Green living choices are often thought to be more expensive than business as usual. Buying only organic produce at the grocery store and purchasing an electric vehicle can certainly take a chunk out of your pocketbook, but green living will actually save you money on the whole. Consider this short list of three of the more cost-effective actions you can take today to lessen your impact on the planet.
Slow Food
The convenience food industry is a threat to the environment and your health. Most sit-down restaurants, nearly all drive-through restaurants, and most other convenience foods contain heavy doses of artificial ingredients and preservatives. Most real ingredients are shipped from distant farms to distant processing and packaging factories before being shipped again to market. Even with taxpayer-funded subsidies to farmers of corn, rice and soy commonly used as filler ingredients, consumers end up paying extra for convenience.
A slow but immediate way to start saving and going green is to prepare more meals at home. Modern appliances, such as bread-makers, rice steamers and box dehydrators, make it easy to do so without spending hours in a hot kitchen. Home-cooked meals provide a gateway into concerns over food freshness, the competitive pricing of produce at farmers' markets, and other planet-saving activities like herb and vegetable gardening.
Reuse!
The consumer lifestyle is based on redundancy and alienation. Many elderly citizens can remember a time when children from the entire block gathered at the one home with a television at a specific time to watch their favorite program. As the number of channels and programs grew and televisions became more affordable, everyone stayed in their own home to watch their own favorite programs. This basic scenario has played out across the entire consumer landscape. Researchers recently discovered the average power tool, for instance, is only used for 30 minutes its entire life. How many homes on your block have the same type of power drill?
Building community is the greenest action anyone can take because it helps in pooling resources and knowledge. Small steps, like forgoing a purchase in favor of sharing an item, are a great start. Freecycle is another option. People from all over the area post items they no longer want or need, and others claim them on a first-come basis. Instead of rushing to the store or trash bin, consider the power of reusing as a money-saving tool of conservation.
Starting at Home
Houses are seemingly designed to be resource guzzlers. As a result, there are nearly limitless possibilities in your home for energy conservation. Basic maintenance of appliances, from the water heater to the HVAC unit, will save on energy bills and reduce repair costs.
Weatherizing the home with simple steps like caulking cracks in window frames, installing insulation with the help of home tax credits, and installing shade cloth blinds will save you hundreds every year. Tax credits are also available for larger changes that will reduce energy usage even further. Solar or tankless water heaters, geothermal HVAC, and energy star appliances are all great options.
Americans make up eight percent of the global population, and researchers have estimated they use 25 percent of total resources. It is easy to feel discouraged with these numbers, but it really means even small actions here can have enormous benefits for the planet. They can also save you a bundle year after year.
Guest author Kevin Wiseman is a freelance blogger writing on behalf of edrugstore md a site where you can order medications as well as many green products online. For more information you can check out the edrugstore website profile.
