From The Workbench - Alternative + Renewable Energy Blog Valuable information for do-it-yourselfers interested in the latest in alternative + renewable energy

It’s Wednesday, and we all know that means that the weekend is officially in sight.  Personally, I can hardly wait.  The weeks seem to go slower during the Winter, and to be truthful, one of the only things that makes it bearable with all the freezing weather, is that the TV shows seem to get a little bit better.  I found an article today that made me realize each and every one of us TV Lovers probably should take a second look at how eco-friendly our habits are.

The great thing is, we can keep our TV loving habit, and be eco-friendly at the same time if we follow these 5 helpful tips I just stumbled across.  As always, head over and check out the full article for more in-depth anaylsis, but for now, here in abbreviated form for your viewing pleasure, are 5 Eco-Friendly Ways to Watch The Tube!

1. “Never Sleep With The TV On” - Seems like a no-brianer, at the very least, use the Sleep Timer.
2. “Turn The TV Off” - Don’t leave the room, house, building with the TV still on.  Who’s watching?  No one, that’s who.
3. “Unplug the TV When Not in Use” - It’s called Vampire Energy, or Phantom Energy, even when turned off, your appliances are sucking energy, unplug them, save some.
4. “Turn Down The Brightness” - The brighter the TV, the more energy you’re using.  Suck it up, dim it down.
5. “Use Power Saver Mode” - Some TV’s are equipped with a Power Saver mode that auto-adjust to use the smallest amount of energy possible.  Use yours.

There you have it!  See, you don’t have to miss your favorite episodes of “The Office,” “Lost” or “Little People Big World.”  Thank goodness right, after all, who can handle this much cold and darkness without at least a LITTLE help!

Image by William Hook via Flickr

Whenever I speak to people about going green, one of the first and most important things I try to bring up to bring as many people on board as possible, is just how much of your Green (dollars, my friends, dollars) it can actually save by doing some of these things.  Lucky for me, and you, and all the rest of us, I just found 10 helpful tips on exactly how to go about this.

Head over and check out the full article for more in-depth analysis and reasoning behind each one, but to save you time, here is a brief paraphrasing of the top 5 ways on just how to achieve some of these results:

1. Save energy to save money. - This can be as easy as just turning down your thermostat a bit lower, or turning off as many lights as you can or switching them for CFL’s.  Do it.
2. Skip the bottled water. - Buy a water filter, a Brita pitcher, or buy a Klean Kanteen aluminum or stainless steel water bottle.  This can cut down on waste more than you’d even believe.
3. Save water to save money. - Shorter showers, water your lawn less, get plants that don’t need as much watering.
4. Less gas = more money. - This one isn’t shocking, but walk more, bike more, Scooter more, public transport more.  Do anything BUT drive your car.  More.
5. Eat smart. - Go meatless once a week.  Eat locally grown produce.

There are 5 more awesome ways on the site, head over and check them out!