Helpful Links

National Geographic
Recycling Information for Oklahoma County (.xls)
Earth 911
Edmond Recycling
Norman Recycling
Oklahoma City Recycling

Earth Wellness

Earth or Environmental Wellness is an awareness of the unstable state of the earth and the effects of our daily habits on the physical environment. It consists of maintaining a way of life that maximizes harmony with the earth and minimizes harm to the environment. It includes being involved in socially responsible activities to protect the environment. Examples of environmental threats include ultraviolet radiation in the sunlight, air, chemical, noise, water pollution, and second-hand smoke.
What can each of us do right now to slow the use of natural resources and protect the environment for future generations?

1. Change your light bulbs look for highly efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) that last for years, use a third of the energy of regular bulbs and actually produce more light. Look for the government’s ENERGY STAR label, which means the bulb has been tested for quality and efficiency. While they cost more initially, remember that there are two price tags: what you pay at the register and what you pay in energy costs over the bulb’s lifetime. You may pay more up front, but you will actually save hundreds of dollars in your household budget over the long term because of their long life. Five ENERGY STAR light bulbs will save your household at least $150 over their lifetime.
And don’t forget to turn off unneeded lights!

2. Your house—not too hot, not too cold—just right—Over 40 percent of your household energy costs go toward heating and cooling. That means we have a lot of room to make a difference and even small changes can make dramatic improvements in household fuel efficiency.
Besides replacing older heating and cooling systems with new efficient models, which isn’t very practical for most, you can clean vents, close unused vents, and change filters in the vents. These simple things will save up to 5 percent in costs.
Buy a programmable thermostat, which can regulate different temperatures at different times of the day—and use it!
Be sure windows and doors are sealed. This will improve your household fuel efficiency.
If you can use a ceiling fan instead of central air 80 percent less energy is used. The fans should run in a counterclockwise direction in warm weather.

3. Household Appliances—voracious energy appetite—it is the biggest consumer of electricity among household appliances and responsible for 10-15 percent of the electricity used in homes each year.
Replacing older refrigerators can have as much as a 50 percent on energy savings.
If your refrigerator is near a heating vent, or always in the sun, then change the location, cover up the heating vent near it, or cover the window.
Clean the condenser coil. This one, very simple thing can improve the efficiency of refrigerators.
On your water heater, turn the hot water temperatures down to 120 degrees. Buy insulation or a cover, to insulate it and pipes. Install a timer on your water heater to turn off at night and on just before you wake up in the morning. Wait until you have a full load to run the dishwasher.
When using your washer, use warm water, not hot. Ninety percent of the energy used in operating a washing machine goes toward heating the water that washes and rinses the clothes. Don’t over-dry your clothes.
Think about unplugging seldom used appliances, and rechargers. They continue to use electricity even when turned off.

4. Go organic—to protect the soil! When chemical pesticides are used to kill pests, they can also kill microorganisms that keep carbon contained in the soil. When the microorganisms are gone, the carbon is released into the atmosphere as CO2. When those organisms are gone, the soil is no longer naturally fertile and chemical fertilizers become a necessity, not a luxury.
Or, plant your own veggies! It’s not as hard as you might think.

5. Recycle—
Check for the latest in each city about recycling:
Edmond http://edmondok.com/utility/solidwaste/services/recycling
Norman http://recyclenorman.com/
Oklahoma City http://www.okc.gov/trash/recycle/index.html

Oklahoma City, Edmond residents have curbside recycling programs to divert trash from local landfills. If you don’t have a recycling bin, and you are eligible for the program, call 297-2833 in Oklahoma City; 359-4541 in Edmond; 329-1023 in Norman to get one.
Items to recycle:
• Plastic milk, juice, pop and water bottles. In OKC, any plastic marked with a triangle with a number 1-7 on it can be recycled. In Edmond, any 1-2 and beverage/drink containers with 3-7. In Norman any 1-2.
• Aluminum & steel food & beverage cans
• Glass food & beverage jars & bottles
• Newspapers, newspaper inserts & magazines.
Rinse the containers before placing them in the recycle bin.
On the OCU campus we can recycle paper by depositing it in the bin located behind (North) of Walker Center.
Recycle rechargeable batteries at Radio Shack, Westlake Ace Hardware, AT&T, S ears, Wal-Mart, Lowe’s, Target, Home Depot, US Cellular, and many other stores. Check http://www.rbrc.org/call2recycle/dropoff/index.php for other collection sites for the batteries and cell phones.