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A newsletter for the students, faculty and staff of the Collin County Community College District. Published monthly. For information or submissions, call 972.599.3142. Cougar News welcomes student and faculty submissions. Next deadline: March 10. All submissions are due by 5 p.m. on the due date. Photos cannot be returned. Text should be emailed to mrobinson@ccccd.edu or sent on disk. Please submit copy that is proofed, edited and saved in Word format. Cougar News staff: Lisa Vasquez, director; Mark Robinson, editor; Marcy Cadena-Smith, contributor; Dana Schmitz, contributor; Sydney Portilla-Diggs, student correspondent; Stephanie Hall, student correspondent; Nick Young, special contributor, photography and layout.
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Five Tips for being green
It’s good to be green, according to Kermit the Frog. Nowadays, more and more individuals and families are realizing that being environmentally conscious is important. Many times, even the little things matter.
Here are five small tips for making a big difference.
1. “Don’t Touch The Thermostat!”
You probably heard that once or a billion times from your old man. He may have had a point: almost half of a home’s energy consumption is due to cooling and heating. Turn down the thermostat in cold weather and pump it up in warm weather. Each degree below 68 degrees during cold weather saves 3-5 percent more heating energy. Keeping it higher in the summer saves energy and money. Also, use ceiling fans. During the summer, shade the east and west windows and save dishwashing until the evening. Oh, and change that air filter during heavy usage.
2. Mr. Clean Green
Every couple of months or so when you get around to cleaning up the pad, think again about using the same ol’ cleaning agents. In carpet and some window cleaners, look for grain alcohol instead of butyl cellosolve. Use coconut or other plant oils in lieu of petroleum in detergents. Steer clear of triclosan, an antifungal agent in soaps, and opt for plant oil disinfectants like eucalyptus or sage. Or go DIY: make your own cleaning supplies using soap, water, baking soda, vinegar, lemon juice and borax.
3. Can I Get A Light?
Chances are, you’ll leave the lights on anyway. Why not make your absent-mindedness eco-friendly? Compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) use 66 percent less energy than the standard incandescent bulb and last 10 percent longer. Beware: you might save up to $30 over the lifetime of the bulb. Find CFLs at Home Depot, IKEA, Lowes and other bastions of commerce.
4. Hug A Tree
Recycled paper is everywhere. Think toilet paper, greeting cards and more. Each American receives about 560 pieces of junk mail annually. That’s about 4.5 tons of wasted paper, according to the Native Forest Network. Needless to mention, most of that is thrown away anyway. Get off direct mailing lists and nip credit card companies in the bud. Also, carry reusable cloth bags to the grocery store.
5. The Plastic Revolution
Plastics are made of petroleum. So when plastics are burned bad things happen. The Environmental Protection Agency cites burning plastics as a big contributor to global warming. Annually, Americans toss out about 100 billion polyethylene plastic bags. The solution? Reduce, re-use and recycle.
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