Conservation at Home (and at the Office)

Office Practices

• Using natural cooling and ventilation whenever possible by opening windows and closing shades to cool off.
• Reducing paper use by using PDF files where possible and sending reports to state government by email rather than by postal service (although it may be printed it at some point there are less trips to the Post Office, reduced volume of mail being shipped of island etc.
• Carpooling.
• Energy star rated computers and peripherals that enter low-power sleep mode when not in use. We use LCD monitors on all our office computers, plus we have two laptops to replace desktop computers. LCD monitors often use only 20% of the energy of older CRTs, and generate very little heat which reduces cooling loads in summer.
• Walking to community and county meetings rather than driving (it helps having a location-efficient office).


At Home

Buy a compost pail for the kitchen and compost your kitchen scraps. Then dump this into a larger composter outside and turn your vegetable waste into great compost for your garden.

Install a few rain barrels to catch rainwater during the winter months and use this to water your plants during our dry summers. Plant fruits and vegetables that need less water - native plants are much better adapted to our weather patterns.