Let’s Do Everything Green
Walk or bike to work and save money on gas and parking while improving your cardiovascular health and reducing your risk of obesity. Buy used. Check out garage sales and thrift stores for clothing and other everyday items. Shop at your local farmers’ market. It saves energy by reducing the fossil fuels needed to transport food and other items across the country and around the globe. Change the thermostat setting and install energy saving devices. Take shorter showers to save water and the energy used to heat it. Install a Solar Water Heater. Compost your food scraps.
Skip the bottled water at the grocery or convenience store. Not only is bottled water expensive, but it produces large amounts of container waste. Think twice about new electronics. E-waste from discarded cell phones and computers is a growing environmental problem. Mounds of electronic refuse are being shipped abroad illegally for ‘disassembly’ by workers with little protection against the mercury and other toxic substances they contain. Buy higher-quality items and don’t give in to ‘psychological obsolescence’ marketing campaigns. Recycle your cell phone and support good causes at the same time!
Add one meatless meal per day. Industrial meat production requires huge energy inputs and creates conditions that promote the spread of diseases such as avian flu, potentially costing society billions. Use your local library and other public amenities. Borrowing from libraries, instead of buying personal books and movies, saves money and printing resources. Be an active civic participant and ensure that the public spaces and facilities in your town are well maintained. This will promote a healthy, sustainable community.