Going Green: More than a Reaction to Mom’s Cooking

Making environmentally friendly choices is easy, cost effective, and limited only by your imagination. What follows is a ‘day in the life of…’ with both traditional and less traditional carbon reduction ideas.

Wind up alarm clock or rooster announces morning wake up; turn on CFL light (changing 5 lights reduces 500 lbs CO2 year) and push aside natural down comforter and assorted dogs (keep thermostat 2-3 degrees cooler in winter saves 100 lbs CO2); leap to feet and avoid hitting head on ceiling fan (reduces need for air conditioner).

Take a 2-3 minute shower and briefly consider Argentina’s campaign to ‘pee in the shower’ to save millions of gallons of water – choose the low flush toilet today and cross ‘recycle toilet paper’ off of ideas list.

Put on the great sweater you bought from the secondhand shop (saves cash, recycles and supports community services) and button it up to hide the fact that you’ve borrowed your sister’s favorite shirt, again. Breakfast from locally grown food.

Let recycled cat (champion your local shelters) out and caution against bothering the birds singing in the hundreds of trees your mother made you plant (Planting 7 trees each year offsets your carbon footprint).

Enjoy wildlife around pond (riparian planting handles runoff and cattails for cleaning) and briefly consider feeding your younger brother to the goldfish (natural mosquito control) for scavenging parts from your bike to build a GEET motor that runs on 80% water and 10% pickle juice. (Plans available on the Internet)

One the way to the compost bin (as small as a Rubbermaid container or made from old straw bales from last years outdoor furniture) and dropping off recyclables (3,330 pounds CO2 yearly for family of 4) pat a sheep and compliment it on mowing the yard (1/2 hour of mowing produces 3.5 lbs CO2). Do a happy dance that it’s your sisters’ turn to shovel the road apples.

Maximize the seat belts (car pool) and make use of the park and ride bus service (1 mile=1 pound CO2). Discount siblings idea that rolling the car and writing it off counts as CO2 reduction. Rename her Crash Test Dummy.

Power up your refurbished laptop computer (turning electronics on only when you need them saves 400 lbs C02 yearly) verify your online bank account to see if you have enough to adopt a polar bear and, if not, send a begging email to your parents about the importance of being an example of charitable giving. (Save paper and feel good about supporting a great cause). Put your loose change in the ‘Pennies for Polar Bears’ jar. (1-gallon jar saves 3,988 pounds of geological waste)

Open your Jimmy Johnson Nascar lunch box and enjoy tea with a friend using your own cup (many coffee/tea shops offer a discount if you supply your own mug). Eye the tofu burger and give yourself a pep talk that fasting meat one day each week is good for you (1 pound of beef=15 pounds of C02) – add a dill pickle and reward yourself with fresh blueberries sandwiched between homemade oatmeal raisin cookies.

Swap ideas with friends at school for green projects; pull weeds in the university greenhouse in exchange for fresh produce; barter your old ice skates and bum protection pillow for a used book from your favorite writer; get a workout compacting aluminum drink tins for the school recycle bins; shred your report card and feed the scraps to the vermicomposter.

Water the patio tomatoes from the rain barrel and snack on a handful while you mentally compose an email to your local politician about tax credits as a reward for families and business’ that are making environmentally sound choices.

Aided by solar path lights, cool off in a second hand pool, collapse in gazebo made from recycled material and reflect on the day.

It’s time to sing a new song Kermit; truly, it’s easy being green!