The Sustainability Book Club Network

10 Things You Can Do Today To Go Green

This List is from GreenFeet.com, an online store for eco-products.

Things You Can Do Today To Go Green
Going Green doesn't have to be hard - or expensive. Here are but a few ideas to get you started. TODAY!

Take the 25 mile diet
Search your local Chamber of Commerce website to see if you have a local farmers market, CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) or food co-op in your town. Source as much of your food local as possible. The average dinner plate took a 1500 mile trip to get to your kitchen table - do your part to minimize that distance and support local farmers. Your food will taste better, last longer and you're helping keep your local economy vibrant.
Turn your water heater down to 120 degrees F
You'll save energy and money.
Keep your showers to 5 minutes or less
Let's get real. For most of us, 5 minute showers are a drastic change. Pace yourself. If you take a 15 minute shower now, cut it down to 10 minutes for 2 weeks, then 7 minutes for a week and finally reach 5 minutes. It's really easy and can save you up to 1,000 gallons of water a month!
Bring a Reusable Bag
The market is flooded with options. One of our faves is the ChicoBag as it's lightweight, compact, inexpensive and comes in a bounty of colors. Bringing your own bag saves oil (plastic) and trees not to mention reducing clutter in your pantry. Did you know the average American family uses 750 plastic bags a year? Holy smokes!
Choose compostable bags for pet clean-up
You won't miss your plastic bags when you have some biobag dog pooper bags. Made from GMO free corn, you'll feel good about picking up poop.
Get Unplugged
Appliances, computers, cell phone chargers - they all pull phantom loads. This means energy is being consumed without the item being in use but still plugged in. Solution? Unplug when not in use.
Support local retailers
This doesn't mean you have to totally give up your favorite chain store. Simply give your locally own businesses a fair shot for your business. On average, 60 cents out of every dollar spent at a locally owned store or business stays in your local community vs 30 cents from a chain. Local shops and businesses keep your community vibrant, the economy healthy, and supports a diverse choice. You want to live in Your Town USA, not Anywhere, USA.
Recycle
'nuff said.
Evaluate Your Daily Routine
Going here and there? Running all over town? Stop, sit and write down your average daily route. Consider ways to reduce drive time thus saving time and gas. Can kids carpool to soccer? Is it possible to do the majority of your errands once a week instead of over several days? How about biking for quick trips? You get the idea.
Less is best
When choosing products, opt for those with minimal packaging or at the very least recyclable packaging. Bringing your own lightweight cotton produce bags for bulk items help you save even more money. Don't just think they're for produce only - they also work for grains, nuts, legumes, you name it. Buy bulk and save money.

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Permalink Reply by scott a. nadig on May 2, 2008 at 4:06pm: Sent email today to the grocery store (chain) where I shop and asked them to offer paper bags in the produce department. At the same time, I challenged them to become "first to market leaders" by offering NON-GMO biodegradable bags. We'll see? It feels good take some type of action regardless. Yeah me!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Katherine Armstrong on May 7, 2008 at 1:19pm: In my town, there is no municipal trash or recycling pick up. Most people pay private haulers to pick up trash. Trouble is, it's expensive; they will not come any less frequently than once a week; and they do not take all of the recycling. So I am one of the very few people who go to the transfer station. It's good because I can recycle so much more, including metal & wood & mixed paper. And because you pay per bag and you personally have to haul all the garbage you create, there is great incentive to reduce garbage. Problem is, the transfer station still does not accept non-corrugated cardboard like cereal boxes and any plastic other than #1 and #2. And even though it's better that I personally am living more sustainably than my neighbors, if everyone did as I do, then we'd be increasing the carbon footprint of our town as everyone individually drives to the transfer station ... most people in SUV's. Goes to show that while individuals make a difference, the real difference is infrastructure.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Mary Ann on May 1, 2008 at 6:18am: I used to feel guilty about throwing away dry cleaning hangers till someone pointed out that the dry cleaner is happy to take them back and reuse them.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Jim Witkin on May 3, 2008 at 7:51am: "Why Bother? Because the climate-change crisis is at its very bottom a crisis of lifestyle ...." More food for thought: a few weeks ago the NY Times magazine section was all Green to mark Earth Day. You can read it all online. The opening essay by Michael Pollan was quite good and asks the question "Why Bother?" turning you life upside down to go green. Green Issue

Jim; ▶ Reply to This