Contrary to what Kermit tells us, it IS easy to be GREEN. Now, I know that *being green* stirs up many reactions in different people... Some think it's for the hippies. Some think that it's purely political. Some think it takes too much effort... Blah, blah, blah.
The bottom line for me is that God gave us this planet (or at least that's what I believe) and we are to be good stewards of that gift. To be wasteful and careless is really a moral issue for me, but for those of you that disagree, thinking of future generations should be sufficient motivation for conservation.
I've taken a while to get on this bandwagon, but now that I'm here, I have found that it's the little steps that add up to make a big difference [or at least I feel like the little steps are impactful... maybe I'm completely delusional]. Here are a few things I'm trying to do to be more GREEN:
- Water Conservation: Maybe I am keenly aware of the amount of water I use because I grew up in a drought stricken state and moved to another drought stricken state, [we may actually physically run out of water in Georgia!] but, needless to say, I really try to watch how much water I waste.
- Use the Garberator: This is one of my favorite words [thanks to my crazy Canadian friend Adriene!] For those of you who don't know, garberator = garbage disposal, and my point here is that I try to put everything that I can down the drain instead of into a trash bag, where it will just fill up the landfills. My dad would tell you that this backfired when my garberator broke this week, but the plumber told me that it was just old and the fact that I put flower stems down the drain had nothing to do with the disposal crapping out.
- Minimize Use of Disposable Items: I try to use tupperware instead of ziploc bags, a coffee mug or glass instead of styrofoam or paper cups, etc. I also try not to use disposable plastic water bottles. Again, just trying to contribute LESS to the landfills. ;o)
- Get Rid of Paper Phone Books: A girl that I work with sent me a link to a website where you can sign up to NOT receive paper phone books (which obviously is a huge paper savings!). Who uses paper anyway with the advent of the internet?! If you're interested, just click here: www.yellowpagesgoesgreen.org .
- Recycle: While we don't immediately have access to recycling at our condo complex, Sara has been kind enough to take our recyclables to the house where she is a nanny, since they do have recycling pick-ups. I'm trying to make the jokers at work recycle too, but due to the nature of burly construction guys, sometimes they're not so interested.
- Bring My Own Bags: I think most grocery stores now-a-days offer fabric shopping bags for about $2. I did purchase a few of them and try to use them rather than continuing to collect plastic shopping bags at my house.
- LEED: My final effort is to take the LEED exam and hopefully become LEED accredited. [LEED is an organization that is encouraging sustainable building practices in many facets of construction]. The test is supposedly pretty tricky, and my date is set for the middle of November, so wish me luck!
Basically, what I'm learning is that if everyone takes little steps, it adds up to a big change... so let's all try to be a little more friendly to mother earth ;o).
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