What can i do to become "green"?

Question

I really am into recycling and going green

but i don't know what i can do ?

i mean i recycle

and im gonna buy as many recycled items for school as i can but what else can i do ?

Answer 1

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle - is the mantra.

REDUCE : don't overeat. don't buy if u really don't need (resist that BOGOF offer) - while buying food imagine u don't have a fridge/freezer. buy food that has least 'food miles' (ie buy local food). buy food that is seasonal (out-of-season food, even if local, consumes lot of storage energy). buy food that is unprocessed or least processed (eg buy fresh potato rather than tinned potato). don't travel unnecessarily. plan ur route when u go out. walk/cycle rather than take a transport that burns fuel, if u cant walk/cycle then take public transport. avoid air-travel however cheap the ticket may be ('cos the real environmental price is not passed on to us, not directly anyway). don't print unless u must. use both sides of paper to print. opt out for paper bills & go for e-bills. reduce heating level. explore green entertainment options other than TV/electronic gadgets/movies/computer: how about reading, singing, gardening, outdoor games, bird-watching, playing guitar, chess, scrabble, board games?

REUSE : whenever u go out, take that shopping bag with u (some supermarkets even give reward points for this - eg Tesco & Sainsbury's in the UK). don't throw away ur staff just 'cos u can afford something new. have patience with it. if u must get rid of it, don't just bin it - u can make use of it (i cut my worn t-shirt into pieces to mop/dry my dinning table. generally i find women very creative with such innovative ideas) or sell it (ebay or local shop notice board or free ads newspaper) or donate it (charity) or arrange free pick up from ur home (freecycle.org)

RECYCLE you do already - great!

Personaly I keep environment at the back of my mind - what impact does my action has on environment? Must I do what I usually do? If yes, are there low-carbon options?

IMHO controlling over-consumption and over-population are the 2 most important things with regards to being green.

Answer 2

Stop buying anything in plastic. I just watched a documentary on National Geographic called Strange Days on Planet Earth, hosted by Edward Norton.  OMG. Most of our garbage ends up in land fills but we are using more and more and so what slips through is ending up in the oceans. Which is more and more. Gigantic floating plastic/garbage islands are in our oceans and the birds are eating the bits and pieces. They are dying of starvatiion because their bellies are full of plastic. No room for food or water. It makes me sick. I'm not buying anything in plastic. I'm going to use glass bottles for my purified water and I'm going to email manufacturer's of products who use plastic that I'm not going buy anymore because of the plastic problem. I will have to give up some things but that's OK. I don't need it that bad. If more people joined the effort to pressure product manufactures, they will ultimately redesign and go green but only if their bottom line [sales] begins to suffer.  It's all about money to them.

Answer 3

check out this website

stayinhomeandlovinit.com/dobbinsangel

This can really help you turn your entire home green, from doing laundry to keeping mosquitos from biting you.

hope this helps!

Answer 4

Don't buy bottled water. Get a brita pitcher and keep using that for water. Don't use plastic bags when grocery shopping. Go out and buy some canvas totes for your groceries. Turn off your A/C when you leave your house.  

Answer 5

1. You can always drive less and ride your bike more plus its good for you.

2. Plan to do your chores around the same time so you don't have to make more than one trip.

3. I heard ups and fed ex trucks do not make lots of left turns because it takes more gas.

4. buy a hybrid if you need to for long distances.

Answer 6

There are many things you can do to live green!

~Of course, keep recycling everything you can! (Ex: cans, bottles, plastics, paper, ect.)  You are also doing good by buing recycled items for school!  Thumbs up on that one!

~Buy energy saving light bulbs

~Buy things like clothes, paper, ect that are made from recycled materials

~Use reusable batteries or recycle dead batteries properly

~Use reusable shopping bags

~If you have plastic shopping bags, use them instead of just tossing them. They can be used to pick up dog poo, line small trash cans, ect.

~Try not to use paper napkins or paper towel as much as possible. Instead use cloth napkins that can be washed.

~Try to use fewer paper plates and more washable ones.

~Take shorter showers

~Turn off lights whenever possible

~Try to by more organic foods and local foods (for example, at a farmer's market)

~Use regular silverware, not plastic

~Use eco friendly products in replace of regular dish washing liquids, house cleaners, ect. (Greenworks)

~Use cold water to wash clothes (Tide Cold water works great)

~On a nice day, turn off the air/heat and open some windows. You save of the cost, get a nice fresh breeze, and help the environment.

~Plant trees around your house to shade and save on using more air conditioning

~Buy one stainless steel, reusable, water bottle instead of using regular plastic ones and then getting rid of them. This one you can clean and use over and over again!

~Change the setting on your sprinklers to use less water

~Buy eco friendly fertilizers (I think they have them at Home Depot)

~Buy or lease a hybrid if possible

~Walk or ride a bike wherever possible

~Carpool if possible

These are just a few ideas I can think of, but you can also go to www.gogreen.com for some more tips. Good luck :)

Answer 7

turn lights off more in the day time and use a energy saving light bulbs

Answer 8

Hug tress.

Tell them you love them. ^__^

Answer 9

For decades, environmentalism has been the Left's best excuse for increasing government control over our actions in ways both large and small. It's for Mother Earth! It's for the children! It's for the whales!

But until now, the doomsday-scenario environmental scares they've trumped up haven't been large enough to give the sinister prize they want most of all: total control of American politics, economic activity, and even individual behavior.

Answer 10

If there are recycling bins in your school,you could try to bring your "waste items' to school to recycle,or either after you consume a drink,wash the bottle and put it in the recycling bin.

Do encourage your friends to go green too.Going green is a virtue.The way that you're going green shows that you're saving the planet.

There are many ways where you can save the planet :]

Answer 11

Recycling is a good start. One simple thing you can do is be conservative with the energy you use. Whether it is turning off a light when you leave a room, turning off the computer when you are not using it, getting rid of the screen-saver if you have an LCD monitor, watching TV less, etc. By conserving energy, you are saving natural resources. Also, use rechargeable batteries instead of regular batteries.

Answer 12

food coloring comes to mind....

Answer 13

Shopping Green is great but when you shop, what are your items being taken home in. Its one of the easiest ways to help the environment and at first, I admit it was weird. I bought Green Bags at Walgreen for $1.00. They sell the same bags at most major stores now. They surprised me at how much they held. The first time was weird for me, People were looking at me strange. But when I was done, I felf good knowing I had done something (one of the same somethings I preach to my students about) and it was so nice when I unloaded, folded the totes up and layed them inside of one bag and was left with practically no mess. California is looking at outlawing plastic groceries bags....YEAH for them. So there's my two cents...hope it helped and good luck!