Small Things I Do For The Environment

As part of Blog Action Day I decided to list the things I have been doing lately to be more environmentally friendly. Hopefully this will inspire others to make some changes in their lives.

After moving to Oregon I decided to try live healthier. Part of that was weight loss, and another part was reducing my footprint on the planet. Here are some changes I have made and why they’re important.

Stopped drinking bottled water: American’s purchase 28 billion water bottles per year, and 80% of those end up in land fills. The bottles water industry also consumes 17 million barrels of oil per year, and contributes 2.5 million tons of CO2 into our air. And these numbers are growing dramatically every year.

Since I have been working on weight loss, more water has been essential. But I now just own a couple sturdy water bottles and fill those up with the filtered water from my refrigerator. Not only is this better for the environment, but I am also saving nearly $70 per month on bottled water.

Bring my own bag shopping: Both paper and plastic bags cause significant drains on the planets resources. We use about 4 – 5 trillion plastic bags per year, and only .06% of those bags are recycled. This build up of bags have effects that range from wildlife eating the bags and of course dying, to helping cause a major flood in Bangladesh.

And if you think paper is better, be aware that paper bags are usually made of virgin fibers that cause en estimated 14 million + trees to be cut down each year.

It’s not always easy to remember to bring a canvas bag with me, especially for non-grocery shopping. So I keep some in my car, and when I forget, I punish myself by not using a bag. I’m sure that when you look at how many bags you use, you see it’s a small step to make a big difference.

Use CFL light bulbs: Lighting is one of the primary drains on electricity. So why is it that a product that costs about the same as a regular light bulb, yet saves people 75% off their lighting bill only has a 6% adoption rate in the US? Seth Godin wrote a great article exploring that issue. He also mentions that if everyone switched to CFL bulbs, we would eliminate the need for foreign oil without lifting one Hummer off the roads.

I have replaced all the bulbs in my house and it looks to be making a nice big difference. It’s an easy step to take to reduce power consumption in the country, and the bulbs are now nearly $1 per bulb at some stores. This more than pays for itself in no time, so put this on your list of things to do next weekend.

Energy Efficient appliances: Every now and then the government does something useful for the environment, although not so much lately. Back in 1992 they started the Energy Star program as a voluntary labeling initiative to inform consumers that the product had met energy efficient guidelines. The EPA is estimating that this saved $12 billion in energy costs in 2005 alone. Another appliance technology that has come to market recently is HE washing machines. These machines use 20% – 66% of the water a traditional washing machine uses. But you have to use HE labeled laundry soap.

Here is something I thought was interesting; you save more water by using an efficient dish washer than washing them by hand.

All my appliances are Energy Star compliant, and my washing machine is HE. My last place didn’t have those things, and I notice a big difference on my electric bill.

Eco-friendly cleaning products: Obviously toxic chemicals rarely help the environment. So using an eco-friendly laundry soap and cleaning supplies can help cut down on the amount of toxic waste the planet has to deal with.

Also, using smaller container of concentrated liquids help reduce the amount of package waster, and shipping weight.

For example, I use non-toxic laundry soap in a big concentrate gallon that is HE complaints. I use white vinegar as a natural fabric softener.

Tankless water heater: Heating water account for 14% of the average Americans energy budget. That can be significantly reduced by using a tankless water heater. Traditional water heaters sit around, sucking up power to heat water your not using. Tankless heaters heat water as needed. This is obviously an even better value if you travel and go long periods without needing hot water.

I have a tankless water heater that works great. Less maintenance, and never ending hot water in a sometimes shower busy house. I hate cold showers! I do have to wait about 2minutes for the water to heat up occasionally, but that isn’t usually much of problem.

Purchase Green Tags: We have a program here in Ashland that allows us to purchase Green Tags. This is a small price increase to run off of renewable electric energy. Because we are very efficient now, we pay very little difference for this, I expect my electric bill will remain under $100 per month, and it’s nice to know that our home is running of clean, renewable power.

I’m not sure who widespread this program is, but it may be worth checking out to see if there is something in your area.

Recycle: Most cities now have decent recycling plans, we just need to take advantage of them. I have found this isn’t as difficult as I once thought it to be. Just be conscious of the fact that whatever I put in the trash has to go somewhere is enough to keep me recycling. But you can also go the extra mile and look for products that come from recycling as well. Obviously when you purchase paper products you should be looking for the little recycled logo.

Being conscious: Simply being conscious is a big part of the effort. Making sure to keep lights off when not in use. Walking to the grocery store, video store and movie theatre has made it where I only have to fill up my tank once per month. Consolidating trips so that I can make less of them, and use less trash all starts to add up to not only reducing waste, but being healthier and saving money.

Here are some the areas I would like to improve in:

Buy a hybrid: I honestly looked at Hybrids, but didn’t see what I needed. I needed a small SUV with AWD. The hybrid SUV’s I looked at didn’t really seem to save much gas and cost a lot more. I really liked the RX400h, but there is no Lexus dealer within 2 hours my house. So I went with the best I could find. I’m averaging about 20 MPG, which considering I only fill up once per month, is better than most people.

Buy more local groceries: I am aware of the issues in trucking groceries across the country. I’m trying to be better at buy more locally grown foods, but it’s not as easy as it should be.

Solar panels: I have to admit that I think I just like the tech of solar panels more than I think it will help, or be worth the money in my case. If I spend less than $100 per month on power, and I already use renewable power from the city through green tags, then it’s more eco-bling than anything else. But I do like the idea of it.

Hopefully this will be helpful to anyone looking to make some simple changes to be more eco-friendly. You can check out my other Blog Action Day post on Switching to Ethanol at NetResults.com.

It would be great if others left their suggestions here as well.

[tags]blog action day, cfl, environment, seth godin, green tags, he washers, energy star, recycle, tankless water heaters[/tags]