10 things you can do for the environment in less than an hour

If you and your friends live near each other and work in the same district or go to the same school, then why not put up a carpool system? Not only do you save on gas, you can also make new friends in the form of carpool-mates. Biking may seem pretty hard to do, given that there are still no bike lanes in the Metro’s thoroughfares. But if you live a few kilometers away from your office or destination, biking to work can be a great way of saving money, getting exercise, and having fun. 4.  Turn off lights or unplug appliances not in use.  Time it takes: Less than a minute. After you turn off your television or computer, do you unplug it as well? Appliances tend to consume “standby power" as long as they’re still plugged. The standby power required by appliances can account for as much as 10 percent of a home's residential electricity use, according to the Lawrence Berkely National Laboratory. When you leave a room, make sure to turn off the lights as well. Not sure if turning off the lights can make a difference? In 2009, an estimated 10 million Filipinos participated in Earth Hour, a  yearly worldwide event that encourages people to turn off their lights for one hour to raise awareness about climate change. Local organizers estimated that the one hour of darkness saved around 611 MWh of electricity, or the equivalent of a temporary shutdown of a dozen coal-fired power-plants. 5. Recycle paper.  Time it takes: Less than a minute. Did you print a 20-page paper for school only to find glaring typos on each page? Instead of throwing away that paper, use it to print slides of your professors' lectures.  Some teachers encourage students to print their school work on recycled paper. Also, try printing on both sides of each page to cut your paper consumption in half. 6. Use Century Gothic font when printing documents.  Time it takes: Less than a minute. How does changing a font help save the environment? The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay in the US switched from using Arial to Century Gothic because the latter costs 30% less ink to print.  By consuming less ink, you extend the life of your ink cartridge. You also don’t have to buy replacement cartridges as often, which can help reduce your non-biodegradable trash. Use recycled paper and you'll have one environment-friendly printing experience. 7. Use a mug or a tumbler instead of a disposable cup. Time it takes: Less than a minute. Make your caffeine fix nature-friendly by using mugs instead of disposable strofoam, paper, or plastic cups. If you’re having your warm drink inside a coffee shop, ask for mugs that are allotted for in-store use. If you want to bring your coffee to school or to the office, using your own tumbler is the green way to go. 8. Set up a recycling bin at home or work.  Time it takes: Less than 30 minutes. Make a list of the products you consume and note the items that come in reusable containers. Take the time to segregate your trash into biodegradable and non-biodegradable, and check for non-biodegradable items that can be recycled or reused, such as plastic bottles or aluminum cans.  Plant seedlings in cut-up plastic bottles until they grow big enough to be put in pots or plots.  9. Spread the word. Time it takes: less than five minutes. Share your own environment-friendly ideas with everyone! Use the hashtag #orasna to tweet about the small ways you can change your daily routine to benefit the environment! Your tweets and pictures will appear on our Twitter mosaic here 10. Watch Oras Na! on October 30. Time it takes: one hour. Of course, catch "Oras Na" on GMA-7 this November 20 for a timely reminder that we have to act soon to save the earth.