Three ways you can Help Our Environment Today

Helping our environment is something most of us agree is very important, but what is the most pratical way we as individuals can do this? We hear about climate change from politicians, with talk about regulations, joining various groups with other countries, and enacting legislation to reduce the harmful effects of our actions, but what can we do to more directly help our environment? Here are 3 things you can do today that will reduce pollution and improve the health of our environment.

Eliminate Single Use Plastic from Your Life

Anyone who’s taken a walk on the beach or along a trail has seen discarded plastic bottles, bags, lids, and containers. Depending on the material used, it can take 20-100 years to decompose plastic. That plastic bottle that is on the bottom of the river will be there for generations. Recycling helps, but wouldn’t it be better to eliminate the plastic altogether?  It’s easier to do than you might think, here are a few ways to do it.

1. Use your own washable dishes and glasses. If you are getting coffee, a drink of water at the airport, or going on a trip or hike, bring your own reusable container. ATI Electrical Supply gives away free Yeti tumblers to all our employees to use instead of disposable plastic bottles, knowing that each one we give away saves pounds of plastic from entering our environment.
2. Bring your own washable straw. This is super easy and will eliminate hundreds of plastic straws a year. When finished, just put the straw in the dishwasher or rinse it out, and it’s ready to go again. Fold up rubber straws and take them with you! When eating out, be sure to tell the restaurant not to bring you a straw, unless it is made of paper.
3. Use paper or cardboard to pack products. ATI Electrical Supply uses a machine that recycles cardboard into packaging material to pack all its products. Not only will this reduce the amount of cardboard in the recycling bin which saves money - recycled cardboard is a great packaging material that our customers can also use to package their products.

Use LED Lighting Whenever Possible

LED lighting is one of the most efficient ways to light a room, office or warehouse today. The average LED uses between 10 and 25% of the wattage needed for the similar light output of an incandescent bulb. In addition to the money saved through reduced energy usage, LED lighting reduces the amount of power generation needed to light your home or office. An average warehouse uses about 10 lumens per square foot. Each lumen is equal to about 15 watts, so a 10,000 square foot warehouse requires 100,000 lumens, or 1.5 million watts. Using LED equivalent lights, we can reduce that usage to 300,000 watts. In addition to cost savings, LED lights last 25 times longer than equivalent incandescent bulbs, which reduces the waste created by throwing away burned out bulbs.
ATI provides cable assemblies for lighting loads to the entertainment industry, and we have seen the impact of the growing use of LED’s through the assemblies we build that use stage pin type connectors. 5 years ago, 100A and 60A assemblies were very popular. Today, we rarely build stage pin assemblies that are greater than 20 amps.

Make Your Next Car an Electric One

Anyone who’s lived in a crowded city can tell you that smog is a huge problem. Not only is it unsightly – ruining the views of mountains, hills and oceans, but it is also unhealthy. According to the EPA, 75% of pollution in cities is caused by cars and trucks. Thankfully, the electric car industry has made huge strides in the last several years.  In addition to being extremely fun to drive, electric cars produce no emissions. They do require power to charge them, however this power can be provided through the use of solar panels on the roof of the owner which mitigates the environmental impact. Electric cars also require about 1/3 the cost to power compared to gas or diesel powered cars and trucks. As more and more car companies enter the electric car market, the cost of electric cars will go down, and performance will go up. Tesla currently has two models, the model 3 and model Y which are similar in stock price to the cost of a gas powered mid – sized sedan and crossover SUV. Electric cars can be charged at home using a standard 120V, 15A outlet at the speed of 5 miles per hour which can equate to 60-75 miles per day, less than most of us drive. This means no more waiting in line at gas stations, getting smelly gas on your hands and having to go out of your way to find one.
ATI Electrical Supply prides ourselves in taking the practical steps everyday to help our environment. Whether it be reusable containers, using LED lighting or driving electric cars and trucks, we are committed to preserving the earth we so love and enjoy. To learn more about ATI’s products and services, visit us at www.atielectrical.com.