Gettting Started; Sustainable living crash course.
Observe yourself, and pay close attention. Do you stare into the refridgerator? habitually leave lights on? Let faucets run like wild? live in the shower? drive like a maniac? eat like its a hobby? drink like a fish? Thats fine, you can't change overnight, so don't get drastic, take it easy and have some fun.
Change your bulbs - Incandescent bulbs are useless. Even if you bought them yesterday, throwing them out and replacing them with CFL's WILL SAVE YOU MONEY. They use a fraction of the electricity and last for years. In fact, the U.S. government is planning on phasing incandescent bulbs out in a few years anyway.
Turn it off - Do yourself a favor and turn off your lights, open your blinds, and enjoy the scenery (where applicable). Conserve your water, especially the hot water. Even if you don't pay for your water, its our most precious resource, conserve it!
Shop Green - Look for food with less packaging. Buy local, if you can. Try using reusable bags (they are so much better anyway!). Keep in mind how much energy goes into the products you are buying, it all adds up to C02 in our atmosphere.
Recycle what you can - If you don't do anything else, recycle your pop cans. It takes the equivalent of 1 quart of oil to make each and every pop can you buy. Throwing these cans away is like throwing away energy. Paper and cardboard would be the next step. For every ton of paper recycled, we save 17 trees from being cut down. Every bit counts.
Change your transportation habits - Do you go to the grocery store 4 times per week? Take your car out on errands several times per day? We all have busy lives, and most of our day to day activities can be streamlined or combined for less trips. Also, try riding a bike or walking to your destination. A mile really isn't that far to say.. a New Yorker, they walk everywhere; Besides, its good for you.
Donate to charity - Not everyone has the ability to give to charity, and there are so many charities to give to these days. Excellent charities for conservation efforts are The World Wildlife Fund, The Nature Conservancy, and Greenpeace. These charities offer you ways to donate to helping out in many different areas of the conservation movement.
Read and talk to others. - This website, as well as others, can be a great way for you to connect with other people, become more aware, and find ways to live your life with the environment in mind.
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