info@gogreenwilmette.org
PO Box 954 Wilmette, IL
Tip of the Month
Save Energy on Holiday Lighting.
Before you put up your holiday lights, check out your electric bill from last year. Chances are there was a big spike last December. Give yourself and the earth a gift this season and replace your old lights with energy saving LED lights. (LED stands for light emitting diode.) LED bulbs use 90% less electricity than traditional holiday bulbs so you will reduce your carbon footprint and reduce your electric bill substantially. Two other reasons to make the change - most LED lights last 20 years and they stay cooler so there is less risk of fire. If you are still using old-fashioned bulbs, it is especially important to put lights on timers and limit the hours of use.

The US Department of Energy reports that if all conventional incandescent Christmas lights in the country were replaced with LED lights this season, annual energy savings would total two billion kilowatt-hours – enough to power nearly 200,000 homes for an entire year!

Other Green Holiday Tips:

- Give gift certificates: A gift certificate, tickets to an event or an offer to help a friend are all ways to show others you care about them and the environment. If you are buying a gift, choose something sustainable, organic and/or environmentally friendly.

- Drive less, drive smart: Reduce your driving this season by organizing and combining shopping trips, and ordering over the internet.

- Reduce home heating/cooling needs: Give warm clothing and a programmable thermostat to those on your list.

- Buy energy efficient electronics and appliances: If you have appliances on your holiday shopping list, be sure to buy Energy Star models.

- Give power strips with a rocker switch. Explain how recipients can plug music and audio visual electronics in to power strips that can be easily switched off.

- Serve locally and/or organically grown food: Be aware of how far your food travels to your holiday table and how it is grown. Use a tote bag. Eat low on the food chain.

- Choose a living tree and replant it: This is the most environmentally sound choice, but if you buy a cut tree, try to buy one that has traveled the shortest distance and try to make sure it is composted, not put in a landfill.

- Reduce, reuse, and recycle: Cut back on consumption. Encourage recycling in your home, at your office and at businesses this holiday season.


Mission Statement
GO GREEN WILMETTE - working together to raise environmental awareness and to inspire residents to take action to make Wilmette a more earth-friendly place to live.