Every person on our planet has a responsibility for helping to conserve the environment. It’s important that we all work together to help combat climate change by lowering our carbon footprint. Thankfully, making the switch to environmentally-friendly or “green living” is becoming simpler. Consider these ten tips for greening up your life this upcoming week.
(1) Become a diligent recycler. Recycle all newspapers, junk mail, envelopes, used office paper, aluminum cans, glass bottles, plastic bottles and cardboard boxes. Go beyond basic recycling and make sure that you recycle batteries, cell phones and unusable computers.
(2) Pursue organic gardening and purchase plants, flowers, and shrubs that are native to your geographical area. Organic gardening is becoming increasingly popular, as people become more aware about the destructive effects of pesticides and insecticides. Think about growing your own organic vegetables and herbs.
(3) Conserve water. When you are brushing your teeth, turn off the water. Purchase a water-saving toilet. Buy your family a water-efficient shower head.
(4) Conserve considerable amounts of energy in your kitchen and laundry room by purchasing an energy-saving, sometimes labeled as “Energy Star” dishwasher, refrigerator, microwave, oven, washer and dryer.
(5) Be careful about turning off the lights when the room is not being used. Teach your spouse or partner and children to get into the healthy habit of turning off the lights when they leave a room, too.
(6) Change the temperature settings of your refrigerator and freezer. Many families consume untold amounts of energy and money by leaving their refrigerator and freezer at temperatures that are colder than necessary.
(7) Purchase organic fruits and vegetables whenever you can to help reduce the amount of pesticides and herbicides that your family unintentionally consumes. Aim to shop at local farmers’ markets, as they often sell wonderfully fresh, high-quality organic produce. Shopping locally is very important in helping to reduce your carbon footprint. An additional benefit is that you are supporting local small businesses.
(8) Think about slowly converting to a more plant-based, vegetarian diet. Many vegetarians cite environmental reasons as primary motivating factors for their animal-friendly lifestyle. Eat vegetarian at least one day per week. Tremendous amounts of water, grain and land are used to graze cattle. An alarming percentage of rainforests are destroyed by companies to graze livestock.
(9) Purchase eco-friendly, reusable cotton grocery bags. Many grocery stores are selling fashionable reusable bags for only a few dollars each. The problem with plastic bags, and all plastic products, is that they do not biodegrade in landfills. The problem with paper grocery bags is that is requires more trees to be cut down.
(10) Convert your home from traditional light bulbs to compact fluorescent light bulbs, commonly known by the acronym CFLs. Although the cost more than regular light bulbs, your family will end up saving money on your electricity bills. A plus is that CFLs usually last ten times longer than traditional bulbs.
