Earth Day Tips #1

Inside: Take a shorter shower. Every time you take a shower you use about 5 gallons of water per minute. But if you shorten your shower by 2 minutes, you can cut your water use by 10 gallons.

Outside: Build a community garden. It will not only spice up your salad but your life by relieving stress, increasing your well being and making some friends along the way.

Earth Day Tips #2

Inside: Use cloth towels instead of paper ones. It’s easy to ditch paper towels with all the alternatives offered today. You’ll not only save our trees but some cash as well by using and reusing cloth or linen towels.

Outside: Keep your tires properly inflated. You'll get better gas mileage by 0.6%-3% by keeping your tires inflated to the proper pressure.

Earth Day Tips #3

Inside: Reduce Single-use Bottled Water. We Americans buy 29 billion single-use water bottles a year. For every six bottles people buy, only one is recycled. That’s a big problem since plastic takes up to 1,000 years to decompose. Earth Day Tip #3: Take a shorter shower.

Outside: Be an Eco Driver. Want to lower your vehicle’s fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions by as much as 25%? Be an eco-driver by following these simple tips:

• Accelerate gently
• Coast to decelerate
• Avoid high speeds
• Anticipate traffic
• Maintain a steady speed
• Keep your vehicle tuned up
• Go electric!

Earth Day Tips #4

Inside: Turn off lights when you leave a room: The 15-minute rule. Here’s the general rule-of-thumb: If out of a room for 15 minutes or less, leave the lights on. If out of a room for more than 15 minutes, turn them off.

Outside: Support a local store or restaurant. You’ve heard, “Buy local, think global”. That couldn’t be more relevant than today. For every $100 you spend locally, $68 will stay in the community. For national chains, less than $43 stays here.

Earth Day Tips #5

At home: Replace incandescent light bulbs with LEDs. Switching to energy-efficient lighting is one of the fastest ways to cut your energy bill. To start, locate your home’s five most frequently used light fixtures or bulbs and make the switch to LEDs or Energy Star fixtures. That alone can save you up to $60 each a year and reduce your carbon footprint by 450 pounds.

At work: Reduce your margins. By reducing your margins by one-half inch on each side on your computer, you will save reams of paper when printing. For an added bonus, print on both sides of your paper to save our trees and your budget. That’s saving green all around.

Earth Day Tips #6

At home: Recycle your old refrigerator or freezer and earn $75. Did you know that PNM will recycle your old, working refrigerator or freezer as a residential or business customer? Not only will we haul it off for free, but you will earn $75. It’s as easy as 1-2-3:

1. Schedule an appointment.
2. Tell us how you want your unit picked up.
3. Receive your check.

Learn more about our Refrigerator Recycling Program here.

At work: Remove personal bins. Want to reduce your paper consumption? Remove your recycling and waste bin from under your desk. Sounds counterintuitive? The truth is by reducing the number of bins in the office and replacing them with a few centrally-located ones, you’ll not only print less, but meet new coworkers by the bin.

Earth Day Tips #7

At home: Track your foodprint. That’s everything it takes for food to go from the farm to your plate. Track your foodprint to know how much your food choices impact the planet.

At work: Use hibernation mode. When you are away from your desk or computer, make use of the hibernation feature to ensure your computer consumes less energy. Also check printers, microwaves and other appliances that have energy-saving features in your office.

Earth Day Tips #8

Inside: Use eco-friendly, non-toxic cleaning products. Gone are the days when eco-friendly cleaning products don’t work vey well. Today there are many to choose from so here’s a Healthy Cleaning Guide to know which ones are effective.

Outside: Compost leftover food & yard trimmings instead of throwing them away. 40% of our food is uneaten and ends up in a landfill. Composting reduces your food waste by 25% and creates rich soil for your veggie or community garden.

Earth Day Tips #9

At home: Donate your old clothes instead of throwing them out. 85% of all textiles end up in landfills every year. Yet nearly 100% of the textiles in your home can be recycled and donated, regardless of the quality or condition. Even though you don’t want your old clothes anymore, someone else does. Donate them and get a tax write-off instead!

At work: Learn your SDGs. SDG stands for Sustainable Development Goals and were adopted by all United Nations member states as a call to action to protect the planet, end poverty and improve the lives and prospects of everyone, everywhere. There are 17 goals and they are a blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. Learn more about SDGs and what commitments companies are making around them.

Earth Day Tips #10

At home: Turn off the water while you are brushing your teeth or shaving. On average, about two gallons of water flow from a faucet each minute. By turning off the water while brushing your teeth can save up to three or four gallons of water per person per day. That’s more than 1,000 gallons of water per year or enough for almost 100 four-minute showers.

At work: Donate old furniture and fixtures instead of throwing them out. Got an old desk, lighting fixture or outdated office supplies? Instead of sending them off to a landfill, donate them through organizations that will match your items to local non-profits that can really use what you don’t want anymore. It’s a win-win-win for you, the non-profit and the environment.

Earth Day Tips #11

Inside: Reduce your pet’s carbon pawprint. Yes, your pet has a carbon footprint too. For example, cats and dogs account for 25-30% of the environmental impact of meat consumption in the US. By switching to a quality protein coming from sources with a lighter carbon footprint such as chicken, turkey or sustainably-harvested fish, you will lighten Fido's environmental footprint.

Outside: Turn your car engine off instead of idling. Did you know that an idling car can release as much pollution as a moving one? By reducing idling, you reduce the amount of excess CO2 and exhaust particulates that are added to the atmosphere, not to mention reducing costs and wear on your engine. Here's a general rule-of-thumb:

1. Turn off your ignition if you're waiting more than 10 seconds

2. Warm up your engine by driving it, not by idling.

Happy and healthy travels!

Earth Day Tips #12

Inside: Cut each ring of plastic six-pack holders with scissors. Plastic six-pack holders used to hold cans of soda and beer are super dangerous to our birds, fish and other wildlife. Many of them will end of in landfills where birds and other wildlife are looking for food. By cutting the plastic rings of the holder, you are reducing entanglement calamities that can result in exhaustion, starvation or death.

Outside: Spend 10 minutes in nature every day. As little as 10 minutes at day in nature decreases in cortisol, the stress hormone in your body. The best part nature is free and abundant in our beautiful state of New Mexico.

Earth Day Tips #13

At home: Raise money or awareness for a local Environmental group. Is there an environmental group you know doing good work in New Mexico? Go to their social media pages and do a shout out. Tell your friends and colleagues what they do and why you support them. Earth Day is right around the corner. Why not do it now?

At work: Plan a Zero Waste event At first, it may seem impossible to achieve zero waste at any event. Before you throw in the reusable towel, with some planning you can significantly reduce the amount of waste at a simple business lunch meeting to a community-wide event. Here's a step-by-step plan that can help you be well on your zero-waste way.

Earth Day Tips #14

Inside: Try reading instead of streaming. We all love on-demand videos and streaming services. Don’t assume just because something doesn't have a physical format that it has no carbon footprint. So, take a break every now and then and curl up with a book like the environmental classic “Silent Spring” by Rachel Carson.

Outside: Hug a tree. Trees, with their roots, branches and spring buds, can provide a strong connection moment for you to take a deep breath and calm your mind. Evidence shows that hugging a tree increases levels of the hormone oxytocin. This hormone is responsible for feeling calm and emotional bonding.

Earth Day Tips #15

At home: Volunteer for an Earth Day event. A simple Google search for “New Mexico Environmental Groups” will bring up a hearty list of organizations that can use your help with their Earth Day activities. On a national scale, go to Earth Day Network’s volunteer page, and you can sign up for a number of ways to celebrate.

At work: Fly Direct. If your only option is to fly, then opt for the direct route. This can reduce your emissions by up to an impressive 50% compared to changing flights.

Earth Day Tips #16

Inside: Buy products made from or packaged in recycled materials. Look for products with a minimum amount of packaging or ones that are using recycled materials to reduce waste, lower carbon emissions and keep plastic out of the ocean.

Outside: Collect rainwater. No one knows more than New Mexicans how precious our water is. Rainwater harvesting is a great way to collect run-off from a structure or surface in order to store it for later use.

Earth Day Tips #17

Inside: Read the ingredient list on products. If you really want to know what’s in the product you're about to buy, read the ingredient list. The first 3 on the list make up what’s mostly inside. Eye-opening!

Outside: Start a garden swap. Swap dirt, seeds, wood or anything needed for your garden by posting on neighborhood apps such as Nextdoor, OfferUp or Facebook. Make sure you send a thank you photo when in bloom!

Earth Day Tips #18

Inside: Buy food in bulk. Foods in bulk cost up to 89% less. Why? Less packaging. Larger amounts. Efficient to ship. However, buying in bulk is not to be confused with hoarding. We’re all in this together right?

Outside: Make a homemade bird feeder. In your home, there are dozens of recyclable items such as milk cartons, empty water bottles, toilet paper rolls that will make for a one-of-a-kind bird feeder that reuses materials and helps our fine feathered friends. Need some inspiration? Check out this slide show of creative ideas.

Earth Day Tips 19

Inside: Turn down the temperature of your water heater. Water heating can be 15%-25% of energy consumption in your home. Turning down the temp on your hot water heater is eco-conscious and reduces monthly energy bills. Click here for more PNM Energy Efficiency Tips.

Outside: Dare to share. How many times do you use your tent each year? What about a ladder? Unless you use them for your profession, consider the possibility of sharing or renting items you don’t use every day. It’s called the share economy and you’ll have a lot less stuff to get rid of in your next garage sale.

Earth Day Tips #20

At home: Minimize use of aerosols. Aerosols can present significant environmental and safety hazards because of the compressed gas used as a propellant. Try an alternative approach (there are lots of them) and avoid ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons.

At work: Eat a plant-based burger for lunch. Next time you go out to lunch with a colleague, try a plant-based burger instead. You might not be able to taste the difference and plant-based diets emit up to 98% less greenhouse gas emissions.

Earth Day Tips #21

At home: Make your own disinfectant. Many ingredients for DIY disinfectants are probably in your pantry. Search online for recipes but just make sure your mix is 70% alcohol and leave it to dry on its own.

At work: Encourage environmental training. More than ever we need to encourage environmental training at work. Not only will it increase employee understanding of our ever-changing environmental landscape, but it will attract high-level talent who want to work for a company that prioritizes the environment.

Earth Day Tip #22.
Happy Earth Day!

At home and at work: Be a partner in our Pledge!

We hope you enjoyed our Earth Day tips and the environmental efforts and actions we do all year long. To celebrate Earth Day today and every day, we're inviting you to join us at home and at work in a Earth Day Pledge. Click on the image to read our commitment and take the pledge with us. We’re all in this together, right? Happy Earth Day to you and your family!