Going Green: Environmental Tips from the First UU Newsletter

• Protect the environment and create jobs for people with disabilities by taking computers, keyboards, monitors, hard drives, printers, fax machines, VCRs, and DVD players to Starkey, Inc. at 4500 W. Maple, Wichita, Monday thru Friday, 9 am to 3 pm. 316-512-4243.


• So many of us have invested in reusable cloth shopping bags, but how many times have you smacked yourself in the head when you get to the grocery store and realize you forgot it? I, myself, have a bruised forehead! On a recent trip to Dillon’s (of course we buy our Dillon’s gift certificates at church so FUU gets 4% of proceeds!), I was faced with this dilemma. I did not want to use a new plastic shopping bag (oh, the guilt!), so I grabbed a couple out of the plastic bag recycling bin at the front of the store. People looked at me curiously (but I’m quite used to that!), but I reused the bags, got a small discount and felt a teensy bit less guilty!


• Coffee was once grown mostly in shaded areas. Today many growers are producing higher yield "Sun Coffee." This practice requires extra pesticides and herbicides, can promote soil erosion, and reduces the habitat available to migratory songbirds including Wood Thrushes, Tanagers, Flycatchers and Honduras Orioles. To support growers who use sound farming and harvesting practices, look for the USDA organic and bird-friendly symbols on the coffee package, or for a clear statement that the coffee is shade-grown.


• Many dishwashing detergents contain petroleum products, an unnecessary use of oil. A vegetable-based dish soap is a greener alternative widely available in natural food stores and even in many supermarkets. If every American household replaced just one 28-ounce bottle of petroleum-based dishwashing liquid with a vegetable-based product, the savings would amount to 82,000 barrels of oil per year.


• Save gas with a twist of your wrist. Nearly one in every five cars has a loose cap, costing 147 million gallons of gas per year to evaporate. You can lose about two miles per gallon, or about 10 percent of your mileage— as much loss as from under-inflated tires. Whenever you fill up, twist your gas cap until you hear it click (or in older cars, make sure it's tight).