Going green has certainly been the focus of many eco-friendly lifestyle choices over the past decade, and it should be.
Protecting the environment for both the current population that inhabits the planet as well as future generations that will come is just good common sense. After all, we all breathe the same air and grow our food in the same soil.
While green living may be a choice for many there is always room for improvement.
That being said, here are a few tips that will help you improve your energy efficiency and reduce the carbon footprint you leave behind.
Support your local farmers
Many people like to buy organically grown food then tell their friends they do it to help stop the use of pesticides. The drawback here is if you are buying food produced a long distance away, it didn’t get to your supermarket on its own. It was shipped by a fuel-guzzling plane, boat, truck or railroad. Your purchase helped support all sorts of exhaust emissions that were pumped into the air. It’s better to buy the apple grown down the road by your local farmer.
Buy used
Many used items can be bought in near show-room condition. If you need a new sofa, why not look around for a quality used item before heading to a large retail store. A new sofa requires energy and new materials and must be shipped to the store.
Don’t buy bottled water
You may like to bring a bottle of water with you when enjoying an outing on a summer day. However, those plastic water bottles are petroleum-based products that require a lot of energy to be produced.
It is more efficient and eco-friendly to get a permanent re-usable water container and filter your own water.
Unplug idle electronics
You may think your computer is sleeping, but if there is still a light on it is still using energy. Turn off and unplug any electronic device that is not in use.
Make sure your washing machine and dishwasher are full
Quite often people will do a ‘quick load’ of laundry when they need some clean clothes.
Every time you do that small load means you will be doing another load later to catch up. The same is true with your dishwasher. It is more eco-friendly to wait until you can do one large load rather than several smaller ones that will waste both electricity and water.
Most people would welcome the opportunity to save money. By following these tips you can not only save on your energy bill but you will also do a little more to protect the environment.
As with many things, it is not always just the big picture that matters.
These small efforts when practiced by everyone will ultimately lead to a better environment for everyone.
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