January 2010

By Andrea Fox, Ms. Green Quick Fixes SM

12 Easy Steps to a Greener 2010

“It’s not easy being green,” said Kermit the Frog. That rings true for all of us in this modern world that runs on microchips, office buildings, machines, and power plants. It’s sometimes difficult to achieve green results in a world so very automated and stuck in its habits.
 
This two-thousand-and-tenth year, despite its financial, political, and other challenges, is a time of great optimism. History has been made—the U.S. was back at the climate negotiating table. A new time has begun, with eight trying years in foreign policy and one mangled global environmental policy, many spent 2009 considering how to approach a legacy of global cooperation such as has never been seen in recorded history. With recent global climate negotiations achieving a level of legitimacy for the first time in a decade, optimists still believe we have the resources to resolve our challenges—avoiding tipping points, addressing famine, minimizing environmental devastation, preventing millions of climate refugees, and more.

Over the past year on GoGreen, I’ve highlighted many aspects of domestic life that offer chances for green fixes—some of them quick, and some of them complicated.  This month’s Ms. Green Quick Fixes article kicks off 2010 with 12 fixes that will make your household and lifestyle twice as green in less than one year’s time.

1. Reign in plastic bags of all kinds. Deli meat plastic bags, bread bags, the cellophane bag that held your holiday gift bows, and any other similar kinds. Take them to the grocery store and put them in the recycle bin with the grocery bags. They will be made into plastic decking instead of ending up in a landfill. Bonus: Use a fabric reusable shopping bag as much as you can!

2. Pick up solid pet waste every time you take your dog for a walk. Buy a pooper scooper and use it in your yard frequently—every few days. Pet waste degrades fast and ends up in water supplies, the beach, and streams.

3. Carry a reusable water bottle (BPA-free plastic or stainless steel) and avoid buying bottled water for everyday activities, sports, and afternoons outdoors. You’ll prevent numerous piles of plastic bottles from entering crowded landfills and landing in rivers, and you’ll help to conserve the copious process water required to make spring water bottles.

4. Wash your car with water- and Earth-friendly products or castile soap. You’ll eliminate toxic chemicals from running into storm drains, soils, groundwater, ponds, and the ocean.

5. Consider a small compost pile. Certain foods like coffee grounds, vegetable scraps, and eggshells are a great start. The compost can be used as fertilizer for gardens and landscaping. You’ll keep your trash bag lighter and reduce the amount of time you spend running your electric disposal.

6. Replace incandescent light bulbs with Energy-Star approved compact fluorescent bulbs. Be sure to dispose of these ultra long-lasting bulbs as hazardous waste, as they contain mercury. You’ll save energy and money.

7. Avoid idling your vehicle for more than, well, briefly. For every two minutes in idle, you’ll have wasted enough fuel for one mile driven. Also, you’ll cut needless greenhouse gas emissions and immediately improve air quality for those around you—such as little asthmatic children leaving school.

8. Use power strips for all TVs and entertainment centers with grounded outlets and set to off when not in use. Unplug your toaster, coffeemaker, and all electronics not in use, including your cellular phone and gadget chargers. You’ll reduce the energy suck from powered-down, but still-live appliances and chargers.

9. Volunteer for one local environmental cleanup effort this year! Whether its beaches, parks, or ponds lend a hand at keeping these areas litter-free.

10. Take one committed action in favor of green. Whether it’s going to a local zoning board meeting and offering your perspective on maintaining green space with new development, writing a letter, or joining an environmental organization who lobbies for green efforts that you support, take the initiative! Maybe personal is better for you, so commit to riding a bike or walking one day each week. If everyone committed to one action, we can build a stronger, bigger, green tide of change.

11. Buy a pesticide-free Christmas tree next year and replant, recycle, or sink it in a pond for fish habitat. You’ll be supporting farmers that utilize sound forestry practices and contributing to global carbon reductions!

12. Be a greener consumer and think more carefully about purchases. With all gifts that you buy throughout the year, consider where products are made, what chemicals they are made of, how they are packaged, and how much energy they will use.

 

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