Get Involved - Do Your Part
The City of Shorewood encourages residents to get involved when it comes to enhancing and promoting environmental health in your home an in our community.
At Home
Start with your family and get them involved in achieving a greener home, making our community a greener place to live!
Here are some ideas to get you started:
- Turn off lights when no one is in the room.
- Close heat vents in areas of your home that are not being used - bedrooms by day, office at night, etc.
- Install a programmable thermostat and set it to lower temperatures at night and when no one is home during the day. Each degree lower can decrease a heating bill by 1%.
- Unplug coffee makers, toasters, food processors, etc. when not in use.
- Use power strips to turn off groups of appliances when not in use. Group together the DVD player, VCR, stereo and gaming units and power them down when no one is around.
- Set humidifiers and dehumidifiers to turn on only when the humidity level warrants.
- Don't overuse exhaust fans in bathrooms, kitchens or basements as they can suck out a roomful of warm air very quickly requiring your furnace to work harder.
Find more ideas and information on tax credits and rebates from the US Department of Energy.
Locally, the Center for Energy and the Environment has low cost loans to help make energy efficient improvements.
Clean Green
Reduce toxic chemicals in your home, the amount you spend on cleaners, and leave your house smelling clean and fresh. Below are just a few ways to clean your house using natural products.
- General Cleaner: 1/2 cup baking soda mixed with a liquid vegetable based soap makes a great cleaner for counters (and won't leave scratches), sinks and other surfaces.
- Disinfectant Spray: 2 cups water, 1/2 cup vinegar and 10 drops of an essential oil like lemon oil or tea tree oil. Spray this onto counters, bathroom, and floors.
- Window and Glass Cleaner: Club soda in a spray bottle. Wipe clean.
- Furniture Polish: Put olive oil and lemon juice on a clean cloth. Wipe onto wood. Wipe off. Take care not to get onto upholstery.
Find out more green recipes.
Bottled Water vs. Tap Water
Is bottled water really cleaner? Check out this fact sheet from the MN Department of Health that discusses the relative safety of bottled versus tap water.
The City of Shorewood strives to provide an uninterrupted supply of safe, high quality water to our community. Review Shorewood's 2009 Drinking Water Report. This report is updated annually in January and published in June.
Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs
These bulbs use about 2/3 less energy than standard incandescent bulbs to provide the same amount of light, and last up to 10 times longer. Please recycle them as hazardous waste. For proper disposal, contact Hennepin County at: (612) 348-3777 or go to the Hennepin County web site.
Find more information on compact fluorescent light bulbs.
Energy
Do you know there are various ways Shorewood residents may save on energy bills?
Click on the links below to learn more.
At the Lake
When fishing Shorewood lakes, please consider using lead-free fishing tackle.
The lead-free fishing tackle promotion is a part of a program sponsored by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and the Department of Natural Resources.
- Click here for more information about how to get the lead out and participate in the tackle exchange.
- Click here for more information on where to drop off your lead tackle or call Hennepin County Environmental Services at (612) 348-3777.
Green Building
Shorewood encourages the use of green building practices. Green building practices encompass many different aspects from design to reusing materials to alternative landscaping. Click on the links below to learn more.
Transportation
Residents can make a difference to help make Shorewood an environmentally responsible community. Individual environmental footprints can have a huge impact on our community. Explore ways to reduce your individual environmental footprint by clicking on the links below.