Eco-Friendly Tips: Top 10 Tips To Go Green

The first step to addressing a problem is understanding the problem. With that being said, you may have already completed the first step.

1. FIGURE OUT YOUR CARBON FOOTPRINT
   This allows you to calculate how extensive your impact is on the environment. Once you have figured out your impact, reducing and offsetting that carbon is easier than you think. Purchasing carbon offsets is often the cheapest way to reduce your carbon. For example, take the price of a home solar panel. To install your own photovoltaic (PV) system and connect it to the grid costs on average $30,000 which is a large initial investment to reduce your carbon footprint. Although we strongly support anyone who is bold enough to install their own electrical generation system, it is just not economically feasible for all who want to reduce their carbon footprint.
2. RECYCLE AND BUY RECYCLED
   You are saving tons of natural resources and cutting down carbon emissions when you recycle and buy recycled products. It takes more energy to create something new than it does to recycle. Recycling aluminum cans, for example, saves 95% of the energy required to make the same amount of aluminum from its virgin source, bauxite. (United States Environmental Protection Agency). Also recycling creates jobs – currently there are over 1.5 million people worldwide employed by the recycling industry.
3. UNPLUG YOUR ELECTRONICS
   Even if you turned off your appliance, it's still using energy. See that little red light that goes on when you shut something down? The easiest way to deal with totally shutting off your electronics is to plug them into an energy saving power strip which can be shut off with an easy flip of a switch.
4. USE LESS WATER
   Try to limit your shower time to 5-8 minutes. Turn off the faucet while brushing your teeth, shaving or lathering up. Most importantly, reduce your water usage outdoors. The average American uses 400 gallons of water per day, 30% of which is used outdoors and half of that for watering lawns. This works out to be 7 billion gallons of water per day (EPA). If you’re serious, consider removing your lawn and xeriscaping with drought-tolerant plants.
5. STOP USING PLASTIC BAGS
   Guess how long it takes for a plastic bag to decompose? 1,000 years. And they just keep piling up in landfills and oceans across the world. Instead of taking home your groceries in dozens of plastic bags, invest in reusable bags. Reusable bags are much more durable and can be used over and over again.
6. CHANGE YOUR LIGHTBULBS
   Switch out your incandescent bulbs for energy-saving LED (Light Emitting Diodes) or CFL (Compact Florescent Light) bulbs. According to the International Energy Agency, a global switch to efficient lighting systems would trim the world’s electricity bill by nearly one-tenth. The carbon dioxide emissions saved by such a switch would dwarf cuts so far achieved by adopting wind and solar power. Make an even bigger impact and switch off lights when leaving a room.
7. B.Y.O.M – BRING YOUR OWN MUG
   Those cups your lattés come in? Not recyclable. Even worse are the Styrofoam cups some establishments still use which NEVER decompose. Why not invest in a nice reusable mug in which to carry your beverage? As an added bonus some coffee establishments will give you a discount for bringing in your own mug.
8. BUY LOCALLY
   Consider how many miles your strawberries took to get to you and the resulting amount of carbon emissions, then consider which items you purchase at the store. Whenever possible, buy products that were grown, raised, or produced in your state. Not only will this cut down on carbon emissions, but it will also give the local economy a boost.
   Tip: visit one of the many local farmers markets this summer and stock up on the fresh fare.
9. REUSE
   In a highly disposable world such as ours, it's easy to throw something away after using it once and not think twice about it. But maybe it's time we did. Disposable items can be convenient, but they're costing us more and doing more damage to the environment in the long run. Try to replace disposable items with things that can be used over and over again. Here are some examples: Cloth napkins instead of paper, sponges instead of paper towels, reusable containers instead of Ziploc bags, and washable micro-fiber mop pads instead of disposable sweeping cloths.
10. GET CREATIVE
    Going Green is really all about how you can adopt more conservative practices into your every day life style. Create different ways to enjoy your daily routine in a new greener light. Even socializing with friends or playing with your family can all associate with the benefits of a green lifestyle. You will see your family grow stronger over a game of cards versus an episode of you favorite show. Friends will come closer together on a baseball field than in a late night club. Most importantly you will start to feel stronger about your self mentally, physically and emotionally. The trick is understanding how you consume energy or pollute with waste. Then simply do less of a bad thing.