Ways to be more green.
2 min readMay 28, 2018
- Switch to wind and/or solar as the electricity source in your apartment or home. No wind turbines or solar panels needed, and prices are competitive. Here’s how to do it.
- Get your office, gym, place of worship, school, etc to switch to wind and/or solar as the electricity source.
- Tell a couple friends or family members about switching to wind and/or solar as the electricity source in their apartment or home.
- Install ENERGY STAR certified LED lights in your apartment or home. This will save you money. LED lights are more expensive, but reduce your electricity bill. They pay for themselves in 8–9 months, and because they last 50 times longer than the incandescent bulbs most people use now, once those 8–9 months pass, you just enjoy a reduced electricity bill.
- Tell a couple friends about switching to ENERGY STAR certified LED lights.
- Organize a renewable energy fair at your church or school. Get local wind and solar providers to each set up a booth so people can see their options and learn more how it works.
- Stop using throw-away water bottles and coffee cups. Use a water bottle for water, a tumbler for iced coffee, and/or a travel mug for coffee or tea.
- Reduce the environmental damage caused by your carbon footprint by “buying back” some (or all) of the tons of carbon you’ve emitted. Using this calculator, figure out the number of tons of CO2 emitted per year and the cost/ton of CO2 emitted per year. Then support a conservation project such as those offered by The Nature Conservancy or The Carbon Fund.
- Eat less meat, with a particular focus on eating less beef.
- Decrease the amount of new stuff you buy. Consignment shops, thrift stores, and the Salvation Army are all great options.
- Don’t leave the water on while you brush your teeth.
- Reduce trash that goes to a landfill by contacting companies that send you junk mail to get off of their promotion lists.
- Use biodegradable trash bags. Options are here, here, and here.
- Use a reusable grocery bag instead of plastic bags.
- Advocate for a 5 cent bag fee for each plastic bag used at the grocery store. Washington DC enacted it years ago, and it’s working wonders.
- Most states have established requirements wherein utilities must sell a minimum specified percentage or amount of renewable electricity. It’s called a “renewable portfolio standard” (RPS). Research your state’s current RPS here. If your state doesn’t already have an RPS, advocate for your state to establish one. If your state already has an RPS, advocate for it to be increased.
