Living green—adopting a lifestyle that protects the environment—is often a misunderstood term. The biggest myth is that it entails changing your entire way of life and buying lots of expensive products.
Reality: You can begin living green by taking a few simple steps, most of which will save you money.
Just slight changes in your daily routines can go a long way toward using less energy and avoiding substances that harm the environment. Examples…
1. Let more sunlight into your house. You’ll use less electricity and need fewer lightbulbs. Relying more on sunlight is often as easy as opening a blind.
2.Drink from the tap instead of using bottled water. Much of the bottled water sold in stores comes from the same source as public tap water. Moreover, plastic bottles require large amounts of fossil fuel to manufacture and still more energy to deliver to retailers. Millions of empty bottles wind up in landfills each year.
If you don’t like the taste of water in your home, try an inexpensive water filter (available at most home-product stores).
3. Prepare meals with locally raised or grown ingredients. The biggest issue for food—from an environmental standpoint—is how far it’s shipped.
4. Avoid using hot water when possible. Cool water often works just as well, such as when using the washing machine. Many detergents clean as effectively in cold water as in hot.
Also: Turn down the temperature on your water heater.
5. Upgrade the energy efficiency of your house. You can hire a professional to analyze the energy efficiency of your residence, typically for about $400 to $500, depending on the size of your home. Most local utility companies provide listings of “energy auditors,” and they can also be located through the US Department of Energy’s Web-based Home Energy Audit (energystar.gov).
By clicking on “Energy Star Home Energy Yard Stick,” you can perform your own audit and, based on the result, see the department’s recommendations for making your house more energy efficient. Many of the suggested improvements cost little and save lots of money.
Example: Installing a programmable thermostat that adjusts the temperature according to the time of day and day of the week. Programmable thermostats typically cost $55 to $90, a price that’s often recouped in a month or two of lower energy bills.
Many utility companies offer rebates for appliances that save energy.
Typical: The utility company of Redding, California, gives customers up to $50 if they buy an energy-efficient refrigerator. Contact your utility company to find out which products qualify.
6. Avoid products containing toxic materials. Many glues, paints, solvents and cleaning products can potentially cause health problems for you and your pets. If a product of this type contains toxic materials, it will usually have a label with the words “caution” or “warning.”
If used according to instructions, even these products are generally safe. The problem is that they may not be used properly. Look for nontoxic, mechanical solutions—such as a plunger rather than a chemical drain opener, or a fly swatter rather than bug spray—or natural alternatives that can still do the job. These days, there’s a wide selection of nontoxic home products on the market.
7. Minimize the use of wall-to-wall carpeting. It can absorb and hold harmful pollutants more easily than other types of flooring.
8. Landscape using native flowers, shrubs and trees. They generally require less pesticide, fertilizer and watering than nonnative plants do. Moreover, native plants are usually much hardier than those adapted from other environments.
To find native plants, contact the agriculture department at a local college or the local Extension Service of the US Department of Agriculture (csrees.usda.gov).
9. Recycle old electronic devices. Most of them contain cadmium, lead and/or mercury. These elements can harm the environment when they reach the air through incineration or the groundwater when they’re disposed of in landfills.<L/p>
You can prevent this from happening by recycling your old cell phones, computers, VCRs and other electronics. To find the nearest recycling center, contact the Consumer Electronics Association (mygreenelectronics.org).
When you buy new electronic equipment, consider a manufacturer that lets customers return products for recycling when they’re ready to be replaced. Many of these manufacturers are listed at the My Green Electronics Web site (mygreenelectronics.org/recyclecorpprograms.aspx). They include Apple, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Nokia, Sony and Toshiba. Some retailers, including Best Buy, have recycling programs, too.
By relying less on a gasoline or diesel-powered vehicle, you put fewer pollutants into the air and spend less money, particularly in view of today’s high fuel prices. Cost-efficient steps…
10. Combine errands. Instead of making a trip in the car each day of the week, plan ahead so that you drive only two or three days a week.
Also: Share rides with friends.
Bonus: Planning errands with friends gives you more opportunities to socialize.
11. Park in the first vacant spot you see. You’ll save gasoline and get exercise.
12. Ride a bicycle, walk or use public transportation. Many of us are so used to driving that we don’t even think about alternatives. In fact, there may be many places we don’t need to drive to.
Helpful: Make a list of destinations that you can easily get to by other means of transportation. You’ll be surprised at how long the list is.
Because new transportation programs and other ways to “live green” are constantly changing, it pays to keep up with the latest news and information on the subject. Helpful Web sites…
