Set sprinklers to water the lawn or garden only - not the street or sidewalk.
Use the microwave to cook small meals. (It uses less power than an oven.)
Purchase "Green Power" for your home's electricity. (Contact your power supplier to see where and if it is available.)
Scrape, rather than rinse, dishes before loading into the dishwasher; wash only full loads.
Cut back on air conditioning and heating use if you can.
Turn off appliances and lights when you leave the room.
UPI reports British research has shown that compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFLs), while more energy-efficient than incandescents, may cause skin cancer and migraines.
CFLs only use 20 percent of the energy of incandescent bulbs, and governments including the U.S. and Britain have implemented plans to phase out incandescents by 2014.
One of the most affected populations of CFLs is those with lupus, who tend to experience additional pain and tiredness when exposed to the bulbs.
The research does not mention whether traces of mercury in CFLs is linked to these conditions, but the presence of mercury is a reason why CFLs should be recycled. To find out where to recycle CFLs in your area, use the recycling locator search at the top of this page.
