by 20 people |
How Do You Start To Live Green?
- Re-use your grocery store bags. Or better yet, get a "bag for life" and use that each visit.
- Is your car journey really necessary? Or could you walk instead?
- Turn off un-needed lights and appliances. "Standby" is useful but you'd probably be shocked at how much power it uses. Turn appliances off at the socket instead.
- Turn off your computer's monitor when you're not using it. Screensavers only save the screen from having a pattern burned into it. Energy saving options in Windows still use energy - switch it off (the switch is likely accessible and easy to find!)
- Eat local food. And rediscover the seasons! We've got a wide range of food available year round but should you really be eating a bowl of strawberries that have traveled half way round the world in the middle of December? If you've got a farmer's market locally, give your taste buds a treat and shop there.
- Buy what you need when you're shopping. The supermarkets exist to tempt us into buying more than we need with constant special offers, designed to load up our houses with unnecessary extras. Take a list when shopping and stick to it. You'll throw less food away and have a clearer kitchen as well as a clearer conscience.
- Car share where possible. Talk to your neighbors or colleagues at work - there's a high chance you're making the same journey at about the same time. Share the car and the gas costs.
- Adjust your heating and air-conditioning. Even a degree will make a difference to your bills and after a day or so, you won't notice the temperature difference.
- Replace worn out appliances with more energy efficient ones. But unless your current one is really bad, don't buy a new appliance just to save in the future.
- Recycle your waste. Most areas have recycling schemes. But don't make a special journey just to recycle.
- Use rechargeable batteries. The initial cost will soon be outweighed by a lower toll on your wallet as well as on the environment.
- Wash your clothes at a lower temperature. Better yet, throw out the detergent and use EcoBalls instead. I've been using them for several years now and always get good results.
How To Live Green And Save Cash
One of the main worries people have about living green is the extra expense that they think is involved.Whilst some green products are more expensive, many of them offer longer life and lower costs during their total life.
For instance, EcoBalls cost a lot upfront but over the 1,000 washes they're good for, you'll save lots on laundry chemicals.
Energy saving light bulbs are getting better and cheaper all the time. Swapping to them is easy and will cut your fuel bills. If you've got bulbs you leave on a lot, swap to these sooner rather than later.
Obviously walking or cycling is cheaper than using a car, but lets face it most of us would have a hard time if we didn't use a car. Accelerate and brake gently - you'll use less gas. Obey the speed limits! 55 miles per hour was chosen because it gets good fuel consumption. Consider a hybrid car when you next trade yours in.
Use both sides of the paper you write on!
If you've got a garden, compost your waste where possible. You'll get a better fertilizer at no cost.
Buy in bulk if you're going to use the product in a realistic timescale. Monitor what you throw away and adjust future purchases. If half what you buy in bulk will goes to waste, change the quantity you buy next time.
Use Freecycle to get rid of unwanted goods rather than throwing them in the trash.
If you can't get hold of environmentally friendly products easily, check out Amazon's range of sustainable living products. Even if you can get these products locally, you may be pleasantly surprised at what's available nowadays.
You can check out more about alternative fuels and renewable energy here.
Green Living: An Easy Guide
Green Living: The E Magazine Handbook for Living Lightly on the Earth
Amazon Price: $11.56 (as of 07/05/2009)
List Price: $17.00
With advice on everything from planet-friendly cosmetics to home-based renewable energy, and straight talk on hemp, hybrids and hair coloring, Green Living is the ideal reference for both the neophyte and the experienced environmentalist.
What Do You Want Most From Living Green?
Easy Steps To Green Living
Latest Green Living News
Fetching RSS feed... please stand byMore Information on Living Green
Sustainable living refers to a lifestyle that attempts to reduce an individual's or society's use of the Earth's natural resource. Practitioners of sustainable living often attempt to reduce their carbon footprint by altering methods of transportation, energy consumption and diet. Proponents of sustainable living aim to conduct their lives in manners that are consistent with sustainability, in natural balance and respectful of humanity's symbiotic relationship with the Earth's natural ecology and cycles.The Center for Ecological Living and Learning (CELL)-philosophy The practice and general philosophy of ecological living is highly interrelated with the overall principles of sustainable development.
Lester R. Brown, a prominent environmentalist and founder of the Worldwatch Institute and Earth Policy Institute, describes sustainable living in the 21st century as "shifting to a renewable energy-based, reuse/recycle economy with a diversified transport system.""An interview with Lester Brown" by Greg Ross [http://www.americanscientist.org/bookshelf/pub/lester-brown] American Scientist.
Share Your Tips On How To Live Green Here
TheGreenerMe wrote...
Thank you for sharing the benefits of going green! excellent work!
Posted December 27, 2008
GreenerLivingToday wrote...
Good information!
I also invite you to visit my lens at:
http://www.squidoo.com/green-living-4
Also, please take a look at out online magazine, Greener Living Today:
http://www.greenerlivingtoday.com
Posted December 24, 2008
kidgrifter wrote...
Great lens! Thanks for the info. I also would like to invite you to join my group that's all about being green!
http://www.squidoo.com/groups/gogreen
Posted September 09, 2008
kidgrifter wrote...
Great lens! Thanks for the info. I also would like to invite you to join my group that's all about being green!
http://www.squidoo.com/groups/gogreen
Posted September 09, 2008
lakeerieartists wrote...
Nice. I will lensroll this with my Weddings Gone Green lens. Loved it.
Posted August 14, 2008
