Save the world, one day at a time

In the elemental warriors, M Rajaram shares 365 simple ways (one for each day in the year) to reduce your carbon footprint. Excerpts from the book

In the elemental warriors,u00a0M Rajaram shares 365 simple ways (one for eachu00a0day in the year) to reduce your carbon footprint. Excerpts from the book

Eco-computing
A computer left on stand by overnight uses enough energy to make 30 cups of tea. If you happen to spot one on at home, remember to switch it off.

Light relief
Lights left on overnight use enough energy in a year to heat a home for almost five months. Do your bit by switching them of.



Utilising leftovers
Throwing out leftovers not only wastes all the energy that went into producing that food, it also ends up in a landfill where it rots and produces methane, a potent greenhouse gas.

Tree of life
Plant a sapling in your house or in your area or join a group that is trying to stop people from cutting down trees. Did you know that one bamboo tree is enough to provide oxygen for two people for a lifetime?

Dumping garbage
Is the garbage in your house segregated daily? Ideally, it should be going into three containers: plastics and glass in one, perishable waste in another and paper waste in the third.

Green gadgets
Out of batteries? Opt for rechargeable batteries instead.

Pen wise
Take a step back into the past and opt for eco-friendly fountain pens and bottled ink (not plastic cartridges), instead of plastic ballpoint pens.u00a0

V for vegan
If you are a non-vegetarian, opt for vegetarian food instead. The consumption of livestock leads up to 18% of the world's greenhouse gases. If going veg is too hard, then avoid beef: the biggest contributor to greenhouse gases.

Paper trail
Use one-sided paper to make little notebooks. Energy saved from a tonne of recycled paper saves enough electricity to power a three-bedroom house for an entire year.

Wall to wall
How would you like to convert some walls in your home to "living walls" with vertical gardens? The idea of rooting plants in fibrous material and anchoring them to a wall was developed by Patrick Blanc, a Frenchman. Any takers?

Paper chase
Avoid taking printouts as much as possible as they use energy, waste paper and result in empty toners
and inkjet cartridges that are hard to dispose.

Wheels within wheels
While driving, it is better to go slower with proper tyre inflation. It saves both fuel and the tyres, besides lowering emissions.

Scrap savers
About to toss away an aluminum can? Just a minute. Aluminum cans are unique because a can is recycled in 60 days. Making new aluminum cans from used cans takes 95% less energy.
u00a0
Buzzword
It is said that a hundred thousand trees can be saved every Sunday if everyone recycled their newspapers. So, what's stopping you? Recycle the backlog of old newspapers and magazines in your house.

Piece together
Join Finland's Litter movement by picking up at least one piece of litter a day. A good way of leaving your carbon footprint!

Chew over
Chewing gum is the second largest littering item in the world. Chewing gum is not bio-degradable and will stick to its surface for many, many years until treated.