Tips on How Live Sustainably
What Can You Do?

Tip: Water Conservation/ Stormwater Control
Here are some ideas to to consider when replacing your patio, walkway or parking area. Install attractive permeable concrete pavers. The pavers are solid, but spaced correctly, water drains between them. Pavers are placed over a bed of sand or gravel, which filters water before it percolates into the soil. This conserves & filters water naturally & without the oil & pollutants that are present when run off flows through the sewer system and then into Lake Michigan.

For driveways or parking lots, open-cell concrete blocks can also be used. The blocks are designed to support vehicles, but are sufficiently open to allow water to drain through them. The spaces are filled with gravel or sand. Grass or low ground cover can be planted in the open spaces, which will help reduce the heat build up.

Another product that can be used for driveways is pervious concrete, (porous pavement). This is a highly porous form of concrete. It’s made from aggregate (small stones) and cement, which binds the aggregate together. However, unlike standard concrete, pervious concrete's composition creates a substantial number of open spaces in the concrete, which allows water to flow into the ground.
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Tip: Dump the Gas Powered Mowers, Blowers, Weeders etc.
Gas-powered lawnmowers contribute to smog by emitting organic compounds (VOCs), nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particulate pollutants. By using electric, battery or non-motorized (push!) mowers or raking leaves, residents can limit ozone production and improve air quality. EESP recommends retiring gas powered equipment and, if you hire a contractor, encourage them to make the change.  

• What are the benefits?   Improvement of air quality and public health. VOCs and NOx contribute to increased production of ground-level ozone, or smog, that inflames lung tissue and aggravates a range of respiratory ailments, including asthma.
• Within the Chicago region, the use of gas-powered lawn equipment accounts for 60 tons of VOC emissions per day in the summer.
• Retiring 1,000 gasoline-powered lawnmowers spares the region approximately 26 tons of VOCs emissions.  Consider this as you buy your new lawn equipment or, better yet, mow your lawn and remove the clippings and leaves the old fashioned way - with muscle power!

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TIP: REDUCE; REUSE; RECYCLE
Reduce: Fix dripping faucets. A drop per second wastes 192 gallons per month! First, try tightening all fittings a quarter to half a turn. If that does not work, the gaskets or O-rings might be worn out. To check, the faucet will need to be taken apart, so if you are not really handy, for best results, consult a plumber.
ReUse: Reach for a reusable microfiber cloth which can take the place of 60 rolls of paper towels before it needs replacing — and is gentle enough to use on nearly all surfaces (even eyeglasses). Keep a few handy for absorbing spills, wiping down counters, unstreaking mirrors, and more.
Recycle: Don't just toss worn-out garments such as tattered tees or jeans. Donate these to the ASPCA, which may use them for pet bedding. Give still wearables to Goodwill — clothing that doesn't sell in its stores is sold to rag traders or fabric recyclers.
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Living Green Tip

• Green living requires making many small changes around the home, such as installing Energy Star-rated appliances and recycling whenever possible.  Then watch your bills reduce.
• Switching to reusable products can reduce waste significantly.  For example, using a reusable glass water bottle and a water filtration system is an alternative to plastic bottles of water. Saves money and reduces the build up of plastic litter in the landscape and waterways.
• Other changes that reduce the impact on the environment can include opting for cleansers made with plant-based ingredients and using reusable shopping bags.
• Organic and sustainable food sources can reduce a person's carbon footprint substantially. Sustainable food is grown using farming methods that require few or no additional resources, and their production typically involves little waste. 
• Fair Trade products are often created using sustainable methods, so look for those labels

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Water Conservation Tip :

• Run your clothes washer and dishwasher only when they are full.  You can save up to 100 gallons a month!
• Shorten your shower by a minute or two and you’ll save up to 150 gallons per month.
•  Designate one glass for your drinking water each day and refill it as needed.  This will cut down on the number of glasses to wash.
• Use a water-efficient showerhead.  They’re inexpensive, easy to install and can save you up to 750 gallons a month.
• Install an aerator on your faucet.
• Turn off the water while you shampoo your hair to save up to 150 gallons a month.
• When washing dishes by hand, don’t let the water run while rinsing. Fill one sink with wash water and the other with rinse water

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TIP:  BIKING, WALKING & REDUCING AUTO USE

• Follow Go Edgewater and join their biking and walking tours to learn about the area and its history.
• Take your bike or walk to the local stores, theaters and activities.  Healthy exercise, less pollution and you will support your neighborhood businesses.
• Reduce your carbon footprint! Leaving your car at home twice a week can cut greenhouse gas emissions by 1,600 pounds per year.
• If you must drive, save up errands and shopping trips so you need to drive fewer times.
• If you commute to work via auto or bus, ask if you can work from home at least some days, and you'll reduce air pollution and traffic congestion - and save money

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SPRING GARDEN TIPS
In the spring we're faced with a number of garden tasks. We need to assess the winter damage, and then decide the areas of the garden - ornamental or vegetable -  that might be available for early planting.

• Look over your garden as a whole.  You may want to set up new beds for your flowers or change the vegetables you want to plant   This is the time to install trellises and work on retaining walls. Next, start to repair any damage to the soil by adding compost, mulch and other organic amendments in order to get ready for spring planting.
• Make your flower garden look more balanced & pleasing to the eye - plant in odd numbers. This composition looks more natural than even numbered groupings and gives off the illusion that plants are bigger and healthier.  Always follow the planting guides for this zone, whether starting flowers or your early vegetables, since surprise freezes can still occur.  Some plants are hardy or can be protected, so research their adaptability.
• For early bulbs:  An idea on how to protect your crocuses is to plant lavender nearby. Birds are more attracted to the fragrant flower, and other gardeners report that it prevents them from pecking at the blooming bulbs.

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Tip:  Clean & Green 
HOW DO YOU START YOUR SPRING CLEAN UP?

• Clean your yard, parkway & sidewalk of litter. You will set a good example & encourage your neighbors
• Always pick up glass litter when you see it. Broken glass can hurt children, pets, as well as damage bike & car tires.
•  Help elderly neighbors clear up around their homes. They may not have the energy or ability to keep it up & will appreciate your kindness.
•  If you see someone going out of their way to clean up around the community, thank them!
•  Thank a business when you notice that they are cleaning around the outside of their business.
• Send an email to a “Special Service Area” (part of the Chambers of Commerce) letting them know that you appreciate their ongoing cleaning & beautification efforts.
• Check your alley. If you see debris or excessive litter, contact the Ward office at 773-784-5277

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​TIP: AIR QUALITY AND YOUR HEALTH

Air quality decreases during heat waves:  The heat and sunlight  essentially cook the air along with all the chemical compounds lingering within it. This chemical soup combines with the naturally occurring nitrogen oxide in the air, creating a“smog” of ground-level ozone gas. 

This makes breathing difficult for those who already have respiratory ailments or heart problems and can also make healthy people more susceptible to respiratory infections.
 
What We Can Do to Improve Air Quality During a Heat Wave
You can help reduce smog by:

• Using public transit and carpooling or bike riding to reduce vehicle trips
• Refueling cars at night to prevent escaping gas vapors from getting cooked into smog by sunlight
•  Avoid gas-powered lawn equipment
• Set your air conditioning thermostats a few degrees higher to help reduce the fossil fuel that would be burned in order to power them

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Winter Tips - Save on Electricity & Money:

Door Draft Stoppers Cold, drafty air often sneaks in underneath doors. You can purchase simple door draft stoppers to cover up these cracks. You can even roll up a rug to improvise.
Window Insulator Kits As houses settle, cracks tend to form around windows. If there are drafts sneaking in through your windows, it could cost a lot more to heat your home. You can buy a window insulator kit to cover your windows in a thin plastic film in the winter months to keep the chill out.
Set Your Water Heater at 120 The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that by setting your water heater at 120, you can lower your water heating expenses by 6-10%. You can further improve your water heater’s efficiency by insulating it.
Cook with Your Oven Ovens can pull double duty in the winter. While you’re cooking a casserole in the oven, you get the side benefit of heating up your home at the same time. (But don't try to heat your home with just your oven)
Add Extra Blankets to Your Bed Instead of turning up the heat at night, add an extra blanket or down comforter to your bed to keep toasty warm. Then you can turn the heat on in the morning to take the chill out of the air.
Replace Your Light Bulbs Get rid of your old incandescent bulbs and replace them with modern LEDs. They use less energy than incandescent, last longer and are safer than CFLs.
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Tip: Winter is Here-Heating Tips

• Set your programmable thermostat as low as is comfortable in the winter and lower the setpoint when you're sleeping or away from home.
• Clean or replace filters on furnaces once a month or as recommended.
• Clean warm-air registers, baseboard heaters, and radiators as needed; make sure they're not blocked by furniture, carpeting, or drapes.
• Eliminate trapped air from hot-water radiators once or twice a season; if unsure about how to perform this task, contact a professional.
• Place heat-resistant radiator reflectors between exterior walls and the radiators.
• Turn off kitchen, bath, and other exhaust fans within 20 minutes after you are done cooking or bathing; when replacing exhaust fans, consider installing high-efficiency, low-noise models.
• During winter, keep the draperies and shades on your south-facing windows open during the day to allow the sunlight to enter your home and closed at night to reduce the chill you may feel from cold windows.

Select energy-efficient products when you buy new heating equipment
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Winter Bird Feeding Tips

1. Birds need rich sources of fat and calories to combat low temperatures and severe storms. Suet, nuts and high-oil seeds such as nyjer, black-oil sunflower seeds and sunflower hearts are all great choices
2. Since you didn't cut down your final autumn flowers you know that the dried flower heads of aster, black-eyed Susans, coneflowers, sunflowers and other plants are seed havens. These wildflowers’ stalks also may house insects for birds that need a little protein.
3. Make sure to leave berries and other fruit on your native trees and bushes.
4. Finally, if you left your fallen leaves on the ground since autumn, the decaying leaf litter will provide a feast of insects, seeds, nuts and other treats for your backyard birds.

Courtesy of the National Wildlife Federation
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Tip:  Fall & Winter Tree Care
Trees provide shade in summer, absorb pollutants and exchange CO2 for Oxygen.  For these benefits and for their beauty, we should follow these simple steps:

1) Give your trees a drink. Winter droughts require watering as much as summer droughts. If temperatures permit, an occasional watering during the winter on young trees can be a life saver. Water only when soil & trees are cool but not frozen.
2) Put composted organic mulch under your tree in the fall or early winter to help retain water & reduce temperature extremes. A thin layer of mulch will act like a blanket & give the tree's roots a little extra winter protection.  Remove in the spring & clear the root flare at the bottom of the tree. (Mulch a donut ring, not a pyramid around the tree)
3) Homeowners should prune their trees. Winter is actually one of the best times to prune because it is easier to see the structure of trees without their leaves. Limit pruning to deadwood & poorly placed or crossed branches to save as many living branches as possible.
4) Prevent injuries. Branch breakage or splitting can be caused by ice & snow accumulation, or chewing and rubbing by animals. Clear & clean the problem as soon as possible. Prevent problems from occurring on young trees by wrapping the base of trees in a hard, plastic guard or a metal hardware cloth. Wrapping trees with burlap or plastic cloth also can prevent temperature damage. Remove the guards in the spring to prevent damage when the tree begins to grow.
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Tip:  Safe Disposal of Used Motor Oil/Getting Your Car Ready for Winter

Some car fluids like motor oil can be processed and recycled into new fluids. Every gallon of used motor oil that is improperly discarded can contaminate 1 million gallons of drinking water, according to the EPA. Motor oil also never wears out, but rather gets dirty, so it is often recycled and resold.  

• Old motor oil can be refined, reconditioned or reprocessed to become usable again.
• An oil filter is made of three basic items: paper, steel and plastic. All of these items are recyclable when sent to the proper recycling outlet.   

Many Auto Zone and OReilly Auto Part Stores accept used motor oil.  There are stores within a five mile radius of Edgewater but call ahead on their requirements for the oil and if they will accept the used filters.  When your oil is changed by professionals, they are required to follow strict disposal procedures as well.
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Tip: Reduce Winter Heat Loss & Save
TAKE ADVANTAGE OF HEAT FROM THE SUN

• Open curtains on your south-facing windows during the day to allow sunlight to naturally heat your home, and close them at night to reduce the chill you may feel from cold windows.

COVER DRAFTY WINDOWS

• Use a heavy-duty, clear plastic sheet on a frame or tape clear plastic film to the inside of your window frames during the cold winter months. Make sure the plastic is sealed tightly to the frame to help reduce infiltration.
• Install tight-fitting, insulating drapes or shades on windows that feel drafty after weatherizing..

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Tip:  Reducing Heating Costs While Saving Energy
ADJUST THE TEMPERATURE

• When you are home and awake, set your thermostat as low as is comfortable.
• When you are asleep or out of the house, turn your thermostat back 10° to 15° for eight hours and save around 10% a year on your heating and cooling bills. A programmable thermostat can make it easy to set back your temperature.

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Tip:  Save Energy and Heat Loss by Sealing Air Leaks
FIND AND SEAL LEAKS

• Seal the air leaks around utility cut-throughs for pipes ("plumbing penetrations"), gaps around chimneys and recessed lights in insulated ceilings, and unfinished spaces behind cupboards and closets.
• Add caulk or weatherstripping to seal air leaks around leaky doors 

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Tip: Soak Up the Rain With Permeable Pavement

• Permeable pavements allow rain and snow melt to seep through the surface and into the ground.
• Available in asphalt, concrete, interlocking pavers, and other materials, permeable pavements can soak in up to 80 to 100 percent of the rain that lands on them and filter out pollutants in runoff that contribute to water pollution.
• ​Permeable pavements can reduce the need for road salt. They can also reduce construction costs for residential and commercial development by reducing the need for drainage features.
• Consider removing the concrete & adding permeable to your patio area.
• Some of the city's alleys do have permeable pavement, let's ask  the project be extended and help reduce the potential for flooding and sewage overflows into our system.

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TIP:  CHECK YOUR TIRES FOR SAFETY & SAVINGS
Schedule a regular check of your tires - both the tire pressure and tread depth. Use a gauge to check that the tire pressure agrees with the label on the door, not the maximum pressure shown on the tires' sidewalls. Uneven wear indicates a need for wheel alignment. Check the tires for bulges and bald spots.

Look carefully to see if the wear bars are showing at right angles to the treads. Evenly spaced around the tires, wear bars appear when tread depth is less than 2/32 inch. An easy check is to insert a nickel between the treads.  If the head on the nickel is fully visible, it is time to replace the tire.   

These actions will protect you and your family, reduce the amount of gas used and less gas equals fewer emissions and cleaner air.
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​TIP: ENERGY EFFICIENCY = SAVINGS
ACTION/POTENTIAL SAVINGS (AS A PERCENTAGE OF UTILITY BILLS)

Install exterior low-e storm windows - 12%-33% annually on heating and cooling bills
Seal uncontrolled air leaks -10%-20% on annual heating and cooling bills
Plant shade trees -15%-50% of annual air conditioning costs
Use a power strip - for electronics-turn it off when not in use,save up to 12% annually
Replace an older toilet -that uses 6 gallons per flush with a WaterSense model
Turn back your thermostat 7°-10°F for 8 hours a day. Up to 10% annually on heating & increase to 78F in summer for similar results in cooling. Or sign up for SmartGrid
Weatherstrip double-hung windows 5%-10% annually on heating and cooling bills
Lower water heating temperature Save 4%-22% annually on your water heating bill
Insulate water heater tank Save 7%-16% annually on water heating bill
Fix leaky faucets - one drip per second wastes 1,661 gallons of water
Use sleep mode & power-management features on computers. Up to 4% of annual electric bill
Insulate hot water pipes Save 3%-4% annually on water heating bill

All actual savings will vary depending on home, climate, products, and use.*
The above list is just a sampling of the potential savings you could see by making smart energy choices in your home. Not all of these improvements will be possible for everyone, and savings will vary.
    *Source:  U.S. Dept. of Energy, Reporting 2015-16
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Tip:  RECYCLE EFFICIENTLY AND HELP YOUR NEIGHBORS DO THE SAME: 
Remember to clean the bottles & containers.  
No plastic bags or pizza boxes in the bins.  Otherwise the entire recycle bin will be discarded as contaminated.  Here is the list of items that may be recycled:

Plastic Bottle and Containers
     Numbered   1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7

Glass Jars and bottles

Metal Aluminum, tin or steel cans, foil & pie tins 

Cartons Milk and juice cartons 

Paper & Cardboard  Flatten cardboard, office paper, file folders, magazines, 
     catalogs, newspaper & inserts, junk mail, telephone books, etc.
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TIP:  EVALUATE YOUR BUILDING TO IMPROVE ENERGY EFFICIENCY
Elevate Energy's Efficient Buildings Program
 
Elevate Energy, an organization established through Chicago's own Center for Neighborhood Technology, provides numerous services and education on how to increase your homes energy efficiency.  Elevate Energy’s full-service efficient buildings program provides free services and expert energy coaching to building owners and managers. Their services are for apartment buildings (2+ units), nonprofit facilities, and nonprofit childcare centers across Chicago. They offer free energy assessments, cost-effective recommendations to improve your building, a direct connection to rebates, incentives, and low-interest financing, and guidance through the entire building upgrade process. Find more information on the process here: www.ElevateEnergy.org/buildings.​
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Tip:  You can reduce pollutants and emission in our air. How?
​Reduce reliance on our Cars:   
Why? When you calculate gas, wear and tear and other car expenses, driving alone to and from work costs you about 56 cents a mile. That can add up to thousands of dollars a year. Not to mention the stress on you.  Join the thousands of commuters who make every mile count by avoiding driving alone or even driving every day.  Choose to do one of the following.
Carpooling: Share the ride -- it saves money and reduces stress.  Check with fellow employees via posts or newsletters.
Telework:  Avoid traffic altogether by working from home. And it helps improve productivity! Ask your boss if this option is available.
Compressed Work Weeks or FlexTime:  If you can't change how you get to work, change when you work.  
Public Transportation  This may be the best option, depending on your destination and access to CTA or METRA.
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Tip: Planting Trees provides shade, releases oxygen, traps CO2 & pollutants.  A win win.
   a) More action includes celebrating Arbor Day each April with Local Schools by planting a tree.
   b) Notify the Bureau of Forestry when a parkway tree has 25% loss.  Keep the confirmation number.        Ask for the type of tree you wish planted.  Keep it watered using the slow drip method.
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Tip: AIR QUALITY & RESPIRATORY HEALTH
Air quality decreases during times of hot temperatures because the heat and sunlight essentially cook the air along with all the chemical compounds lingering within it. This chemical soup combines with the naturally occurring nitrogen oxide in the air, creating a “smog” of ground-level ozone gas.This makes breathing difficult for those who already have respiratory ailments or heart problems and can also make healthy people more susceptible to respiratory infections.

What You Can Do to Improve Air Quality During a Heat Wave
The EPA urges you to help reduce smog by:
·         Using public transit and carpooling to reduce vehicle trips
·         Refueling cars at night to prevent escaping gas vapors from getting cooked into
          smog by sunlight
·         Avoiding gas-powered lawn equipment
·        Setting air conditioning thermostats a few degrees higher to help reduce energy used 
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