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There are many ways we can help the environment. Sometimes they are pretty tough to implement. When you have nothing else to cook food other than burning coal, then you can’t stop burning coal. There are certain ways you, as an average city dweller, can do this. This post is about those techniques, here are 25 everyday techniques to save the environment.
Charity begins at home, you start today, your neighbor starts tomorrow and the whole city starts doing this sooner than you realize, how about that? No, I can’t be that optimistic; but what’s the harm in throwing the idea around?
Are you in it?
A baby step from all of us can make a sea change in the environment.
Let our leaders come out of environmental protection agreements, let them neglect the environment for the sake of cheap votes.
If you can help them get voted out of power, then that will be your biggest contribution!
On a personal front, you don’t keep quiet either, do something today, whatever you can, and let’s make this planet a better one for our children.
Don’t blow it – good planets are hard to find. ~ Quoted in Time
Various ways you can help save our environment
Steps to limit pollutants we create
We all pollute the environment we live in, I do, and your dog does too. It’s very much in our control to reduce this pollution.
1. Use your voting power – Use your biggest power to save the environment. No matter what effort you bring on. Unless there’s a governmental-level policy change, the world’s climate is not going to improve much. Unfortunately, we have political leaders who deny climate change. But very soon we will lose a vast amount of landmass to the rising seas, these leaders don’t believe it. Let’s vote them out of power. Let us hand over the planet to leaders who work for the environment. This is the single most significant technique to save our environment.
2. Stop using bottled water. This may be very hard for many, I understand. If it’s not that hard for you, start using reusable materials and fill it up every time.
3. Stop smoking. Smoking creates pollution inside of your body and for the people around you. Even after hours of smoking, your kids can be recipients of the harmful effects of your nicotine consumption.
“The pollution caused by cigarettes does not stop in our bodies or the air around us; it also affects the land we live on and the water that we drink. Millions of cigarette butts are discarded on to the ground every day“.
4. Use less electricity. There are various options to save on electricity, I can write an entire post about this. The easiest of the ways is to use a fan instead of an AC if you can. Air drying clothes, letting sunlight come in the winter, and blocking it in the summer are other easy options to try out at your home.
5. Use less gas. Bike to work, carpooling is the easier option you can try. There are various other effective ways to save on gas.
6. Recycle. Recycle often. Don’t just throw your old electronics and batteries into trash. Make use of local free recycling facilities. Dispose of your plastic containers as well by separating them from normal trash.
7. Use reusable shopping bags. It was my wife’s idea to start using reusable bags. They are made of cloth and need cleaning once a week. We eliminated a lot of plastics from our life this way. You can do the same.
8. Buy fresh local produce. Whenever you have the option to buy from the farmer’s market or local grocers, give a preference for buying local. Processed goods take a lot of energy, first for the processing part and then, the fuel consumption in transportation.
9. Save water. Sweetwater is a scarce resource and it’s being depleted at a greater pace than earth is replenishing it. There are various ways to save water in everyday use from fixing leaky outlets to adjusting the timers on sprinklers.
10. Go paperless, and save the environment. Sure you can’t stop advertisement leaflets coming into your mailbox (shouldn’t there be an environmental law to ban this practice, or at least, be made it mandatory to use recycled paper?) but, you can control the statements, updates, and notices which you get from your financial institutions.
Select paperless as the mode of communication. Mostly all of them support this. It’s high time that all govt. agencies implement this too.
11. Use ceramic cups. Instead of plastic, paper, or Styrofoam, ceramic cups can be used over and over. This reduces the impact on the environment and your budget.
12. Print less. Unles
s it’s necessary to print, refrain from doing so. When you do have to print, consider printing on both sides of the paper.
13. Buy items with recycled materials. For example, you can get two types of coffee cups. One with fresh paper and one with recycled paper. You can identify it by reading the label on the pack.
14. Reuse and repurpose. Whenever possible, re-use the containers, cartons, and envelopes. Oh, your toothbrush as well! For cleaning my sports shoes, I use old toothbrushes, it goes into the grooves perfectly. Here are 30 ways to reuse bottles and containers.
15. Use energy-efficient items. In the long run, these save a lot of money and energy. Bulbs use LED bulbs, even fluorescent light bulbs consume 1/3rd (or lesser) of the energy of incandescent light bulbs. For other equipment like AC, refrigerator, washer, etc buy Energy Star appliances.
16. Use clothes more than paper. clothes are better than environmental paper. Reduce paper usage by using cloths to wipe your hands or the things you normally wipe with paper towels. My home is paper towel free and I use old dresses to make wipe cloths. Do you know something called a handkerchief?
17. Use the microwave. I am not sure if you can bake cakes in a microwave. The last time I checked, my wife also didn’t know. But, she could tell me 100′s of other dishes that can be cooked in a microwave. Use microwaves more often to reduce your carbon footprint.
18. Leak-proof your home. Save the environment by making your home leakproof. Ensure you are not losing warmth or cool through leakages, by having your home properly insulated and window and door seals checked. By doing so, you are saving energy and money.
19. Replace air filters. AC air filters for your home and car, if replaced regularly, can save a lot of energy which in turn can save you money.
20. Consume less. This is for your financial good as well. Live simply, and use your furniture and clothes until they can’t be used anymore. If possible, check out used items on Craigslist or garage sales.
Steps to absorb pollutants already created
21. Plant trees. Your garden/patio or balcony, do you have space anywhere? Grow plants, grow flowers, and attract honey bees wherever you find a place for a pot. If you have a garden, you can go on a green mission by planting as many trees as your yard or garden permits. A good-looking home and a better place to live, for sure!
22. Donate to organizations that help to plant more trees and work towards a better planet. I am a member of Fairchild Botanical Garden, here in Miami, FL. My membership dues go to green causes.
23. Pickup and deposit pollutants. Whether at home, at work, at a local supermarket, or while running or jogging, if you find a pollutant like plastic or Styrofoam on your way, pick it up and put it in a nearby trash bin.
24. Volunteer in anti-pollution drives. Many cities here in south Florida organize periodic beach cleaning events. Thousands of volunteers donate their time to these large-scale environmental cleaning events. Check in your local area for opportunities like this.
25. Have indoor plants. Indoor plants and aquatic plants (in aquariums) are very efficient in cleaning the inside air pollution of our homes. Think about it, by spending a little money to green up our homes we are improving our health as well. In the long run, these efforts should pay off in terms of better health.
The below points are added later on
26. Drive a clean car If a vehicle emission check is not mandatory in your state, you may still go for one. If there’s a problem it can be fixed. Another way to contribute similarly is to report smoke-emitting vehicles. On searching for your local DMV or city website, you may locate to report a violation.
27. Make better use of your recycled garbage bin. If possible have two different trash cans at your home. Sometimes not all recyclable materials are put into the recycle bin. Even if you can save one piece of paper from being dumped without getting recycled, you have contributed to environmental protection.
I hope you enjoyed this article and you’ll start practicing a technique or two in your daily routine. If not all, you can easily follow a few.
I know, only a few of us practicing green living won’t change the environment around us. Still, I would like to wake up to a tomorrow where the earth is cleaner and the environment is safer to live in. I dream on…
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Great list!
Thanks Michelle!
I do a lot of those but there is always room for improvement.
Good to hear that Andy. Try few more, no harm here.
What an awesome list. When I look at it, my hubby and I are doing awesome. The only thing we don’t do is number 13- refusing recipts. We often need these in case we need to return the item or if we want to apply for warranty coverage. All in all though it seems we are doing our part.
That’s a big miss from my part. I’ll add it now to the article, thanks for pointing it out Miss T!
And conveniently enough, doing a lot of those will also save you money!
Good catch jeremy, many of these things do save me good money, especially on my monthly utility bill. In the long run green surrounding also will pay me back in terms of better health.
We always forget to bring our reusable bags to the supermarket with us. I just put them in the car now before commenting. No excuses!
Great quote, by the way.
Yeah that quote I found on internet. very hard to find another planet to live. Reusable bags are convenient as well.
Great list indeed. I am using a lot of public transportation lately. Okay, I admit I am doing it out of a selfish reason – trying to save – but hey, it also helps environment.
If saving money is selfishness we have to stop living, isn’t it?
Nice list…It’s a shame that more people do not do these simple things…
That’s why this article is written, to raise awareness. I really like my readers start following at least some of these.
Very good list with practical things we can all do. I really try to not print things and find it’s not really necessary in most cases. Take a look at what you are throwing away and try to think of ways to either recycle it or not bring it into your house in the first place.
Excellent way to put things. Can’t agree more.
I love planting trees, I put little plants in my house too. More fresh air 😀
Glad you did, I am a big fan myself
Trees! You did include planing trees! That’s ok in my book, I enjoy having trees on our property. The cool the summer breeze, and block the winter winds. They also make good mekeshift wickets for backyard cricket. Nicely done SB.
I so miss that backyard cricket. yes a tree can be a wonderful substitute for cricket. Good catch. I should be buying a property with few trees already in it and then I’d grow some more.
Bike to work! This improves a lot of the variables you mention here: air quality, use less gasoline, and more.
I hope I can do it someday..good luck on your new site Hunter.
Good tips, SB. I don’t do some of them out of personal preference, but I have others which offset.
I am aware of your garden project. Its something I am always willing to start. Just saving for my first home.
Another one to add is shopping in stores or on sites that sell refurbished items instead of buying new. Refurbished items are generally re-manufactured and have new parts and work as good as new. By buying refurbished items you support an industry that keeps used products out of landfills, or prevents them from being sold and shipped overseas where they end up being thrown away in unregulated fashion. You can learn more here: http://www.3gorillas.com/blog/eco-friendly/
good one! You can even buy recycled products from general stores like Wal-mart/Target.
I’ll also throw in that people should try to buy items made or produced locally in sustainable fashion. Try to buy stuff made in your own community instead of from abroad. This has the added benefit of supporting your neighbors and keeping money local.
And also onsume less carbon as trucks and planes require a lot of fuel to transport food items.
I just found your blog today, but will start following regularly as I have read several great posts.
You have some great ideas in this post-but could expand much further. There are so may things tn be done on a regular basis that could save money while helping the environment. Needless to say this is a passion for me(Save Green Going Green)
Keep up the great work.
Steve
I agree to fullest, there are tons of other ideas to help your pocket saving trees. If we all indulge, this world could be a better place to live.
Bake cakes in the microwave? Probably not. However, you can make a single-serving cake in a mug in the microwave, which not only uses less electricity, but also makes sure that you only have a single serving, which is a bit of a challenge for me!
My wife makes it, why not?
Nice tips, however, I just can’t agree with the one about the microwave.
Whether it’s better for the environment I don’t know, however it’s certainly worse for your health. See here: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/05/18/microwave-hazards.aspx not nice stuff at all!
If you’re after any more tips to ‘save the environment from home’, I’d recommend looking at this article: http://www.stormclad.co.uk/blog/15-ways-to-save-the-world-from-home/
the not pre-heating a fan oven bit sounds like a good solution to the microwave dilemma.
Some other commenter also suggested that Microwave cooking may not be good fit for health. Thanks for the links.
Amy-
Sorry, but this Mercola article has been debunked and he is a bit of a fraud. Check out the quackwatch.com for more information about him.
DId you know what cell phones use the same radio waves as a microwaves; they are just a different wavelength.
Thanks
Excellent thoughts
God Bless
Keep it up….
very nice thoughts . thank u
Why do we need to save the environment?
Please give some time to watch this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Lu5ohVfkYE
Thank you!
I suggest you watch some of the David Attenborough climate videos on You Tube. This man has dedicated his life to nature and our planet. Forget the conspiracy theories and just think logically. If we clean up our planet as quickly as possible and you are right, the worst that will happen will be cleaner air, less pollution, less dumping of unwanted stuff alongside our roadways and in our forests and on our beaches. If we are right and do nothing, it may just be too late for future generations, not hundreds of years from now but in decades. Do you really want to take that risk.
thank u very much. this information would be very useful for me.
I’ll be glad if you practice these.
We are leak proofing our home at the moment and it’s definitely something I would recommend.
i planted 1000 trees
We are proud of you
There are great tips for green life, but I just want to mention, that if these tips are used only by few person, it will not help, I have a great example of mine, when city where I live started changing and started preventing everything they make, and the resut- pollution was reduced twice during only few years.
Thanks for your comment about how we can all be a little kinder to the earth by doing things that will benefit the environment. I like how you said that you can try using less paper or plastic bottles for instance. My husband and di are also considering hazardous waste management so that that doesn’t pollute our earth.
Grow your own fruit and vegetables. Share with friends and neighbours. e.g. you grow tomatoes, they grow spinach. You have chickens, they keep bees!
I was talking to a cousin of mine about her interest in getting a section 404 permit. She wants to look into ways to make sure that the environment around her is being kept healthy. It may be a good idea for her to buy locally for less transportation.
What a great article. Recycling present wrapping. I make fabric gift bags for birthday and Christmas presents which are then re-used next year, some have already done 3 Christmas’s.
Keep the environment clean should be motto for everyone. Despite this coronachaos, clean environment will help in fighting this disease
Hello, I would like to add that it is crucial for us to reduce our energy usage and in order to do so it is essential that we must use smart and efficient gadgets that can help make the future sustainable. I have been using OHM Assistant – a power monitoring device is both smart and effective in reducing my energy spending. This device is a convenient way to monitor your electricity usage.
I suggest you watch some of the David Attenborough climate videos on You Tube. This man has dedicated his life to nature and our planet. Forget the conspiracy theories and just think logically. If we clean up our planet as quickly as possible and you are right, the worst that will happen will be cleaner air, less pollution, less dumping of unwanted stuff alongside our roadways and in our forests and on our beaches. If we are right and do nothing, it may just be too late for future generations, not hundreds of years from now but in decades. Do you really want to take that risk.
I do agree with all of it but the best solution from what I see is #1, we have to choose the right leader because they have the capability and power for mass movement, create and implement laws and rules. Although change starts through us first, it’s really a huge difference when a Leader leads it’s people.
Good Article, Thanks 🙂 Hopefully more people will be able to read this and learn from it