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.
SEATTLE – One Seattle coffee shop is adding a little sunshine to its drinks.
The Red Cup Espresso doesn't just produce coffee. The roof of the shop is green. Solar panels soak up the precious little sunlight on a rainy day and so baristas can make a mocha with it.
"This system should produce about 30 percent of our annual usage, so it's a 1,200 watt system," said Red Cup owner Eric Thomas.
And it's part of an overall ecosystem operating at the Red Cup. Here, hybrid and electric car owners are rewarded for their dedication to the environment by owners who believe in blending responsibility with business.
"I think it's fabulous, I really do. I mean, I've been watching the transition," said customer Suzi Jacobs Higgins.
It’s a transition that includes Seattle City Light workers adding a power production meter to the billing meter. It's a bump to the bottom line that, as long as workers keep up with demand, will one day offset the cost of the system.
Sunny days can get the Red Cup close to breaking even on power usage, but even on a cloudy, rainy day, it can generate power.
The Red Cup recipe for coffee is a secret, but owners hope to share their green philosophy with anyone who will listen, one cup at a time.
