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.
Click to watch Lee McGuire's 11 News report
HOUSTON -- If a light bulb can be popular, compact fluorescent light bulbs are at the head of the class. They use far less electricity than incandescent bulbs, but they do come with a health risk.
Locked inside the base of every fluorescent bulb is a tiny amount of mercury. There is even a warning on the back of the boxes that urges users to dispose of the bulbs properly and not toss them into the trash.
In a landfill, the mercury could leak into groundwater. Moreover, should a bulb break, there is a slight risk of mercury exposure in your home.
However, do people follow the rules?
In short, the answer is no.
“It's a big problem that's out there,” said Houston City Councilwoman Toni Lawrence. “We're being energy efficient. But now, how are we going to dispose of it?”
The city has two locations where people can drop off their discarded fluorescent bulbs. The center on Neches is only open for six hours on the second Tuesday or each month while the South Post Oak location is open only a few hours every week.
To combat what could become a huge environmental problem, Lawrence is working with businesses to set up free disposal centers around the city.
Already some chain stores have set up their own bulb disposal sites. Last month, Home Depot announced it would take the fluorescent bulbs at any of its store locations.
IKEA is doing the same thing.
