Sunday, June 7, 2009

GREEN LIVING: Ways To Impact Your Environment For Good

Recycling facility at Hiriya, part of the Dan ...Image by greenlagirl via Flickr

by Art Gib

These days it seems like everyone everywhere is talking about ways we can help save our planet by "going green." What does that even mean? Going green can mean many things, but mostly I understand it as taking an active role to make environmentally friendly decisions. It means that we do our part to cut back on wasteful energy that we are using in a way to help save the earth. In an effort to inspire myself and others, I've decided to list a few ways that each of us can become green.

#1. Buy a water filter. I've already adopted this lifestyle, but I have a number of family members and friends who either don't see the point of a filter or simply don't want to give up their old habits. They buy caseloads of bottled water which they keep in their refrigerator until they're thirsty. Seconds later when the bottle is emptied, it goes in the garbage can. My husband and I take a different approach. We bought a water filter pitcher which we fill daily and keep in our fridge. We use this water to refill our water bottles so we can still take it to work or the gym. This way we still the clean pure taste of bottled water, but without any of the trash.

#2. Recycle old papers. How many of us throw away papers that can be recycled? My husband and I don't even sign up for a daily newspaper to save wasted paper, but we still receive so many ads through the mail. The piles of papers stack up so high until we finally decide to take them to a local recycle bin at a nearby school. We don't have a city recycling program that I'm aware of, but it's only a matter of time until we do. Right now, it's just up for people to do it for themselves. I wish we could get groups of homes together to go in on a self-dumping hopper where we could gather all of the recyclables until it's full and then turn it in for recycling. I think if it was closer to our homes, my neighbors would be more likely to recycle as well.

#3. Be aware of the energy you use. Try to make a switch to energy efficient lighting. It lasts much longer than a regular light bulb and is earth friendly as well. Turn off your lights and televisions when you leave a room. It seems pretty simple, but you might leave them on more often than you realize. It's also a good idea to make sure appliances are energy efficient and are unplugged while they aren't being used.

Hopefully these tips can help us all live more consciously of the impact we have on our environment. If we all take small steps toward a green life, we'll be able to see the differences for years to come.

Nationwide Industrial Supply (http://www.nationwideindustrialsupply.com) provides affordable and high quality self dumping hoppers. Art Gib is a freelance writer.

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