Whether you're into the green movement or not, you've undoubtedly heard the word green far more than you ever thought you would. You don't have to be a card carrying member of the Green Society to want to make a change or two for the better. You don't have to believe there is anything wrong in the world to want to be less invasive on the world around you. Sometimes, without having to chase down a cause, you can do something new, something simple, simply because it makes sense.
I know not everyone believes in the green movement and I respect that; however, most all of us will agree picking up our mess is a good thing. If your neighbor's yard was covered in auto parts and trash blown up against the garage door from the dogs knocking over the can, you'd think it an eyesore? If the same neighbor cleaned up the yard, picked up the trash and threw a mow on the grass, better, right? So, here are some easy and often free things to consider.
Have you ever had a master plan, a grand idea that turned out not to be so good? It was okay, right? We're allowed to try and adjust. If we weren't, we'd never get anywhere in any aspect of our lives. So, why can't we adjust when we learn something we, as a society, have done or been doing something that's not so good? Of course, that's a rhetorical question. Well, here's something quite simple that can make a difference. Stop using paper napkins and paper towels at your home. If you're really zealous you can take a tea towel to your car and use it instead of napkins at your favorite drive through. Cloth can be washed, you can wash these hand towels with your normal towel laundry so there is no more water use, no more electricity, no more detergent and you're not using up a bunch of paper. Easy, peasey just like I promised.
Okay, here's something that is completely selfish, completely for you! Indulge, revel in this smart move and be smug to boot, as you'll be doing good in a byproduct type of way. Eat all natural/organic foods. Ever found yourself asking why food seems so bland? We switched to natural/organic foods in our home and WOW, food tastes good again. Meats are more delicately flavored, fruits are awesome! Oh there are other benefits, if you make the switch you're more likely to be supporting local farms, helping your local economy. Ah, yes, you sacrifice for the better good (wink, wink). Supposedly the 'stuff' used to grow foods and feed animals is better for the ground as well as the beasts, so you're just a do gooder all the way around by making this switch.
The food paragraph is all about you and the benefits are almost selfish they're so tasty. Here the switch is basic but a little tough. It's tougher because the product we're working to avoid in this tip is so very convenient. Dump the plastic water bottles! I understand, this is a tough one. So, let me see if I can't quickly talk you into something else to carry your water. One, nothing taste better than drinking out of glass: LoveBottleDOTnet. If you like metal, they're getting very popular. A recent study showed bottled water to be less healthy than tap water! Bottled water is overseen by the FDA, tap water the EPA, the EPA is far more stringent in their requirement. There is a massive floating island of plastic in our ocean, it's HUGE massive, bigger than a state. Less plastic trash, better for our world.
Buy recyclable packaging or reduce packaging. I love liquid laundry detergent but we're switching to powdered so we can go with the recyclable cardboard box. Easy, no stress, simple. Often if I run into a store and only grabbed one or two things, I decline the store bag. Do I really need a bag for the 1/2-gallon of milk I just picked up? Personal preference here but I don't bag my potatoes or cucumbers, stuff like that.
This is one we're working on here at our homestead, and my motivation is the wallet. Electricity is expensive, especially so when both you and your wife work from home. Our home is running the household equipment all day, as we have a toddler, and our office equipment. So, our electricity bill is frequently $400 per month. So, I've taken on the task of switching all the lights to the CFLs, compact fluorescent bulbs. These are supposed to last much longer than the traditional light bulb and they use far less energy. The typical 60w light can be produced with a 13w CFL. That's pretty cool. Secondly, I've begun equipping all the TVs and computers with surge protectors that have on-off switches. Apparently, Americans were demanding quicker response times from their televisions and needed all their electronics to hibernate, not really TURNING OFF. So, they sit there, quiet, acting like they're off, but they're really pulling energy 24-hours a day, 7-days a week. So, hitting the off switch,shuts 'em down right good and well. I've not put the cable box onto the surge strip because it has to be able to turn on to record shows. Again, simple, practical, realistic. We cut our electric bill in half, just shutting off power strips and replacing the light bulbs. That's good for the wallet!
For techies this one is cake, even for non techies. I get all over my friends on Facebook if they ignore this application. Look on Bebo, look on Facebook, both are free social networking programs. You can sign up for a free account at either at their name DOT com. So log in and look for the "lil' Green Patch". This is a virtual garden where you send your friends virtual flowers, all for free. Then they can accept and plant them in their little garden and send out flowers to their friends and back to you etc. You can do this every day and for every 10 plants you send you save 1 sq foot of the rain forest. It's couldn't be EASIER to save the rain forest. So please, give it a whirl.
Here's a quick hitter for you: the ACEEE new greenest car in America report was released. A Honda Civic took the top spot with the Toyota Prius right behind.
At Toms Shoes DOT com, they donate a pair of shoes for every pair purchased, pretty cool.
Rachel McAdams, the actress, most notably of The Notebook, Mean Girls, Family Stone, etc., has joined a small group of friends and formed an education site: Green Is Sexy DOT org.
That's it, the aim was a guilt free, pressure free, and easy way to make a difference.
I know not everyone believes in the green movement and I respect that; however, most all of us will agree picking up our mess is a good thing. If your neighbor's yard was covered in auto parts and trash blown up against the garage door from the dogs knocking over the can, you'd think it an eyesore? If the same neighbor cleaned up the yard, picked up the trash and threw a mow on the grass, better, right? So, here are some easy and often free things to consider.
Have you ever had a master plan, a grand idea that turned out not to be so good? It was okay, right? We're allowed to try and adjust. If we weren't, we'd never get anywhere in any aspect of our lives. So, why can't we adjust when we learn something we, as a society, have done or been doing something that's not so good? Of course, that's a rhetorical question. Well, here's something quite simple that can make a difference. Stop using paper napkins and paper towels at your home. If you're really zealous you can take a tea towel to your car and use it instead of napkins at your favorite drive through. Cloth can be washed, you can wash these hand towels with your normal towel laundry so there is no more water use, no more electricity, no more detergent and you're not using up a bunch of paper. Easy, peasey just like I promised.
Okay, here's something that is completely selfish, completely for you! Indulge, revel in this smart move and be smug to boot, as you'll be doing good in a byproduct type of way. Eat all natural/organic foods. Ever found yourself asking why food seems so bland? We switched to natural/organic foods in our home and WOW, food tastes good again. Meats are more delicately flavored, fruits are awesome! Oh there are other benefits, if you make the switch you're more likely to be supporting local farms, helping your local economy. Ah, yes, you sacrifice for the better good (wink, wink). Supposedly the 'stuff' used to grow foods and feed animals is better for the ground as well as the beasts, so you're just a do gooder all the way around by making this switch.
The food paragraph is all about you and the benefits are almost selfish they're so tasty. Here the switch is basic but a little tough. It's tougher because the product we're working to avoid in this tip is so very convenient. Dump the plastic water bottles! I understand, this is a tough one. So, let me see if I can't quickly talk you into something else to carry your water. One, nothing taste better than drinking out of glass: LoveBottleDOTnet. If you like metal, they're getting very popular. A recent study showed bottled water to be less healthy than tap water! Bottled water is overseen by the FDA, tap water the EPA, the EPA is far more stringent in their requirement. There is a massive floating island of plastic in our ocean, it's HUGE massive, bigger than a state. Less plastic trash, better for our world.
Buy recyclable packaging or reduce packaging. I love liquid laundry detergent but we're switching to powdered so we can go with the recyclable cardboard box. Easy, no stress, simple. Often if I run into a store and only grabbed one or two things, I decline the store bag. Do I really need a bag for the 1/2-gallon of milk I just picked up? Personal preference here but I don't bag my potatoes or cucumbers, stuff like that.
This is one we're working on here at our homestead, and my motivation is the wallet. Electricity is expensive, especially so when both you and your wife work from home. Our home is running the household equipment all day, as we have a toddler, and our office equipment. So, our electricity bill is frequently $400 per month. So, I've taken on the task of switching all the lights to the CFLs, compact fluorescent bulbs. These are supposed to last much longer than the traditional light bulb and they use far less energy. The typical 60w light can be produced with a 13w CFL. That's pretty cool. Secondly, I've begun equipping all the TVs and computers with surge protectors that have on-off switches. Apparently, Americans were demanding quicker response times from their televisions and needed all their electronics to hibernate, not really TURNING OFF. So, they sit there, quiet, acting like they're off, but they're really pulling energy 24-hours a day, 7-days a week. So, hitting the off switch,shuts 'em down right good and well. I've not put the cable box onto the surge strip because it has to be able to turn on to record shows. Again, simple, practical, realistic. We cut our electric bill in half, just shutting off power strips and replacing the light bulbs. That's good for the wallet!
For techies this one is cake, even for non techies. I get all over my friends on Facebook if they ignore this application. Look on Bebo, look on Facebook, both are free social networking programs. You can sign up for a free account at either at their name DOT com. So log in and look for the "lil' Green Patch". This is a virtual garden where you send your friends virtual flowers, all for free. Then they can accept and plant them in their little garden and send out flowers to their friends and back to you etc. You can do this every day and for every 10 plants you send you save 1 sq foot of the rain forest. It's couldn't be EASIER to save the rain forest. So please, give it a whirl.
Here's a quick hitter for you: the ACEEE new greenest car in America report was released. A Honda Civic took the top spot with the Toyota Prius right behind.
At Toms Shoes DOT com, they donate a pair of shoes for every pair purchased, pretty cool.
Rachel McAdams, the actress, most notably of The Notebook, Mean Girls, Family Stone, etc., has joined a small group of friends and formed an education site: Green Is Sexy DOT org.
That's it, the aim was a guilt free, pressure free, and easy way to make a difference.
About the Author:
For quality teen adventures and youth trips, it's been Action Whitewater for the past 20-years Adventure summer camps are the natural extension of this focus work to create quality experiential education programs for teens. For information, video and photos of what you can expect at an adventure camp, visit our website.
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