Going Green Today
A Day in the Life of an Environmentally Friendly Guy
The tinkling bells on the top of my old-fashioned spring-driven alarm clock tell me it’s time to wake up. It’s portable, affordable, and it doesn’t use electricity, which means that even if there’s a power outage in the middle of the night, I’ll wake up at the right time (assuming, of course that I remember to wind it up).
Brrr…I’m a little chilly as I toss off my old wool blanket and throw on my favorite old cotton terrycloth bathrobe…I guess I’d have to say that most of my stuff is rather “vintage,” but I believe in using things until they’re worn out. And I shop almost exclusively at vintage, thrift or second-hand stores. I mean, let’s face it, every new product we consume—every garment, every food item, every little thing we find on the shelf at the store down on Main Street--requires all sorts of energy to get there. And whenever I buy something used I’m saving the space it would have taken up in landfills if it had been thrown out.
Breakfast is cereal and a banana, and I make sure to put the banana peel in my compost heap—the end result is better than anything I’ve ever bought at any home & garden store, and I reduce my garbage output by an incredible amount (more than half of what I used to put in the trash ends up in the compost)!
Before I leave the house, I turn the heater completely off (no need to expend any energy to heat or cool the house when nobody’s there). I’ve replaced every standard light bulb in the house with compact fluorescent bulbs, and because so many electrical appliances use phantom power even when they’re switched off, I make sure all the lights and power strips are turned off. I hop on my bike and head off to work. Luckily I live close enough to my job that I can get there using only my own two legs to power my vehicle. The only carbon dioxide I emit is by breathing out…and I also get a great workout on the nearly five mile ride (one way).
Like most people, I can’t wait until lunchtime rolls around. But unlike most of my co-workers, I still carry a lunch-pail with a large thermos. No bottles or cans to recycle…no waste paper wrapping. One of my office buddies eats fast food every day and leaves all the wrappers, cups and bags in his car. By the end of the week, his backseat is nearly full of un-recyclable trash…and that’s just one meal for one guy five days a week! My mind reels when I think how much of our landfills are taken up just by fast food wastepaper! A few years ago, I set up special recycling bins in the staff lunch room. I collect the bottles and cans and return them for recycling, and I’ve donated over a thousand dollars to a number of charities with the money.
As I ride my bike home after another hard day at the office, I notice that nearly every car that passes me on the road has only one driver. I bite my tongue and count to 10, but I feel like shouting at each and every passing motorist, “Thanks for all the air pollution, buddy!” I think of all the greenhouse gases that I’m inhaling, not to mention the damage to the environment, and my blood practically boils! Yes, one person can only do so much, and that’s why I do as much as I possibly can to offset the crimes and misdemeanors of my fellow earthlings.
Unfortunately, it’s easier to get people to do some things than it is to do others. At my office, we have approximately 100 employees, and a parking lot for 100 cars, but it’s almost always full to capacity every morning before I pull in. That’s an awful lot of gasoline, and a lot of pollution to be putting out in the atmosphere every day. And it’s not like there aren’t all sorts of alternatives available (buses, trains, van-pools, etc.), but I bet I could count the number of my co-workers who use mass transit and still have fingers left over on one hand. However, when somebody (I think it might have been me) tried to get a ride-sharing program started in the office a little while back, it was a failure.
Shopping gives me a number of opportunities to flex my “green” muscles. I must say it’s refreshing to see how many companies are stepping up with new, “eco-friendly” products and packaging. I always bring my reusable canvas shopping bags. I also try to buy in bulk whenever possible. I buy everything that doesn’t spoil in huge jugs, jars, bags or bottles. Less packaging=less trash=more room in the landfills! Plus, it’s usually a lot cheaper, and who really needs individually wrapped servings?
I also go to the neighborhood farmer’s market every Wednesday night. I like to buy as many locally grown fruits and vegetables as I can. They take a lot less energy to drive from the farm across town than to be shipped driven or flown across country. And they usually taste better--they’re much fresher!
I’ve only scratched the surface of an average day in my life…there isn’t enough space on these pages to list all the simple things I do every day to (hopefully) make the world a better place for my children and grandchildren to live. I can only hope that the movement will continue to grow and that more of my fellow citizens will begin to take notice of their wasteful ways and try to change their bad habits. Anybody can do it…all it takes is a change of attitude and a plan of action!
Rethink Community
So you’ve started down your own green path and want to do more to make up for years of taking the environment for granted. You could make a big impact by getting your community to adopt green initiatives.
By getting involved in your community, communicating with your neighbors, and by re-imagining where you live, your effort can be the push to make waves from the streets, to local neighborhoods, to surrounding cities and, ultimately, society at large.
Start by talking to your neighbors and share your lifestyle changes. Tell others what you are doing to live a clean, green life. Whether it’s as simple as how to separate recyclables to more complex projects like composting, get out there and share your journey.
Small Steps – Provide step-by-step instruction on how you got started with your new green life. Have a “birthday” garden party where guests bring plants instead of gifts.
Giant Leaps - Organize an educational evening such as a film screening, workshop, or a discussion group at your local library. You could also lead a neighborhood garage sale or swap meet where people can get to know each other while recycling goods.
Joining a local environmental group is a great way to find out what’s going on around you from the laws in place to the local demands on natural resources. Use this venue to brainstorm what things you could help initiate that would have a noticeable effect which could inspire people to do more.
Creating a plan once problems have been identified is the next step. Research plans executed in other cities with goals similar to what you’d like to accomplish. Be prepared for the long haul as you are encouraging life-long lifestyle changes.
Take action! Far too many communities have come up with good ideas, only to drop the ball when it comes to execution. Be a squeaky wheel! Make some noise! Get involved with your community because you CAN make a difference!
A great resource for information on how to help your community become more sustainable is the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Green Communities program. You can download a web-based toolkit and planning guide that you can check out by surfing over to www.epa.gov/greenkit/index.htm.
Helping Others Get Green
Many people believe that if they go green, it wont make an impact in the environment, what change can one person really make? This article is designed to show you how you can help others by being a great leading example. The power of one person’s example can and does bring out positive change in others. Here are 5 ways to help your friends, neighbors and co-workers:
1. Lighting makes a huge impact on where we live and where we work because it makes a huge impact on how we feel. It is also one of the easiest ways to help green your environment. Change the light bulbs in your office or recommend that the office building changes to Energy Star rated light bulbs and fixtures which use at least 2/3 less energy than regular lighting. You can also install timers or motion sensors that automatically shut off lights when they’re not needed. Recommend that your friends and neighbors switch to compact fluorescent light bulbs which use less energy and make their electric bills much less.
2. Transportation is another huge impact on the environment, whether it’s your daily commute or your vacation, there are numerous ways you can help yourself and others to reduce the toxic emissions that each vehicle makes.
Creating a rideshare/carpool program in your office is a great way to start. Also, consider taking mass transit when it is an option and urging others to do so. When traveling, rental car companies now have hybrids you can rent or just use the mass transit in the city.
3. Energy is used and wasted every day, one of the things that consumes the most energy in the office or at home is your computer, especially when left on or idle. Make it a habit to turn off your computer and unplug it from the power strip when you leave at night. A computer that’s turned off and still plugged in is still burning energy. Also, make it a habit to set your computer to sleep if you are idle for a longer period of time. Another option is to invest in energy saving computers/printers/monitors, these systems have their own sleep settings and can shut on and off by themselves. And remember… you can always recycle a computer that you don’t need, you may even get a tax deduction.
4. Paper is usually wasted in the office, the average worker goes thru 10,000 pages a year. To reduce our consumption of paper, print carefully and go paperless. Printed copies of memos are simply unnecessary with the advancement of technology. If you find that you must print, use both pages, and print on recycled paper. You can also help your office/neighborhood by starting a recycling program, and encouraging everyone to recycle.
5. A great and easy way to help the planet is to watch what and how you eat. Make sure that you are using silverware and a coffee mug for your daily meals, and real plates instead of disposables. Also, the switch to organic foods grown by local farmers can help both you and your local area. The basics are: eat local, eat seasonal, eat organic and eat less meat. This will help the environment in more ways that you can think.
REDUCE * REUSE * RECYCLE
