What are some good ways to start going green?

Question

I work for a environmentally friendly company and it has inspired me to work on doing it myself. What are some great places to start? Are there any books?

Answer 1

use solar power at home by installing some solar panels.

Answer 2

This article on Associated Content, "12 Quick Cleaning Tips" shows you how to replace conventional cleaning products with green solutions with each of the tips.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article...

Answer 3

Everyone will eventually "Go Green".  When we die, our body starts to rot.  Then our flesh will have a slight green tint to it.

Answer 4

Plastics, theyr rough on enviroment. Grab some of those clothe bags when doin your grocery shopping, If ya want to go green just think of all the waste and how to make the most out of what you have.

Answer 5

You can start recycling, solar power or lamps that are energy efficient, a hybrid car, turn off the water when you don't need it...

Answer 6

Start by reading what being "green" actually entails.  Quite often being green means more damage that just doing something the normal way.  I'm not arguing less pollution and saving the world is a bad thing.  But being ignorant about the subject is.  Being green often involves buying inefficient products that are more expensive and do more damage than a standard one.  CFL's for example.  They cost roughly $4 bulb vs. 50 cents for an incandescent.  They contain mercury and if broken require professional clean-up as they can contaminate a home.  They have been known to last far less than their expected life span of several years.  Technically, disposal means recycling them because of the mercury they contain, which means paying even more and risking more pollutants entering the environment if you don't do so.  So, sometimes owning one CFL could cost a person exponentially more than owning a standard incandescent bulb.  Or how about owning a hybrid?  Those have been known to last far less than a standard gas-burning car.  And the destruction done to the environment that it takes to produce them vs. the standard car is far worse.  All it takes to see that being green is nothing more than something that is fashionable is a little research into the subject.  Conserving energy is a great idea when it's feasible without forcing people adapt to a lifestyle that is not only inefficient and not that much more environmentally friendly , but limiting their choice in what is supposed to be a free market.  Point being, if you dig into this a little more, you'll see that outside of the most basic actions like turning lights off when not in use and thing of that nature, it's mostly hype.

Answer 7

I bought a hybrid and then I bought a bike.

Making my own soap, shaving cream, and other personal care products.

Using non-toxic cleaning products.

Making my own bread there are so many different recipes and it's so much better then store bought.

Making beeswax candles from local beeswax.

Buying locally processed chocolate.

Buying raw milk from a local dairy.

Reading more and watching TV less.

Not using the dryer instead using a drying rack.

Candlelight.

Cooking more.

Baking even more.

Shopping for hidden treasures on Ebay, Craigslist, Freecycle, Goodwill, Salvation Army and lots of other thrift stores.

Taking shorter showers to save water.

Buying more houseplants to improve air quality.

Starting a garden to grow our own food and flowers.

Using less plastic by shopping from the bulk bins.

Using a reusable grocery bag for all my shopping needs.

Checking out books from the library instead of purchasing from the bookstore.

Organic, fair trade, local.

Getting out in nature and hiking, biking, kayaking, climbing and taking pictures.

Spending more time with loved ones and less time watching TV or surfing the net.

Starting my own blog http://badhuman.wordpress.com

Living in a small apartment.

Cleaning out our closets and donating to charity or selling.

Using recycled and non chlorine bleached toilet paper, napkins, and papertowels.

Boiling our sponges to clean them instead of throwing them out and buying new.

Reduces the amount of garbage I create by focusing on consuming what I have.

Reduce, Reuse, Repurpose, Recycle.

Find new uses for foods we already have- turning spicy bean soup into a great marinara sauce.

Making our own butter, buttermilk, half-n-half.

Reuse boxes and envelopes.

Donate packing materials to mail stores.

Influencing our friends to buy local, green, vegan, fair trade etc.

Using a stainless steel straight razor or safety razor.

Use a refillable ink pen.

Netflix instead of going out to the movies or buying movies all the time.

Buy music online.

Store data on flash drives instead of burning onto CDs or DVDs.

Minimize use of plastic even though it says it is recyclable it really isn't.

N.

http://badhuman.wordpress.com

Answer 8

Every little bit that you can do helps... so far this year:

I've installed programmable thermostats.

Starting composting more.

Cut my household waste by about 50%.

Turned the thermostats down when I'm not at home.

Take the bus as often as is convenient.

Built a solar air heater out of pop cans (for $7).

Switched most of my lightbulbs to CFs.

Keep my tv and dvd player on a power bar that I turn off when I'm not using them. Saves about $20 per year.

Thinking about it was the first step. Let me know how you do!

Answer 9

try turning off lights and recycling

Answer 10

There a lot books that talk about going green.  Some are:

The lazy environmentalist by Josh Dorfman

The green book by Elizabeth Rogers and Thomas Kostigen

Living green by Greg Horn.

I find these books helpful because it listed different websites for all kinds of categories even for burial.

Answer 11

once you start thinking green you are on the right track.

Energy saving light bulbs. Turn down Heating .  Put heating and water on timer plugs. Turn off lights in all rooms, halls ect that are not in use. Turn off TV, Radio  do not leave on stand by as that burns current.

Recycle all recycle material. Compass [if possible] all veg peels, grass cuttings ,flowers ect.

Walk when you can.  Cycle if you have a bike for longer journeys.

Don't know of any books but lots of information on net

Answer 12

I collect and save green back dollars.

Answer 13

These are things I've done:

Buy products that use less packaging.

Join Freecycle to give away things you no longer need to someone who can use them instead of throwing them out.

Changed to programmable thermostats

Carry water in a reusable bottle instead of buying bottled water.

Use earth-friendly, concentrated cleaners that come in recyclable packaging.

Answer 14

Start by thinking about what you are doing, and buying....

recycle what you can't use... turn the heat down... walk instead of drive....

Answer 15

walk/ride bike/carpool whenever possible, buy products with less packaging, use reusable bags for groceries, think about if you really need a bag when you buy something, buy local grown food whenever possible, eat less red meat, have only a high mpg car and keep it tuned up, recycle, reuse, reduce, turn off lights, electrics when not in use and unplug if you can, wear more clothes and use blankets rather than turning up heat, use energy star appliances, use environmentally friendly products, start a compost heap, support companies who are environmentally friendly........

I would just look online for more ideas.

Answer 16

It all lies in simple things. You can save around 450 lbs. of carbon dioxide per year just by wearing a sweater instead of turning up the heat. There are tons of ways to go green, and if you want to see them you should go to Al Gore's website, inconvenienttruth.net. Good Luck!