Going Green Today!!
Green is the new black! Everywhere people are talking about “green.” From every walk of life, it seems there is a green slant. Even TV shows, movies, and even food have taken the “green plunge.” What does that mean for you? Most of us have never worried about if we left a light bulb on, much less about how much water we used when we took a shower. So what has turned everyone onto being and doing green? Many people are concerned about their education, their children, and their overall “carbon footprint.” Energy, food, and water are on the top of the green priority list, and they should be on yours, too. Energy consumption is very easy, and can even save you money! The average household in the US consumes 10,656 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year, according to the Department of Energy. This can easily be reduced with a few simple and inexpensive steps.
First, turn up or down your thermostat, depending on the weather. It’s obviously not necessary to be running you’re a/c or heater when you are not there. A programmable thermostat is even better. It will turn itself off and on to not only save you money, but save on energy and thus “go green.” You also should change your most used light bulbs to low-energy or fluorescent. Energy surveys can also be done for free by your local utility company and can give you a personal plan of attack for lowering your energy consumption.
How do you go green with food? Buy local as much as possible! Visit the farmer’s market in your area. There are also local places where you can find organic meat, vegetables, eggs and goods at fair prices. Buying local saves the atmosphere from absorbing millions of tons of carbon emissions. If you have a green thumb, you might want to start a garden! This is such a great activity to do with your family. Organic milk and eggs are easy to begin buying first, and you can branch out from there.
Although this last area has been in the spot light recently, many people still over-look their water usage and waste. You don’t have to buy an expensive filtration system for the home, nor do you have to fill up a bunch of bottles every day from home to avoid buying bottled water. The easy solution to cut down on your water costs and the plastic waste created by plastic bottles is to purchase water filter bottles. It’s such a simple idea, and can drastically reduce your energy consumption. Portable bottle filters have the added benefit of being healthy for you. They are the perfect alternative to bottled water. They play a tremendous role in reducing waste and they are cool! Most people haven’t heard of filtered water bottles or other types of portable water filters, so you should do your part to get the word out. If you see somebody walking down the street with a bottle of store-bought bottled water, tell them how much energy they are wasting, and how to use a filter bottle.
