Spring into Green by Anna Kiss Mauser-Martinez
March 6th, 2009Spring is the perfect time to grow new, more healthful habits. It’s a season of green things budding all around, with a frenzy of positive change in the air. What better motivation does one need to go green than this season of green beer, green grass, and all manner of flora and fauna freshly born?
My own progress into greener living began with the birth of my oldest son. Adding a whole new being into the world made me suddenly aware of what kind of planet I would one day be leaving in his care and what our combined impact really looked like. I had already adopted many earth-friendly habits from my family, but once I felt the tremendous responsibility of owing all my choices to someone else’s future, I became acutely aware of habits and decisions I’d previously overlooked. With the aid of books, magazines, and the fervor of online message boards, I started down the path of sustainability, one step at a time.
Living lightly is a long process where the goal is ever growing and ever changing. I’ve found that the key is to go easy on yourself, start slow, and allow new habits to become fully integrated into your routine before adding too much more to the pile. Consistency is a huge, necessary component of sustainability. To get you going, pick a thing or two from this list of Eco-tips to try out:
Unplug your cell phone/laptop/palm charger.
The majority of the energy battery chargers consume over the course of their working lives is spent charging nothing. They still draw energy plugged in whether connected to your laptop or not. In fact, unplug all appliances when not in use or put several on a power strip to turn off the power all at once. You’ll save money and reduce your risk of electrical fire too.
Carry your own shopping bags.
Whether reusing old bags or better yet, carrying cloth, refusing a plastic bag at the checkout counter will help cut down on the 100 billion plastic shopping bags Americans consume each year. If you think paper is any better, you’re wrong. Paper and plastic bags are near equal contenders in having harmful effects on the environment. There’s a wide variety of stylish cloth bags on the market now and some markets offer minor discounts for using your own.
Recycle.
Enough energy is saved from recycling one aluminum can to run your television set for 3 hours. Buy recycled to complete the cycle.
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