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Going Green: Simple Ways You Can Practice

how to go green

The Earth is our only home. So when things get to the point where it becomes inhabitable, we’ll have no other place to go. This makes saving the planet from degradation one of our priorities. But we don’t have to become hard-core environmentalists to make a difference. Making minor adjustments in how we consume energy or dispose of trash will go a long way in advancing our goal to protect Mother Earth.

If you want to go green but don’t know how or where to begin, we can help. That said, let’s dive into the details of how to become an eco-friendlier citizen of planet Earth.

Importance of Going Green

You don’t have to look hard to discover why it’s important to go green. The dismal state of the planet will spur any sane individual to try and prevent further deterioration. What’s great about embracing a low-waste lifestyle is that it benefits not just the environment but your pocket as well.

Less pollution and reduced use of dwindling natural resources help the earth. That’s pretty obvious. Also, adopting environmentally friendly habits can also help save energy, which means lower utility payments for you.

Going green will also set a good example, which, the younger generation will emulate.

Simple Ways To Go Green

Fortunately, you can go green in many ways. Some may opt to completely adopt a zero-waste strategy, for example. This includes reusing all discards, relying on reusable utensils, composting, and the like. But, employing such approaches may not be practical for others.

No problem.

For individuals who find achieving a zero-waste lifestyle too taxing or challenging, reducing the waste they generate may be enough. After all, every bit helps, and even small acts can make a huge difference in helping the environment.

Here are some ways to go green that any of us can adopt.

How To Go Green In Your Home?

ways to be green at home

Going green in your home is a significant step in pushing your goal of helping nature forward. The good news is, it doesn’t have to be extra challenging. Simple steps that lessen wastes and pollution right in your living environment can go a long way in making your lifestyle greener.

1. Make Use of Digital Technology

You can make digital technology one of your weapons in saving the planet. By doing things online, you give countless trees a new lease on life. Creating digital copies eliminates printing, which, in turn, lets you avoid using paper.

Also, think of the tons of paper waste you eliminate when you go paperless by viewing bills online. So if you can send emails instead of letters or share your files online instead of printing them, that will be a boon for nature.

2. Reuse Before You Recycle

Don’t automatically toss an item you’ve used into the recycle bin. Maybe you can reuse it first. For example, you can reuse scrap paper by printing on the unused side of a document. 

Alternatively, how about turning that blank portion into a paper pad for your shopping lists? With a bit of creativity, you can even make gift bags out of paper waste. 

3. Reduce Non-essential Travel

Do you really need to go onsite to attend a meeting or seminar? Or can you use Skype or other teleconferencing facilities instead? How about working from home to do those tasks that don’t need your physical presence at the office? By staying home, you conserve energy and reduce your carbon footprint.

4. Make Your Transportation Greener

Using public transportation makes your commute greener. That’s because one vehicle that carries several passengers is a more efficient way of using gasoline than having those vehicles that individually drive every passenger to a single destination. 

If public transport is not available, consider carpooling, riding a bike, or walking. These activities offer extra benefits, too. Biking and walking are good for your health while carpooling foster a stronger bond between you and your colleagues.   

5. Plant a Garden

Gardening is not just good for your mind and body, but it helps the environment as well. We all know how plants clean the air by absorbing carbon dioxide and other air pollutants. In exchange, they release oxygen which we humans need to live. Moreover, by planting fruit trees and vegetables, you’ll reduce your trips to the grocery to buy fresh produce, thus saving you time and energy. 

Growing your own fruits and veggies also lowers your carbon footprint because those products don’t need to be transported. Transportation uses a considerable amount of energy and is associated with carbon dioxide emissions, which significantly contribute to global warming.  

How To Go Green In Your Office?

go green ideas

Since you spend a lot of time at your workplace, it is an excellent area to apply sustainability concepts. No matter what position you hold or the type of work you do, you can easily find effective ways to create an eco-friendly work environment. All you need is the urgent desire to make a positive impact and help save the planet. 

Let us share with you some tips that you can follow without too much hassle. 

6. Share With Colleagues

It isn’t likely that everyone in the office needs their own supplies, such as a puncher, stapler, scissors, tape dispenser, and the like. So why not simply share with your colleagues instead of getting one for each of you? By using fewer items, you reduce unnecessary manufacturing, which, in turn, helps conserve limited natural resources. 

7. Bring Foods From Home

Take-out food is usually packed in disposable containers, which you’ll have to throw away. The serving may also be more than you can consume, which leads to food waste. Multiply the food and packaging junk over time, and you create a considerable amount of trash that ends up in landfills. 

Bringing food from home makes more sense because you can size the portions accordingly, which means fewer food scraps. You’re also at liberty to pack your food in reusable bags and containers. Doing so is one excellent way to push your “go green” objective forward. 

8. Refrain From Buying Bottled Water

Disposable plastic bottles take up plenty of space in the country’s landfills, and they are an ecological nightmare. They kill marine life, take almost a century to degrade, and leech potentially toxic materials as they decompose, poisoning the water and soil. 

To reduce the plastic burden disposable bottles create, using a reusable water bottle is the obvious solution. With a reusable bottle, you can enjoy your cold drink without adding to the plastic pollution. 

Drinking from a reusable bottle is even healthier because you avoid downing the invisible residue that mixes with the water in plastic bottles.  

How To Go Green When Shopping?

easy ways to go green

Incorporating eco-friendliness in all aspects of our life will aid us in making the most impact on saving the Earth. So even when you go shopping, keep your goal of helping the environment in mind. 

Here are some simple yet effective ecologically sound shopping tips. 

9. Bring Reusable Shopping Bags

This is one tip that can make a big difference. The planet is drowning in plastic, with billions of plastic bags being used and discarded each year. They overload our landfills and turn into deadly waste in the oceans. Sea animals mistake floating plastic for food and die after ingesting the material. The fish that we consume eat plastic, meaning that we also take in a small amount of the material. 

To help curb plastic use, how about buying a sturdy reusable bag and using it each time you go shopping? In this way, you avoid adding to the plastic bag deluge that goes into the landfills.

10. Practice Simple Sustainable Swaps

One practical and painless way of becoming a warrior for the environment is by swapping disposables for reusables. You’ll find plenty of opportunities to practice this tip as one-time-use products abound in almost all rooms of our homes. Let’s see what those are. 

  • Coffee or tea cups: Paper coffee cups usually come with plastic lids, and some even have plastic liners. You can swap these for biodegradable cups. Better yet, get a reusable cup. Many establishments now offer to-keep cups you can reuse. These make excellent alternatives to paper cups. 
  • Plastic straws: The U.S. sips through a staggering 500 million straws per day. But straws made of plastic suck, and one reason is that they take more than 200 years to break down. Instead of using plastic straws, look for earth-friendly substitutes, such as those made from bamboo, plants, or hay. For straws that last, go for steel, glass, or silicone ones. 
  • Cleaning products: Many conventional cleaning products contain toxic chemicals or volatile compounds that trigger allergies or asthma symptoms. For your health and that of the planet, shop around for eco-friendly, biodegradable alternatives. If you can make your own using ingredients you have at home (i.e., vinegar, lemon juice, baking soda, or Castile soap), so much the better. 
  • Soap and shampoo: You can switch from the bottled to the bar versions, which usually have a lower carbon footprint than the liquid type. 
  • Diapers: Conventional diapers flood landfills, where they stay for years before decomposing. Decades ago, moms used cloth diapers on their babies. The practice is coming back, and you can consider doing the same.
  • Gift wrapping paper: Why buy when you can make your own wrapping paper using scrap paper products? You not only save the trees that would have been turned into gift wrappers, but you save money as well. 

Energy Conservation: Other Ways to Go Green

How much energy you use usually dictates how high your carbon footprint is. Thus, lowering your energy consumption is an effective way to go green. Luckily, there are plenty of options to curb power use, and most aren’t challenging to do. For example, buying energy-efficient appliances alone will cut back your home’s energy usage, sometimes by as much as 25%. 

Making adjustments in your habits will add to the savings you get from your power bills. So let’s dive into them, shall we? 

11. Turn Off Unused Lights and Electronics

Keeping the lights on in unused areas of your home wastes energy and money. It will cost you around $0.06 to keep an incandescent bulb on and roughly $0.01 for modern bulbs. It might not seem like much, but those cents add up over time. That’s also the reason why using energy-saving light bulbs makes financial sense. 

Electronics you keep plugged in keep on consuming electricity even when they’re turned off. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, 75% of the electricity that keeps electronics and home appliances powered on is consumed while the units are turned off. That’s because modern electronics go into standby mode instead of completely powering down if you keep them plugged into the outlet. So make sure you unplug them or use a smart power outlet.

12. Take Advantage of the Natural Light

Electricity generation is one of the significant contributors to air pollution and carbon emissions which warms the planet. Thus, by lowering your power consumption, you help reduce those harmful greenhouse gases that get into the atmosphere.  

Even if you use energy-efficient light bulbs, keeping your home lit using artificial lighting can become expensive. So it makes financial sense to rely on natural light as much as possible. You can employ various strategies to take advantage of this free source of illumination. 

The easiest way to do this is by installing larger windows. If you don’t have the budget for remodeling your home at the moment, just pulling up the drapes or curtains will let a considerable amount of light in. Washing the windows will also allow more sunlight to get into your living space. 

13. Reduce Water Consumption

Although water covers almost ¾ of the Earth’s surface, only a mere 3% is fit to drink. That makes water a very scarce water resource and one that we need to conserve. There are countless ways to reduce water usage, but one of the most important is to look for leaks in your faucets. A dripping tap can send roughly around 2,700 gallons down the drain in a year. 

Other strategies include: 

  • Using low-flow water fixtures. 
  • Buying a front-loading washing machine that uses less water. 
  • Turning the faucet off while brushing your teeth and lathering your hands. 

FAQs

Is the world greener now?

There’s reason to rejoice because, according to NASA, the Earth has gotten 5% greener over the past two decades. The information came from nearly 20 years of data collected by a NASA instrument orbiting the Earth. 

What are the 5 major environmental problems of 2020?

The country, and the world, face a host of environmental issues. However, the top ones include the following: air pollution, deforestation, water pollution, depletion of natural resources, and global warming.

How can I be green at home?

You can easily go green at home. Buy energy-efficient appliances, use cold water for washing your clothes, turn lights and electronics off at the socket, stop relying on one-time-use plastics; the list is endless.

How do you go green shopping?

Shopping is another activity where you can employ plenty of eco-wise habits. You can start by using a reusable bag to save on paper and plastic bags. Other methods include buying in bulk and buying locally, using eco-friendly products, shopping at thrift shops for slightly used items, and recycling the product’s packaging.  

Conclusion

This planet we call home needs all the help it can get. We don’t have to go all-out in our efforts to go green to make an impact. Small, simple means of reducing wastes and conserving energy can help bring relief to the environment. Moreover, by setting a good example to the next generation, we can hope that they will continue what we’ve started.  

Lucky for us, going green is something we can easily incorporate into our daily lives.

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