Going Green Without Losing Your Cool!

Are you starting to worry about things like global warming, water quality, and air pollution? Well, you have lots of company. Long gone are the days where recyclers were seen as tree-hugging hippies. And yes, there are cool ways to go green without giving up your car. This article will give you tips and tricks on how you can reduce your pollution and waste, without compromising your lifestyle. So if you want to help out the planet without harming your cool image, read on and learn how to do it right.

Transportation

The Automobile
Cars are bad for the environment and fuel inefficient. This doesn’t mean you can’t drive one, but you should be looking at ways to maximize your vehicles performance and reducing its emissions. Here are some tips:

Buy ethanol. Ethanol reduces green house gas emissions from your vehicle by 20%, and it comes from a renewable source.

Regular maintenance. Keeping you car tuned up, clean, and regularly maintained will improve both the performance and the fuel efficiency.

Drive slower! You burn more fuel with very little gain as you increase your speed. Lock in the cruise control to avoid gunning the engine and speeding on the highway.

Don’t drive cold! If you live in a winter climate, plug your block heater in for about 30 minutes before you leave the house. Driving cold is hard on the engine and burns an enormous amount of fuel. Don’t leave it plugged in all night unless you have a timer!

Don’t drive solo! Car-pooling has lost its luster over the last 15 years, but it can save you money and reduce pollution.

Buy a Hybrid or Electric car! Need we say more?

Sell your car and take public transportation – you will be amazed at how much money you will save.

The House
Older homes are inefficient energy sucking monsters. This does not mean you need to sell it and buy a newer one, but there are lots of ways to update components of the home that waste energy, water and cause pollution.

Hot water heater. Get rid of it! Who invented these treacherous energy hogs? In most of Europe and Asia, people have switched over to systems that offer you hot water on demand. There is no tank; instead the line is super-heated when you need hot water. This way you get an unlimited supply and you don’t waste energy keeping a big tank heated 24 hours/day.

Windows. Get rid of the old ones, and pick up some triple-pane super energy efficient windows.

Furnace. If you need a furnace to keep warm, make sure you buy a modern one that has no pilot light, uses pulse technology, and works quietly.

Air conditioning. AC is great in the summer, but they give off heat and use lots of energy. A few companies are experimenting with ways of cooling water by running pipes under the ground. You can also use your furnace fan to move air through the house, without cooling it. The cooler basement air will help reduce heat in the house. You can also sleep in the basement during really hot nights.

Composting. Worms love garbage, so learn how to set up a simple compost in your backyard.

Toilets. If you do not want to go as far as buying a composting toilet, maybe your willing to buy one that uses very little water. Go one step further and use a bidet, which will reduce your toilet paper use.

The yard. Green grass lawns are huge water suckers, plus you need to burn gas to mow them. Plant lots of low-maintenance shrubs, and consider designing an interlocking brickyard, or maybe a Japanese rock garden. If you have to have the grass, then use a push mower to cut it. And only water at night or first thing in the morning.

Showers. Buy a water saving shower head, and don’t take out the rubber restrictor. Go one step further and buy a showerhead that only lets water fall when you pull on a chain. That way you won’t languish in the shower for longer than you need to be there to get clean.

The Office
There are computers out there now that use practically no energy whatsoever, including some that have a hand crank to charge the batteries.

Lights. Turn the lights off at night, and use low-energy bulbs. Mini-fluorescents use less energy, don’t heat up, and they last longer.

Power bars, chargers and transformers. Those little bars suck energy and emit heat 24/7, so you should turn them off whenever you can.

Recycle everything! Paper, electronics, computers, and batteries – everything needs to be recycled. There are several charities that will come and get your old electronics at no cost to you.

Coffee. Buy everyone in your office a travel mug, and don’t offer any disposable cups in the staff room.

Your Body
Humans love their chemically enhanced lotions and soaps, but you can use alternatives that will help you and the environment.

Lotions, soaps and shampoos. There are lots of companies out there that offer all-natural products, which give you the same benefits as the chemically enhanced kind. Check out your local health store to see what they can offer.

Eating healthy #1. Buy organic and you help the environment and your body – simple and tasty.

Eating healthy #2. Here is a simple rule – eat things that have had little or no processing. The more processed a food is, the less healthy it is for your body. Plus, processing means a lot of energy and pollution was used in order to create the product.

Eating healthy #3. Eat natural. This means avoid hybrids, trans-anything, and foods that contain lots of chemicals and additives.

Stop smoking! Not only are you killing your body, but you are also creating heat and air pollution.

Final Thoughts
No matter what you decide to do, just do something. Take those first baby steps toward a greener lifestyle, and you might just find out it’s not so bad walking to the corner store.