Many stores have doors that open automatically when shoppers approach. This is useful for people who are carrying packages, who are handicapped, or who are accompanied by small children. However, I generally do not need the automatic doors. Some stores have two sets of doors, side by side. One set is automatic, the other set relies on muscle power. I use the non-automatic doors and save the energy used to open and close the doors. In addition, the non-automatic doors are usually smaller, so the air exchange with the outdoors is less. Frequently, there is a significant temperature difference between the inside of the store and the outdoors, so the smaller the door, the less energy loss through the open door.
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The kitchen in my work office has a paper towel dispenser above the sink, so most people grab a handful of paper towels to dry their lunch dishes, I keep a cloth towel in my desk drawer that I can take to the kitchen when I take my lunch dishes to be washed.
This article is a good explanation of why most laundry can be washed in cold water. According to the article, 90% of the energy used in washing clothes is to heat the water.
www.simplemost.com/why-wash-clothes-cold-water/ When the garbage truck picks up your household trash, the trash generally ends up at a municipal solid waste landfill. As the waste decomposes in the landfill, it produces many air pollutants, including volatile organic compounds, carbon dioxide, and methane. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas with a global warming potential more than 25 times that of carbon dioxide. According to a recent EPA news release, municipal solid waste landfills are the second-largest industrial source of methane emissions in the United States, accounting for 20 percent of methane emissions in 2014. Much of the methane is produced from decomposing organic material, which includes food, paper, cardboard, wood, and other products made from plants or animals.
Many of the newer landfills have methane-recovery systems to reduce (but not eliminate) the amount of methane that reaches the atmosphere. While some of the recovery systems use the methane to generate power, in many cases the methane is simply burned off. The best way to reduce the amount of methane produced in landfills is to reduce the amount of organic material deposited in the landfill. Ways for individuals to help with this include:
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