It’s not easy being green
When people think of “green living”, they may envision living in a tree with no running water, eating soy and granola for every meal. This is highly unnecessary.
The idea of living in an environmentally friendly manner is to reduce your ecological footprint. There is a multitude of ways to do this, most of which fall into an easy two-step process. The first step is realizing and mentally logging your daily activities and their effects. Step two consists mainly of acting on your realizations.
Made a deposit at the ATM? Skip printing out your receipt, which will probably only be looked at once before you throw it away. This will save paper. Or maybe you drove to work. If you work close to home, walk or ride your bike. You’ll get some exercise as a bonus to saving gas, money, and air pollution. Drink water? Consider the amount of plastic water bottles you throw away on a daily, weekly, or even monthly basis, invest in a reusable bottle, and change that number to one. Use that water bottle, and don’t just buy it with good intentions. If you shop often, seriously reflect on utilizing a reusable shopping bag. The paper and plastic wasted on carting groceries, clothes, or other purchases is obscene.
Also, don’t skip over the benefits of using environmentally-friendly products. Cleaning agents made from natural ingredients work just as well as the chemical stuff, and smell infinitely better.
How you light your home can also be an opportunity for improvement. Energy-efficient flourescent light bulbs use less energy and last for up to ten yers.
What you eat also plays a large role in adapting a green lifestyle. Organic produce and natural, whole foods are much healthier options than Top Ramen, SpaghettiO’s, and Red Bull. There are more selections than ever when it comes to food, including all-natural energy drinks, potato chips, and candy. What you put in your body is reflected on the surface, so not only will you feel better after eating healthy foods, you will look better too.
Changing the way you live is not about wearing head to toe hemp clothing, spending all of your free time working to pay off your new Toyota Prius, or living in an adobe shack in the middle of nowhere. “Going green” is focused on making small changes to your daily lifestyle.
If everyone makes minute changes that require little or no brain activity, these actions can add up to a substantial leap towards a healthier environment.