You heard it as a child standing at the drinking fountain.
“Leave some for the fish, will ya?” your classmate would say impatiently as you swallowed the cold water.
While there is nothing wrong with drinking as much water as residents need, we waste water needlessly.
People brush their teeth and leave the faucet running. They run a long shower every day. The list could go on.
Along with water, the average household spends more energy and money than it needs to heat showers, wash dishes, do laundry and more.
In fact, the average household spends between $400 and $600 each year, according to EnergyStar. By making sure water heaters are set to 120 degrees or lower, residents could save themselves money and energy.
Find your five most used light fixtures and switch the light bulbs to CFL bulbs. That endeavor alone, if done by all Americans, would remove the equivalent of greenhouse gas emissions of almost 10 million cars from the atmosphere, according to EnergyStar.
Residents also should consider replacing older appliances with more energy-efficient ones.
The state’s $6.2 million EnergyStar appliance rebate funding ran out with only 11 hours of sales on Friday. It was scheduled to run until April 25.
Thursday marks the 40th annual Earth Day.
To celebrate Earth Day, this week in East Peoria several events were scheduled to promote environmentalism.
East Peoria Community High School will host a “green carnival” from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday inside the newly-renovated cafeteria.
The evening will include games, activities and arts and science projects for kids. Information about environmentally-friendly and recycling services in Central Illinois will also be available.
The Fondulac District Library is also celebrating Earth Day from 3 to 5:30 p.m. Thursday and staff is inviting youth to come by to make something special using recycled products.
With the event geared toward children, it will help promote a generation that is environmentally-concious.
In addition, over double the amount of people participated this weekend in this year’s Clean Sweep event, the annual community trash pickup. Nearly 200 people showed up ready to clean the city’s streets, which shows East Peorians are becoming more aware of their environment.
Rick Swan, executive director of the chamber of commerce, agreed.
“I think people are more conscious of the environment and the effects of littering,” he said.
Take the time today to find one thing you can do to help the environment. Not only do you help all of us living on earth together, but many of these tips will help your bottom line as well.
Saving money and saving the environment? That’s a win no matter how you look at it.
