Many people try to tell you that green living is hard, that it is un-American, that it's useless and expensive too. None of those arguments against the green lifestyle are valid. Green living is simply the act of considering the environmental impact that a given action will have and choosing to do things that will either be environmentally neutral or environmentally beneficial. Realistically, these goals are not always possible, but most people want the Earth to be here for future generations and the best way to insure that is to make a lighter personal footprint. A benefit of the "going green" is that it often will save you money and improve your lifestyle too.
So what is a sustainable lifestyle? It's basically living more realistically, by being aware of reality. The reality is that if a beef patty in America came from a cow raised in Brazil on land made by clear-cutting the Amazon rain forest, it's not being raised sustainably. It may seem cheap, but the cost is hidden by governments and tax policies that encourage this destruction of the eco-system. Your power to stop this is to realize the reality of it, and not eat that particular hamburger. Fortunately, if you have a computer and a connection to the internet, finding out about this reality is easy. You can live in beautiful house, have electronic gizmos, wear fine clothes and drive a fancy car and you can do all this while living green. You just have to be aware of how something was made and what happens when you throw it away.
Making the environmentally friendly choices doesn't have to limit you any any way. You just adjust your thinking about the production, use and ultimate destruction of the products you buy. Buy a great car, but try to coax an extra mile or two per gallon out of it. Make sure your doors and windows are sealed to keep in the heat or air-conditioning. Buy locally grown produce if possible and think about how pesticides and herbicides aren't good for living things, including you and your family. Can something be recycled and not just thrown away? Most communities have a recycling program of some sort, use it. Living sustainably is not hard, it's just living with awareness of the impact of your choices.
As noted previously, part of sustainable living is recognizing how you're using the Earth's natural resources and vowing to reduce your pollution and use. Locally this means not dumping toxins (like oil, paint thinner, herbicides, pesticides) into streams or into storm drains. Don't fire up your fireplace with wet, smoky wood, and use a pellet stove if possible. Buy electricity from "green" sources if you can afford it. Conserve water. Buy a low flow shower head. Turn your water heater thermostat down to 120 or lower. Heat your house to 68 - 70 degrees (F) and cool it to 78 - 75 degrees. The list of easy ways to reduce your personal use of natural resources is endless and you will live just as comfortably as you do now. Not everyone can afford to do everything (or is willing to), but by being a responsible citizen of your community, and the world, you will be helping and that's what we all need to do.
So what's next in your quest for sustainable living? Education. Start going to blogs and forums. Read newspapers and articles. Keep learning and thinking about how you can do your part. If every month you can add one little thing you do that promotes sustainability, you will make a huge difference in our world. Thanks for caring - 32387
So what is a sustainable lifestyle? It's basically living more realistically, by being aware of reality. The reality is that if a beef patty in America came from a cow raised in Brazil on land made by clear-cutting the Amazon rain forest, it's not being raised sustainably. It may seem cheap, but the cost is hidden by governments and tax policies that encourage this destruction of the eco-system. Your power to stop this is to realize the reality of it, and not eat that particular hamburger. Fortunately, if you have a computer and a connection to the internet, finding out about this reality is easy. You can live in beautiful house, have electronic gizmos, wear fine clothes and drive a fancy car and you can do all this while living green. You just have to be aware of how something was made and what happens when you throw it away.
Making the environmentally friendly choices doesn't have to limit you any any way. You just adjust your thinking about the production, use and ultimate destruction of the products you buy. Buy a great car, but try to coax an extra mile or two per gallon out of it. Make sure your doors and windows are sealed to keep in the heat or air-conditioning. Buy locally grown produce if possible and think about how pesticides and herbicides aren't good for living things, including you and your family. Can something be recycled and not just thrown away? Most communities have a recycling program of some sort, use it. Living sustainably is not hard, it's just living with awareness of the impact of your choices.
As noted previously, part of sustainable living is recognizing how you're using the Earth's natural resources and vowing to reduce your pollution and use. Locally this means not dumping toxins (like oil, paint thinner, herbicides, pesticides) into streams or into storm drains. Don't fire up your fireplace with wet, smoky wood, and use a pellet stove if possible. Buy electricity from "green" sources if you can afford it. Conserve water. Buy a low flow shower head. Turn your water heater thermostat down to 120 or lower. Heat your house to 68 - 70 degrees (F) and cool it to 78 - 75 degrees. The list of easy ways to reduce your personal use of natural resources is endless and you will live just as comfortably as you do now. Not everyone can afford to do everything (or is willing to), but by being a responsible citizen of your community, and the world, you will be helping and that's what we all need to do.
So what's next in your quest for sustainable living? Education. Start going to blogs and forums. Read newspapers and articles. Keep learning and thinking about how you can do your part. If every month you can add one little thing you do that promotes sustainability, you will make a huge difference in our world. Thanks for caring - 32387
