Today many cities, like McKinney TX, are finding ways to ‘Green’ themselves in ways that not only make them more livable but also save millions on municipal budgets and in some cases, as with smoking bans, may even save lives.

McKinney’s population has grown amazingly and consists of energetic and well-educated residents. The median age in McKinney Texas is 31 and the average household income is $94,000. Within our city’s diverse economy some of McKinney’s leading employers have discovered the multitude of benefits of going green.

Pat Lobb Toyota of McKinney is the United States’ first LEED-certified automobile dealership. They joined Wal-Mart’s “McKinney Experiment” as high-profile, environmentally friendly businesses operating in McKinney Texas. This green facility is joined by four environmentally friendly schools and the first privately developed, LEED-certified Platinum office building in the US. You can see these at the city’s new web site, www.mckinneyinfo.com/green.

Here are 5 simple ‘Green’ ways that you can help.

• Save left over water from drinking cups or water bottles and using it to water your indoor plants
• Bring your own reusable shopping bags to the store
• Air-dry your clothes on a nice day (when possible)
• Unplug all unused electronics/appliances
• Recycle paper, cans, bottles, boxes and anything else that you can

Can you believe we have the technology to shuttle a crew to the moon, yet we can’t create a production solar car? I just had to accept that not doing anything to save our planet was adding to the destruction of it, bit by bit. I know that Al Gore isn’t “all there” but I do believe that we should all do our part. It helps conserve our resources and can save a lot of money which is an added benefit.

Maybe I’m not ready to install photovoltaic solar panels and tubular skylights in my home to help conserve energy—not yet anyway! And, maybe it is a little too weird to think about how a vegetarians releases much less methane gas into the air as opposed to meat lovers like myself (ewww), BUT I firmly believe every little bit helps. When city and residents work together, the sum of the parts can be much greener than the whole!

How Much To Water
Avoid frequent, shallow watering. It encourages a shallow root system, which makes the lawn more susceptible to drought and grub damage. Apply enough water to wet the soil to a depth of 6-8 inches. One to one and a half (1-1 1/2) inches of water is usually adequate. Use a soil probe or screwdriver to determine the depth the water actually reaches. In spring and fall, water less frequently but for the same period of time.

How To Water
Use a sprinkler that emits large drops of water that remain close to the ground, not one that sprays a fine mist into the air. Determine how much water your sprinkler applies:

• Set three to five empty cans at different distances from the sprinkler with the last can near the edge of sprinkler coverage.
• Run the sprinkler for 15 minutes.
• Add the inches of water in all cans and divide the total inches by the number of cans to obtain an average.
• Multiply the average by four to determine how many inches of water are applied in one hour.
• Bermuda grass will require approximately 2 inches of water every week in the summer. Buffalo grass needs 25% less water and St. Augustine needs about 15% more.

Trees, Shrubs and Groundcover
Established plantings do well in the summer when watered once a week, especially if mulch is placed around plants. Apply enough water to wet the soil to a depth of at least 12 inches. Using low output sprinkler heads, bubblers, or drip irrigation systems help prevent runoff and are efficient ways to apply water. New plantings require more frequent watering the first two years. Once a month soak the soil very deep to encourage tree and shrub root development below the turf root zone. Leave the sprinklers on three times the normal time or use a soaker hose under the entire tree canopy.

Soil Type
Lawns on sandy soil require more frequent watering than lawns or loam or clay soils. Water can be applied less often to clay and loam soils, but it should be applied more slowly to prevent runoff.

Slope
To avoid runoff on sloping areas, place sprinklers near the top of the slope. Apply water slowly for 5-15 minutes, turn off for 15 minutes, on 5-15 minutes, etc. until the correct amount of water has been applied.

Lowering Your Summer Electric and Gas Bills

• Set your thermostat no lower than 78 degrees (unless your wife is like mine then 74 is the magic number no matter how much money it saves)
• Replace regular incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescents lamps (CFLs)
• Keep your shades and curtains closed during the day to shelter your house from the warming effect of the sunlight
• If you don’t want to block your view, think about applying window film to the glass. Like auto window tint, these applied films will reduce radiant heat while allowing you to see through them
• Replace air conditioner filters regularly to ease the air flow. Dirty filters make the unit work harder to force the air through the filter. On this same note, unless you suffer from severe allergies, use the cheaper 30-day air filters. They do the job while making it easier for the air to flow and cost a heck of a lot less
• Air dry dishes instead of using the dishwasher’s drying cycle (good excuse to put-off putting away the dishes)
• Turn off your computer and monitor when not in use or at least before going to bed
• Lower the thermostat on your hot water heater to 120 degrees which is a comfortable temp
• Install low-flow faucets and showerheads. Inexpensive and simple-to-install, low-flow shower heads and faucet aerators can reduce home water consumption and water heating costs by as much as 50%.
• Using a microwave to cook meals uses about half the energy of a conventional oven.
• Washing clothes in cold water instead of hot is another energy saving tip that can save you about $50 per year. Tide makes a great cold water detergent that I will swear by
• Vacuum the coils on the back of your refrigerator every 3 or 4 months. The dirt on the coils make the fridge work harder using more energy

Lowering Your Summer Water Bills

• Again, install low-flow faucets and showerheads to reduce the amount of water used
• Turn off the water while you are brushing your teeth
• Use cold water when cooking so you do not have to run the sink for so long. Besides, it’s actually healthier to use cold water
• If you have a sprinkler system, water the lawn very early in the morning. Watering during the day results in a burned lawn and 35% of the water evaporating before it soaks in. Watering at night causes mildew in your garden and other areas of your lawn. This will not only save you money by requiring less water to keep the lawn green but will also reduce waste
• If your neighbors also use a sprinkler system, reduce the watering time on the sides of your yard to save money and reduce waste
• Wait to wash your clothes until there are more clothes to add to that cycle.
• If you do not have a water dispenser on the refrigerator, keep a jug of water in the fridge to reduce the water that gets wasted while you’re waiting for it to get cold