Another Earth Hour is upon us and you can participate by simply turning off your lights from 8:30pm – 9:30pm local time tonight (March 27, 2010). Turn your lights off for just one hour and join the hundreds of millions of people around the world making a statement against climate change.

Climate change is no joke. Every year average temperatures around the world are increasing and polar ice caps start to diminish a little more. Earth Hour is one of the major movements against climate change and they have made their voice heard with nearly 1 billion people participating in the movement last year which included 4,100 cities in 87 countries on all 7 continents. Earth Hour 2009 was a success last year but there is still a lot be done on climate change. Sponsored by the World Wildlife Fund you can help fight climate change by making a donation or participating in Earth Hour 2010 tonight.

Personally I’ve been bringing a water bottle with tap water to work everyday instead of drinking bottled water. It makes even more sense to use a water bottle now since New York implemented the 5 cent deposit on bottled water. I did a little basic math to figure how much money I’m saving using a water bottle.

32 bottle case of Poland Springs from BJ’s Wholesale Club
$4.99 per case = $0.15 per bottle
$0.15 per bottle + $0.05 deposit = $0.20 final cost per bottle
Estimate consumption per week at work
5 bottles per week = 260 bottles per year
My Annual Cost of Bottled Water at Work
260 bottles X $0.20 = $52.00

Minus the cost of purchasing a water bottle, that roughly cost about $5.00, the grand total comes out to be around $47.00 per year. Not a huge number in savings, but that’s money in the bank for me. On top of that I think my estimated bottled water consumption would also be on the lower end of those who drink bottled water on the regular.

Ditching the bottled water not only saves you money and the environment, it’s probably safer too. Tap water is highly regulated from local, state, and federal levels for quality compared to bottled water which has no real governing body. There hasn’t been enough evidence yet but there have been concerns that the chemicals used in the plastic of bottled water could seep into the water itself. The simple answer is tap water which relieves all of those concerns. You may actually be drinking tap water – Bottled water isn’t always pure – It’s not clear where the plastic container ends and the drink begins – Our country’s high demand for oil isn’t just due to long commutes, learn The Truth About Bottled Water.

Other Sobering Facts

• Out of the 50 billion bottles of water being bought each year, 80% end up in a landfill, even though recycling programs exist.
• 17 million barrels of oil are used in producing bottled water each year.
• Bottled water costs 1,000 times more than tap water. Drinking 2 Litres of tap water a day only costs 50 cents per year.
• Plastic leaches toxins into the water, which have been linked to health problems such as reproductive issues and cancer.
• New York City tap water surpasses all federal and state health standards.

- via Treehugger via MSLK

If you think about it you’re buying expensive water that’s available from your tap at a higher quality. A simple easy change that saves you money and the environment, what more could you ask for.

My monthly charity for this month is going to be the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). To continue the green theme that I’ve been posting about recently, the WWF fits very nicely.  The WWF has globally coordinated efforts in conservation and protecting nature for over 45 years.

“WWF’s mission is the conservation of nature. Using the best available scientific knowledge and advancing that knowledge where we can, we work to preserve the diversity and abundance of life on Earth and the health of ecological systems by

• protecting natural areas and wild populations of plants and animals, including endangered species;
• promoting sustainable approaches to the use of renewable natural resources; and
• promoting more efficient use of resources and energy and the maximum reduction of pollution.

We are committed to reversing the degradation of our planet’s natural environment and to building a future in which human needs are met in harmony with nature. We recognize the critical relevance of human numbers, poverty and consumption patterns to meeting these goals.” World Wildlife Fund Mission

The WWF is 5 million strong worldwide and working in 100 countries. Through science and action along with their global reach, the WWF develops innovative solutions for the coexistence of humans and our precious eco system.

The WWF is involved all over the world including MyBabyTree.org which was My Monthly Charity April 2008 and Earth Hour which I posted about a few days ago.

It’s been a year but here’s my update on My Baby Tree.  I did receive a download for Google Earth to see the plants that were planted in the Indonesia. Check out my baby tree.

We have a delicate balance with nature and the World Wildlife Fund is working hard  to promote this balance around the world.  Find out what you can do at www.WorldWildLife.org to help out.  I’m going to support the WWF by making a donation.

Earth Hour is upon us and this year it is an election between Earth and global warming.  You can make the vote for Earth by simply flipping the light switch off tonight at 8:30pm local time for one hour and if you leave the lights on it’s a vote for global warming.

Sponsored by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), it is pushing for a goal of 1 billion votes. Your vote counts to having this year’s Earth Hour presented at Global Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen 2009.

Earth Hour all started when 2.2 million homes and businesses in Sydney, Australia turned off their lights for 1 hour in 2007.

Their message was heard around the world and continues echo as it grows from 2.2 million, to 50 million in 2008 and this year’s ambitious goal of 1 billion.

Become part of something big tonight just by switching off the lights. Major landmarks around the world like the Eiffel Tower, Great Pyramids, Empire State Building and even the glitziest of all Las Vegas, just to name a few, will enter darkness for one hour.

Flip the switch to off to vote for Earth and make your vote count by recording it through photo, video, blog, or Twitter. Details on making your vote count is on the Earth Hour Homepage.

Vote Earth!

Earth Hour is huge active approach to a greener and healthier future for our beloved planet earth and you can be part of it.

Learn how I’m working on going green.

Green is what’s up these days and I’m working on being more environmentally friendly myself.  Concerns for the environment are on the rise and it’s an important time to be conscience of  mother earth.  Here is what I’m doing to be more green and I really want to highlight e-cycling.

E-cycling
Electronic waste is becoming a huge problem in this world and I can personally see that with just the e-waste that I could produce.   What do you do with old electronics that have become obsolete or broken?  That has been a question that I’ve been asking myself, so I don’t just trash my electronics.

Well after some waiting and searching I was able to find some solid e-cycling and trade in programs.  Hey if you can trade it in and get some value for it why not.  Here’s a list of sites for trade ins or recycling.

Sprint Buy Back – If you’re a Sprint customer they offer a trade in program where you can get an account credit when you trade in your phone.  My phone was 3 years old and I was able to get a $25 credit to my account, not too shabby.

BestBuy.com Trade in Center Powered by DealTree.com – Best Buy just went national with it’s trade in program not too long ago and I was able to get a nice gift card for trading in my old laptop.

Gazelle.com – Using current market data it will calculate an offer for your used electronics and if there is no value they will dispose of it responsibly for you.

Cell Phones for Soldiers – I wrote about this organization a while back for my Monthly Charity where you they’ll take your old phones and raise money for calling cards for our troops.  Check out My Monthly Charity June 2008 for information on Cell Phones for Soldiers.

Lots of great ways to recycle your electronics and you may get paid for it.  E-waste is a problem that needs to be dealt with as more and more of our electronics get old and obsolete, so next time you’re thinking about trashing your electronics try trading it in or recycle it.

Reuse
I try to reuse paper and plastic bags when possible.  I keep a folder just for scrap paper and save bags for other uses.

Conservation
Water conservation is the biggest thing I’m personally working on.  When I brush my teeth I really try not to leave the water running. Logically the next thing to work on is to take shorter showers to conserve water.  I’ve also cut down on my bottled water consumption.  I usually bring a reusable water bottle to work and drink tap water at home.

Recycling
Recycling is nothing new.  Every trash night I sort out bottles, cans, glass, cardboard and newspaper for recycling.  I also recycle ink cartridges to Office Max where they usually offer a coupon for recycling.

Pure Adapt is going Green
Pure Adapt also reflects my concern for the environment.  We at Pure Adapt:

• Recycle our cardboard, bottles, paper, and cans
• Use biodegradable packing peanuts
• Reuse plastic bags
• Use Free Cycle to give away our used packing material for reuse
• Use recycled paper

Check out Detailed Image’s post about us going green.

Going green isn’t that bad, you can get rewarded for it and save money.  It’s totally worth it to go green.