Around the world, environmental groups have been screaming about the lack of eco-friendly practices from businesses and the general human population. As natural weather storms, pollution rates and depleted fishing areas have shown, humans are exhausting their resources on Earth. What can be done? There are a few ways that both businesses and homeowners have been able to reduce their carbon footprints. As these ideas grow in popularity, the hope is that energy waste and pollution will greatly be reduced.
You probably have heard the warnings before. When summers create water droughts, the first thing to go is sprinkler systems. The ban on watering lawns doesn't usually last for more than a few weeks, but if you think about areas of the world that go without water every day or travel miles just for a jug of clean water, it's clear how precious this resource truly is. The Las Vegas Palazzo Hotel and Resort recognized this fight and decided to change its hotel's landscapes and watering system to be more conscious of water waste. They installed drip irrigation systems with moisture sensors and replaced some of their outdoor areas with artificial turf grass. All in all, these actions save eight million gallons of water per year. Among its other sustainable features, the Palazzo was recently named the “Most Eco Friendly Hotel in America”.
Drip irrigation systems can be used at home instead of traditional sprinklers and hoses. In addition to being more conscientious about your lawn care, you can also save water in the home by installing low flow toilets, low flow showerheads, tankless water heaters and other water systems that use less water.
The Three R's have become prevalent in the fight for the world to
go green. Reduce, reuse, recycle is a mantra that can be applied to almost
everything in your home or business. For example, the ARIA Hotel in Las Vegas
has a sorting center that saves 47 percent of waste from going to a landfill.
In addition, the hotel sends food scraps to pig farms. At home, you can use
recycling bins every day, but you should also incorporate the ideas of reduce
and reuse through a process of up
cycling. When you purchase items at the grocery store, look for recycled
containers and things that can be reused around your home such as glass jars or
yogurt containers.
These are just a few ways that if done on a global scale could greatly decrease the amount of waste in this world. Businesses like the Las Vegas hotels are continuing to innovate the industry and it is important that homeowners continue to innovate as well.