What Does it Mean to ‘Go Green’?
10 Simple Steps to Get Started
Swap out bulbs. Installing a compact fluorescent bulb is the quickest, easiest way to save energy and money. They consume 75 percent less electricity and last 10 times longer. If every household in the U.S. replaced one regular light bulb with one compact fluorescent bulb, the pollution reduction would be equivalent to removing one million cars from the road.
Get around green. Not many of us can realistically live without a car. But if you can, consider carpooling, public transportation, riding a bicycle, or even walking. If you’re in the market for a new car, check out a hybrid or an electric vehicle.
Support local farmers. Consider the amount of pollution created to get your food from the farm to your table. Typical grocery store produce travels nearly 1,500 miles before it ends up on your plate . Whenever possible, buy from local farmers or farmers markets. This way, you can reduce the amount of pollution created when products are flown or trucked in.
Go meatless on Mondays. Adding one meat-free meal per week (for a family of four) has the same impact as driving a hybrid car. Raising livestock produces a large amount of greenhouse gases, so cutting back—even one night a week—makes a big difference.
Look for the Energy Star® label. When it’s time to replace a household appliance, choose a product with an Energy Star label. Sponsored by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Energy, Energy Star guarantees that products are energy-efficient. A household with Energy Star products uses about 30 percent less energy than the average household—an annual savings of about $570.
Do full loads. Whenever you wash just a few articles of clothing or dishes at a time, rather than waiting for a full load to accumulate, you’re wasting water, power, and money.
Bring your own shopping bags. Each year, the U.S. uses 84 billion plastic bags. They are not biodegradable, so they’re making their way into our oceans, and subsequently, the food chain. Reusable bags are an inexpensive and a readily available option to cut back on plastic bags.
Give up bottled water. Nearly 90 percent of plastic water bottles are not recycled, taking thousands of years to decompose. Buy a reusable container and fill it with tap water. The EPA’s standards for tap water are more stringent than the Food and Drug Administration’s standards for bottled water.
Cut down on junk mail. The average American receives 40 pounds of junk mail each year, destroying 100 million trees. There are many free online services that can help reduce the clutter in your mailbox.
Recycle. By now, this should be a no-brainer. Through advances in recycling technology, you have more options than ever. Here’s what you can recycle: water bottles, cans (aluminum, steel, tin), glass, plastics, batteries, cellphones and paper (newspapers, magazines, cardboard). Recycling just the Sunday paper alone would save more than half a million trees every week.
Here’s a powerful truth: everything we do every day has an impact on the planet – good or bad. If you recycle your water bottles and shut off the faucet while you’re brushing your teeth, you’re making a difference! So what exactly does it mean to “go green”? It means changing your behavior and lifestyle to reduce the amount of pollution and waste you generate. Here are 10 simple tips to add some eco-love to your everyday routine.
Swap out bulbs. Installing a compact fluorescent bulb is the quickest, easiest way to save energy and money. They consume 75 percent less electricity and last 10 times longer. If every household in the U.S. replaced one regular light bulb with one compact fluorescent bulb, the pollution reduction would be equivalent to removing one million cars from the road.
Get around green. Not many of us can realistically live without a car. But if you can, consider carpooling, public transportation, riding a bicycle, or even walking. If you’re in the market for a new car, check out a hybrid or an electric vehicle.
Support local farmers. Consider the amount of pollution created to get your food from the farm to your table. Typical grocery store produce travels nearly 1,500 miles before it ends up on your plate . Whenever possible, buy from local farmers or farmers markets. This way, you can reduce the amount of pollution created when products are flown or trucked in.
Go meatless on Mondays. Adding one meat-free meal per week (for a family of four) has the same impact as driving a hybrid car. Raising livestock produces a large amount of greenhouse gases, so cutting back—even one night a week—makes a big difference.
Look for the Energy Star® label. When it’s time to replace a household appliance, choose a product with an Energy Star label. Sponsored by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Energy, Energy Star guarantees that products are energy-efficient. A household with Energy Star products uses about 30 percent less energy than the average household—an annual savings of about $570.
Do full loads. Whenever you wash just a few articles of clothing or dishes at a time, rather than waiting for a full load to accumulate, you’re wasting water, power, and money.
Bring your own shopping bags. Each year, the U.S. uses 84 billion plastic bags. They are not biodegradable, so they’re making their way into our oceans, and subsequently, the food chain. Reusable bags are an inexpensive and a readily available option to cut back on plastic bags.
Give up bottled water. Nearly 90 percent of plastic water bottles are not recycled, taking thousands of years to decompose. Buy a reusable container and fill it with tap water. The EPA’s standards for tap water are more stringent than the Food and Drug Administration’s standards for bottled water.
Cut down on junk mail. The average American receives 40 pounds of junk mail each year, destroying 100 million trees. There are many free online services that can help reduce the clutter in your mailbox.
Recycle. By now, this should be a no-brainer. Through advances in recycling technology, you have more options than ever. Here’s what you can recycle: water bottles, cans (aluminum, steel, tin), glass, plastics, batteries, cellphones and paper (newspapers, magazines, cardboard). Recycling just the Sunday paper alone would save more than half a million trees every week.
When you follow these simple tips for green living, the small changes you make daily can add up to big changes over time, so we can all live #BetterEveryDay.
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