2: (US average)
Light: 100 watts, 40 hours/week, 50 weeks/year	$36.00
Turn monitor OFF at night: 300 watts, 10 hours/day, 250 days/year ($338 Saved)	$135.00
Computer-Sleep Mode: 350 watts, 7 hours/day, 365 days/year ($414 Saved)	$161.00
TOTAL:	$332

Note: By turning off the power at night on a power strip, you can save an additional 10% to 25% of the $300 cost of running the computer and monitor. This minimum of $30 in saving per employee per year can add up significantly based on the size of your staff, and the cost of the power strips is typically under $10.

Office Equipment
According to DOE, office equipment accounts for 14% to 18% percent of an office’s energy use. Years ago, a six-person office would have had one electric typewriter and one photocopier for a connected load of about 600 watts. Today, that same office could have six computers, six monitors, two printers, one larger photocopier, and one fax for a connected load of more than 7,000 watts. More and more powerful equipment has been added to nearly every office. However, there are energy-efficient options for virtually all office equipment.

What do I need to know about saving money on water consumption?

Calculate the Savings:

#1: We start with the average US drinking water consumption per employee:
Daily = 24 oz.
(This includes water used to make coffee, tea, soup etc.) To put this in perspective, this would be one and a half typical 16 oz. bottles of water.
Weekly = 120 oz.
(Since there are 128 oz. in a gallon, this averages to just under 1 gallon per employee per week)
Monthly = 3.75 Gallons
(Summer months are typically higher in consumption, but the 3.75 gallons for month is a strong working guideline)
Annual = 45 Gallons

Water Cooler Jugs per employee per Year = 9
(Based on typical 5 gallon water cooler jug)
Cost per 5 Gallon Jug = $3.81
(This takes into account the water and average delivery charges. At $.76 per gallon this is four or five times less expensive than individual servings, but still more than 76 times as expensive as filtering tap water, which is less than a penny a gallon)
Cost per Employee = $34.29
Naturally, some employees may use tap water or office drinking fountains, but the taste and ‘trust’ factor have basically tainted that well. Other employees may purchase their own individual serving bottled water, which has a massive negative impact on the environment due to the fossil fuels used in transportation and the disposal even with recycling efforts. As a business decision maker, you make a significant GREEN impact and SAVE money by including a bottleless water cooler as a benefit to your employees and encourage them to use it over bottled water.

How does it add up?

The savings are based on the average cost of delivery service for 5 Gallon Water Jugs at $3.81 each.

>Number of Employees:	Number of Water Jugs:	1 Year Savings	2 Year Savings	3 Year Savings
6	5 jugs/month	$228	$456	$684
13	10 jugs/month	$458	$916	$1,374
26	20 jugs/month	$1,112	$2,224	$3,336
40	30 jugs/month	$1,886	$3,772	$5,658

The start-up Cost:	The Ongoing Cost:
Typical ‘jug’ Water Cooler:	$125-$350 for the unit	$3.81 per jug
Bottleless Water Cooler:	$650 avg.+ $100 for installation*	$15 / year for filter

*Initial Cost = Price + Shipping + $100 for installation. The $100 installation cost is ONLY an estimate of what you might have to pay someone to install this water cooler. Your cost may be higher or even lower. We have included it to provide a truer estimate of the cost of purchasing this water cooler. It has been included for comparison purposes. These Estimated Operating Costs include the costs of replacement filter cartridges at the recommended time intervals.

THE ROI:

The average purchase price and installation of a bottleless water cooler is two or three times that of a typical bottle and delivery service. However, the payback comes in just over three years for an office with around six employees and in less than two years for offices with around 13 employees. For offices with 20 or more employees, the payback come in the first year. Beyond the payback, the ongoing savings is over $30 per employee per year. Plus the good karma to reduce the damage to the environment via transportation and bottle disposal.

What are other companies doing to save water and plastic bottle waste?
Adding water efficient toilets and faucets
Adding Water Filtration Systems
Not purchasing bottled water for meetings
Give out refillable bottles to employees.

To get some perspective and see what other States, Companies, and Institutions around America and the World are doing to specifically reduce bottled water waste: Click Here (Link to FAX: What are States, Companies, and Institutions doing to reduce bottled water?
TAKE ACTION:
Don’t limit your water conservation to periods of drought. Smart water usage not only saves your money, but helps conserve local water resources.
Tips for You or the Office Manager:
Overall:
Make sure you know where your master water shut-off valve is located. This could save gallons of water and damage to your office, files and equipment if a pipe were to burst. Insurance may cover you, but the lost time and inconvenience is the real loss.
Inside your office:

If your office was built before 1992 and the toilet has never been replaced, then it is very likely that you do not have a water efficient 1.6 gallon per flush toilet. You can check the date stamp inside the toilet by lifting the lid and looking at the back of the toilet at the manufacturer's imprint of the make, model and date of manufacture
Install an Ultra Low Flow Toilet if you don’t have them. They use 1.6 gallons per flush, instead of 3.5 to 7 gallons per flush for pre-1992 toilets. Save even more with a Dual Flush toilet that uses less than a gallon for flushing liquid vs. solid. vs. solids.
Check the water taps in your office to see if they all have aerators. An aerator mixes air with the water, which cuts the flow and reduces splashing.
Test each faucet by turning it off all the way off. If water continues to drip, make repairs
Look for Energy Star Refrigerators, Microwaves, and Dishwaswhers if you have one in the office. Fixtures that use the new WaterSense marking from the Environmental Protection Agency.
Look into Water Filters vs. Coolers. The new generation of under counter filters delivers bottled water quality at pennies on the dollar.
If a toilet handle frequently sticks in the flush position and lets water run constantly, replace or adjust it.
Consider Waterless Urinals
Consider a grey water system where you can capture and filter used water from showers, sinks and faucets for flushing toilets. This use of grey & black water can save gallons per day.
Instruct clean-up crews to use less water where appropriate. They can sweep materials from floor instead of washing down whenever possible.

Install signs encouraging water conservation in employee and customer restrooms.
Consider buying eco friendly cleaning products that come concentrated. You add the water on-site and save significant money and the environment benefits due to the reduced fuel used in shipping. To see a great toxic free all around cleaning product for Office Kitchens and Break rooms: www.shaklee.net

Outdoors and Landscaping:

Water deeply but infrequently to moisten the root zone.
A large water waster can be leaks in your irrigation system around your office. Fix irrigation system leaks quickly and check for water in the gutters or mud puddles. Inspect your sprinklers and drip sprayers regularly for leaks during the daytime since the optimal time to water is in the nighttime hours when you cannot observe leaks. If you have an older irrigation system, over 50% and even more than 75% of the water can be lost to leaks.
Begin planning future outdoor landscaping with potential droughts in mind by researching appropriate plants. Consider rain gardens, xeriscaping and drought-tolerant plants.
Using pine straw, bark chips or ground hardwood mulch on the roots of plants and trees helps the soil retain water.
Avoid overseeding your turf with winter grass. Once established, ryegrass needs water every three to five days, whereas dormant Bermuda grass needs water only once a month.
Leave lower branches on trees and shrubs and allow leaf litter to accumulate on top of the soil. This keeps the soil cooler and reduces evaporation.
Aerate your turf. Punch holes in your lawn about six inches apart so rain water will reach the roots rather than run off the surface.
Create a rain barrel to harvest rainwater that hits your home or garage. This will help control stormwater runoff and helps store water to use on plants during dry times.
Avoid planting turf in areas that are hard to water such as steep inclines and isolated strips along sidewalks and driveways.
Winterize outdoor spigots when temperatures dip to 20 degrees F to prevent pipes from bursting or freezing.
Discontinue using water to clean sidewalks, driveways, and parking lots
Mow turf at higher mower settings.
Water only during the late afternoon, night, and early mornings to minimize evaporation, and use automatic irrigation systems if appropriate.
Keep sprinkler heads vertical and at the correct height for good coverage and keep the spray pattern uniform.
Fertilize moderately with a “natural organic” or “slow-release” fertilizer.
Think twice before using pesticides or “weed-and-feed.”

Communicating to Your Employees:
Take the time to educate your staff about what they can do to conserve water. (Email this tip sheet to your team, as a part of your overall new GREEN OFFICE initiative)
Saving Water:
Some of these may seem obvious to most of you…but According to the EPA, the average American unknowingly wastes up to 30 gallons of water every day. Needless to say, what we waste is more than what other countries actually use in any given day.

Turn faucets off all the way off. If water continues to drip, let us know.
If a toilet floods or is “running”, turn off the water supply spicket at the wall, and let us know.
If for any reason , there is a water main leak emergency, Call:_______________ .The water main valve is located in the ______________________
We have already or plan to install a new water filtration system for the sink in the Kitchen / Break Room, so we will provide bottle water quality at your finger tips. Please use it, and let us know your thoughts!
To conserve on cleaning glasses and also on the massive water bottle waste factor in America, please use one drinking cup per day rather than throwing one out on each serving.

More on Water

Low-Flow Fixtures Sink faucets in your restrooms and kitchen may use more water than you think. New faucets are one way to deal with this, but there’s a lower cost option. Add aerators to your existing faucets. These simple devices—available in most hardware stores—can cut faucet water consumption in half. When you’re using
hot water, they’re saving energy too. Most offices don’t have showers, but some do. Where there are showers, low-flow showerheads should be used. A five-minute shower with a showerhead using five gallons per minute (gpm) will use 25 gallons of water, plus energy to heat the water. A 2.5 gpm showerhead will cut that in half, with no reduction in comfort. New 1.5 gpm showerheads are even better; they cut the water and energy use by another
40 percent.

Low Flush/No Flush Toilets Toilets and urinals account for about one-third of all water consumed in US buildings. Older toilets use 3.5 to 7 gallons per flush while most urinals consume 3 gallons per flush. Efficiency standards for new toilets require them to use 1.6 gallons or less per flush. The new low-flush toilets have corrected
the performance problems experienced with some earlier versions. Where th plumbing code allows, no-flush toilets are an option.

Fix Leaks Repairing water leaks is a great way to reduce water waste. Small drips

Watering Controls Overwatering lawns is a leading cause of water waste in the summer. Watch the weather; don’t water if it’s going to rain. Remember to turn off automatic sprinkler systems when the fall rains start. Do any replanting in the fall or spring to avoid additional watering. Besides wasting water, overwatering promotes lawn disease and leaches nutrients from the soil. Lawns don’t need more than one inch of water per week during July
and August. Use less in late spring or early fall—let the weather be your guide. Grass does better when the root zone partially dries out between waterings. Avoid frequent shallow watering, which causes shallow rooting. Water slowly, or start and stop, so the water permeates the soil rather than running off. Water early or late in the day to
minimize evaporation loss.

Cost of water can add up quickly. A leaky toilet or dripping faucet can waste thousands of gallons of water a year. If the drip is hot water, you are paying for wasted energy too. Fix leaks as soon as you find them. A leaking faucet is frequently the result of a bad washer and is relatively easy to fix with the right tools. Leaks won’t go away on their own and repairing water leaks will always save you money. Toilet leaks can range from small to large, constant or random. Many are even silent. A small, silent leak can easily cost $50 per year in water and sewer costs. Large leaks can cost much more. In a properly functioning toilet, no water should move from the
tank to the bowl, unless the toilet is being flushed. Fortunately, most toilet leaks are relatively easy to fix.

Water FACT: A single dripping faucet can waste up to 20 gallons of water a day.

What can I do to increase my gas mileage while reducing emissions?

Change Air Filter... can rob of close to 10% if badly clogged...
Change oil Filter... and Fuel Filter
Synthetic Oil Additive is best can mean an increase of up to 5% on Gas ...
Tune Up engine and Change Spark plugs
Avoid idling for longer periods of time.
Set your tires at proper inflation... improper + 3% reduction in Fuel efficiency... lose 1 PSI per month on Avg....
Plan your trips and routes carefully... car pool... for groceries and shopping
Avoid a lot of Braking and accelerating from stops... Jack rabbit starts= no Good
Drive speed limit and 55 when possible... speeding can reduce efficiency by 33%
Ride a bike, train, Bus, walk,
Make sure your gas cap is fit and sealed...
Full Tank all the way... full tanks increase fuel efficiency...?
Cruise control... use it
Get a light car... lighten your car...
AC off in city driving... and on with windows up on highway... as opposed to drag when rolled down on highway
Use overdrive gears if you have them...
Select Narrow Tires: reduced drag...
Lower octane
Manual Transmission save about 5% when properly used...

What are the benefits of commuting?

You may live close but too far to walk or bike, so here are some considerations on getting from A to Z. The following information has been consolidated from leading sources such as the U.S. Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency, American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), International Energy Conservation Code, PLUS information directly from Foundation and University Studies, Manufacturer Specifications, Distributors, and users with actual Performance Feedback.

Cars and light trucks, which include sport utility vehicles, pickups and most minivans, emit more than 300 million tons of carbon into the atmosphere each year in the United States. The transportation sector alone is responsible for about one-third of our nation's total production of carbon dioxide, a major contributor to global warming. The hierarchy of consumer transportation impact on the environment from the least to the most damaging regarding green house gas emissions. Please note that a bike has more of an impact than simply walking due to the fact that the bike needed to be manufactured and shipped using some form of fossil fuels. In the context of this profile on scooters, one outcome is that city life and short commute lifestyles has significant advantages when it comes to saving money and the environment.

The Hierarchy of impact:

Walking
In-Line Skating and Skate Boarding
Biking
Public Transportation: Light rail, Bus, and Train
Car pooling
Electric Cars/SUVs
Natural Gas/Propane BioFuel Cars/SUVs
Hybrid Cars/SUVs
Electric Scooters
Combustion Scooters
Motor Cycles
Combustion Cars/SUVs
Air Planes

Transportation Facts:

Most motorists don't realize that a quick one-mile trip to the shop emits up to 70 percent as much pollution as a ten-mile excursion with several stops.
Taking any kind of alternate transportation just one day during the work week can reduce our dirty air by 20%.
Motor vehicles are the single biggest source of atmospheric pollution, contributing an estimated 14% of the world's carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel burning, a proportion that is steadily rising. Add the emissions from exploration, transportation, refining and distribution of fuel, and this figure if 15 to 20 percent of world emissions.
The average American car releases 300 pounds of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere from a full, 15 gallon tank of gasoline. The average European car produces over 4 tons of carbon dioxide every year. Methane (another global warming gas, 21 times more powerful than carbon dioxide) is also emitted by cars. The level is quite low, only about 1% of UK emissions, for example. But, they facilitate the annual buildup of methane in the atmosphere—0.9% increase per year—by emitting large quantities of carbon monoxide.

Why Go alternative?

Electric and natural gas powered cars can now use the Carpool lanes.
Most alternative fueled vehicles have substantial rebates and lower fuel and maintenance costs.
More and more employers are recognizing the benefits of telecommuting. Working in the relaxed comfort of your home sure beats fighting the traffic.
The typical American devotes more than 1,600 hours a year to his car. He/she sits in it while it goes and while it stands idling. He parks it and searches for it. He earns the money to put down on it and to meet the monthly installments. He works to pay for gas, tolls, insurance, taxes and tickets.

What are the details on an Electric Scooter?

High Mileage comparison to electric: One would think that a vehicle that gets good gas mileage would also be kinder to the atmosphere, but that’s not necessarily so. According to Vectrix’ calculations, a 64-MPG Vespa GT200 gasoline scooter still generates a carbon footprint of nearly 80 kilograms of carbon dioxide per kilometer, and a 70-MPG Suzuki Bergman generates 105 kilograms per kilometer. All of the calculations take into effect the carbon impact of fuel production.

The Emerald GREEN Rider: ZERO Impact! For those who are really serious about reducing their personal carbon footprint, an electric vehicle can make a huge difference. It is possible for a Vectrix scooter to provide transportation with virtually no carbon impact, and it’s being done at the central London offices of Greenpeace International. There, the organization’s Vectrix is charged using 50 photovoltaic solar cells on the building’s roof.

What about the Toxic Battery?
The electric scooter’s other environmental consideration is its battery. Though earlier models used lead acid and nickel zinc batteries, current scooters use nickel metal hydride batteries, the same type used in hybrid cars. When the battery reaches the end of its useful life, it can be traded in to Vectrix for a new one, or the owner can have the battery recycled directly by bringing it to a metal shop. Most of the other parts of the scooter, like the aluminum frame and plastic body panels, can be recycled easily.