Following the trend of others, I thought I’d offer up some of my own green tips, that I actually do myself on a day to day basis, in honor of Earth Day. Seattle is a bit ahead of the curve when it comes to being green and I love living in such a progressive city.
#1 Use reusable cloth bags to bring home your groceries. Contrary to popular belief, paper bags are not better for the environment than plastic bags! Tons of stores are selling reusable bags right up at the checkout these days, or rummage around and I am sure you’ll find a handful of canvas and/or cotton bags around the house. Leave them in the car and then you’ll be all set for you next shopping trip.
#2 Drive a sensible car. My personal belief is that there is a time and a place for an SUV. Do you have 4+ kids? Do you have several large dogs? Do you drive around on dirt forest service roads on a regular basis? No? Well, then you can probably get by without your gas guzzler. My little Corolla can transport 4 adults (5 if people don’t mind cozying up), could handle a dog or two, has been known to make it up into the mountains on a regular basis, can fit a heck of a lot in its trunk when you pack it right, and still gets well over 30 mpg on the highway even in its old age. Do I sometimes wish for the perks of an SUV? Sure, but I certainly don’t NEED them enough to justify the impact on the environment. I’m not suggesting that everyone race out and trade in their SUVs for a more environmental friendly car, but to just consider the environmental ramifications before going out to buy a new one. (L pointed out the safety issue - I think it is a grey area. This report is several years old, but is written by academics.)
#3 Buy local. Hit up those farmers’ markets. Not only do you get fresher, cheaper, often organic produce, but the amount of greenhouse gases associated with local products are dramatically less than those shipped in from, say Chile. Around here a common question is what to do if you have to choose between local or organic? The best answer seems to be choose local. My favorite part about buying produce from the farmers’ market? The prices!!! At the market I frequent, I can get two big, fresh, bright red peppers for a dollar. Yes 50 cents each, versus $2 for just one tired looking one at Safeway!
#4 Use a reusable water bottle (and coffee mugs too). I think this is pretty self evident, but in case numbers make it more compelling: approximately 18 million barrels of crude oil equivalent were consumed in 2005 to replace the 2 million tons of PET (the plastic used to make one-time use water bottles) bottles that were wasted instead of recycled! Even if you are recycling, a significant amount of energy is needed to produce (and transport) bottled water. My own personal verdict is still out on drinking from reusable plastic bottles – I tossed out my super old nalgenes and am careful to make sure I don’t fill them with hot water, dry them in the dishwasher, or leave them out in the sun. Something about drinking out of an aluminum bottle makes me a little wary too.
(Sitting on my desk today alone.)#5 Replace your light bulbs with Compact Fluorescent bulbs. I have to give credit to my roommate for this one, slowly replacing all the bulbs in our house. CFLs use about 75% less energy than incandescent light bulbs (and last longer!). CFLs cost a bit more but over its lifetime, one bulb can save you up to $30 in electricity costs, making the extra expenditure worthwhile in the end.
4 comments:
And there are a lot of CUTE reusable bags out there! :)
I have to admit, I'd really like an SUV, though. It's nice when you have to transport large items, like when I estate sale shop. And another big reason is because they are safer. I have multiple friends who were safe in car accidents because of the well-built structure of an SUV.
I'd like to buy some reusable water bottles, too. Because like you mentioned, recycling actually uses up even more energy than the alternative. Plus, I think if I got in the habit of filling my reusable bottles, I would be sure to get a good daily intake of water.
In Prague, if you don't have a bag with you when you go grocery shopping, you're S.O.L. because they don't provide them. You're all on your own.
If I drank the tap water here, I'd use my nalgene bottle way more often, but unfortunately, the tap water tastes more or less like it was pulled from as close to the mucky bottom of the Vltava as they could get. I don't love my water tasting like dirt/grass. I have to admit this adds up to a LOT of plastic waste coming from me because I drink at least a half gallon of water a day.
Re: #5, a lot of hardware stores in California these days are selling CFC for like a $1 a piece!! The light bulbs are being subsidized by utility companies. Other states might be doing this too. Kyle and I replaced ALL the light bulbs in our house!
I'm so excited for my local farmer's market to start up soon!
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