Back on December 26, 2006, I started thinking about this topic. In the past, I've been much more environmentally aware, more involved. In my 20s, I interned with an environmental group in Washington, DC; I recycled; I cleaned up the parks; I was more conscious of what I purchased and how I recycled or reused products. I supported companies with a green message and tried to conserve in every way. Throughout the years, I've gotten lazy. I still recycle my newspapers, plastic, and glass, but I realized I could be doing so much more.
I posed the question to my Gather friends: How do I get green in the New Year? They had some helpful advice, and I've spent some more time researching, and here is a list of steps that I (and all those who want to join with me in taking better care of our planet) can follow. Are they small steps? Yes, but together a lot of small steps can make a big difference.
1. Cooking from Scratch
I realized that a lot of my consumer waste comes from eating out or eating prepackaged foods. This year, I plan to cook more from scratch, eat less pre-packaged food, buy more organic products as well as products like paper towels that include post-consumer recycled material. I also plan to go the extra step to save on additional wrapping materials: for example, I'm planning to buy tea leaves and use an infuser instead of using tea bags. And finally, at the suggestion of so many, to bring my own canvas bags to the grocery store.
2. Compost
With all that cooking, there's no excuse not to recycle that waste. This would also be a great boost for the soil in my garden come spring planting season.
3. Preventing Waste at the Local Coffee and Sandwich Shops
This year I resolve to bring my own mug to Starbucks, to not get my sandwich in a separate bag in addition to having it wrapped, to not grab a huge stack of napkins that I don't plan to use, and to try and frequent places that use real plates and silverware so that I don't throw more plastic onto the trash heap.
4. Buy Energy Saving Light Bulbs and Unplug Electronics When I'm Not Using Them
Just last night, I was reading an article in my local paper on conserving electricity (Illinois rates are going up tomorrow by more than 20% where I live), and the article stated that the single best way to conserve energy is to replace normal lightbulbs with energy-saving ones (spiral design). Also even though appliances are not on, if they have a square shaped box on the cord/plug, they continue to use a tiny amount of electricity (what's called a "phantom surge") that can be saved by unplugging them. This is particularly true for computers and microwave ovens.
5. Switch to Nontoxic Cleaners
I plan to use plant-based, biodegradable cleaners this year instead of my usual chemical-laden favorites.
6. Use the Library and Join a Book Swap Online
I can't say that I'll be giving up my newspaper, but I can buy less books and trade more. Also, there are a few oldies that I could dust off and finally read.
7. Join an Environmental Group
There are lots of great nonprofit environmental groups out there, and I can surely lend my financial support to one of them this year. Keeping aware is important to keeping committed to staying green.
8. Stop Using Plastic Bags
Surprisingly, this might be the hardest of all for me. I am the kind of person who throws all those leftovers in plastic bags and then throws the plastic bags away after one use. I know I can do better by using all those plastic containers from cottage cheese, for example (not to mention all those containers it's so tough to find lids for in my cupboard), instead of purchasing yet another box of plastic bags to store my food.
9. Use More Public Transportation
This one isn't so tough for me because the Chicago area has lots of options, but for those reading, I thought it was a good reminder.
10. Buy EnergyStar If I Have to Replace an Appliance
There are so many options out there now for living greener: energy saving washers and dryers, eco-conscious flooring (bamboo, which is recyclable wood, and natural fiber carpeting to cite a couple of examples), windows that do a better job of insulating. If I do any remodeling this year, I plan to keep my green footprint in mind when purchasing something new for my house.
Will I be able to do all of these things in 2007 to help the environment? I'm not sure, but I do know that if I can make better choices on a small scale and doing my part for my neighborhood and planet earth as I experience it, I will make improvements over the way I live now. And that would be a very good thing indeed.
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Comments: 21
you have some good ideas and I assure you that you will save money.
We have alot of recipes for bisquick and other homemade mixes posted on the HOMEMADE GIFTS group. You should check them out.
I encourage you to share your resolution with the young people in your life...be it nieces/nephews or neighbors. Seeing someone actually live a greener life can be motivating.
Good luck, Christine! You should keep a diary during the year...it could turn into a magazine article or maybe even a book.
A few things I have done that aren't on your list:
1. I carry cloth bags in the trunk of my car and take them into stores for packing groceries and other items. Whole Foods gives me $.10 credit for each bag.
2. Instead of washing my sheets every week (seven days), I stretch the length of time between changing my sheets to nine days. This means I wash sheets 41 times in a year instead of 52 and save water.
3. I became a vegetarian and thereby eat lower on the food chain and save resources.
4. I moved into multiple family housing, which saves a lot of energy (and costs) for heating and cooling.
5. I purchased a hybrid car when it was time to get a new car.
6. I reuse the plastic and paper bags I get.
I have used cleaning products that are more environmentally friendly for more than 15 years and find them not only to do a good job, but also to be gentler on my hands and my sense of smell.
To help yourself recycle, set up a system in your household. Establish a place to hold recyclables until they can be picked up by municipal recycling or until you can take them somewhere for recycling. Also establish a carrying container if the recyclables need to be carried to a recycling bin in a garage or basement.
While we as individuals can do a lot on our own, so much of what is possible for us to do is limited or encouraged by the policies of government and business leaders and the systems they set up for the public. I couldn't buy a hybrid car if it weren't available. I couldn't do recycling to the extent I do if it hadn't been established by governments and businesses in my area in the early 1990s.
Therefore, it's important for us to convey our need for improvements to our environmental policies and systems to government and business leaders and to support and acknowledge them in these decisions. For example, it's currently hard for an individual to recycle unrechargeable batteries, but businesses do. I save used, batteries and give them to a friend who works at the company where I used to work when we get together for her/him to put into my former employer's recycling system. With all the batteries that are used in developed countries, why don't governments set up systems for collection and recycling of batteries?
I published an article on Gather last August,
"21 Internet Resources for Sustainable Living" at
http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474976779798 that gives Internet sites that can help you learn more about sustainability and get more active politically and practically.
thanks for the info
As for Verie's mention of a hybrid car, if you're interested, check into the tax breaks before you buy. These can equalize the cost somewhat.
Concerning those plastic bags ... we usually have several drying over tall bottles awaiting reuse, and reuse, and reuse. Sometimes I wish the bloody things would just dissolve. I wonder if there's an easier way!
They learned how to make do and to find where to buy used items.
I joined the group and had over 200 e-mails in less than one day.
I decided not to keep anything new and unsubscribed.
Their ideas are interesting and sound and possibly able to follow, but NOT all those messages.
My fiance and I share a car to conserve... We walk places if we can.
We get plastic bags - but they don't go into the trash. My step dad goes to Ohio every summer to visit his mom. While he is there he sells fresh Ohio sweet corn (from a big farm his friend owns) and vegetables from his moms card. We all save our plastic bags and then he reuses them when he sells the produce.
We don't throw away extra napkins - we keep them in the car and use them later.
We clean a lot with white vinegar. It's good for a lot of things.
I'm a vegetarian - but I could cut down on boxed and processed foods - I will make that goal.
I belong to www.bookcrossing.com for swapping books.
Good luck with your goals.
Thanks for mentioning that you unplug appliances. When I talk about this, I usually get scoffed at. But it does make a difference and if we all did it, it would make an even bigger one!
Something else I thought about yesterday was all the new disposable containers - like gladware, etc., for leftovers. Whatever happened to Tupperware? You know use, wash, reuse, wash, reuse... The disposable leftover containers eventually end up in the landfills, don't they?