Earth Blog 2020

7 Tips on How to Be Green in Your Everyday Life

Tiago Zegur

 

Sometimes people want to do something to save the planet but don`t really know how to start. We are providing you with seven infallible tips of how to find easy ways to lead an eco-friendly and eco-conscious life. We suggest you try one each day of the week and by the end of the week you will have done 7 good things without even making much of an effort. Go for it!

MONDAY: Practice Eco-Mobility: This would be the best way of moving from place to place and especially those among you who drive frequently should start thinking about some alternatives whenever this is possible. However, sometimes we are dependent on our car and we cannot afford a hybrid or an electric car or use any other type of eco-mobile. In those cases, we can still be “green”. You should make sure your car is always in a good condition as this can directly affect the amount of CO² emitted. Don't leave the car running when picking someone up or are waiting for something or someone. The 30 seconds rule applies here. If your car runs more than half a minute without being used, it is already worth stopping the engine. Another option would be making your car fuel-efficient by getting an engine tune-up which can improve your mileage by up to 4%. You might also consider replacing the air filter, aligning your tires, pumping up your tires, checking the condition of your gas cap and if necessary replacing it to avoid the release of smog-causing compounds, driving smoothly and taking any unnecessary load from the car. By doing this, you can additionally reduce fuel costs. Fuel-efficient cars will release less harmful substances and you can travel a greater distance on a tank of gas. When looking to buy a new car, opt for a more fuel-efficient car than your old one. Joining a carpool to go to work, school or somewhere else is also a wise and eco-friendly choice. This will lead to one less polluting car on the roads. 

TUESDAY: Use Bamboo Products: There are many more bamboo products than we can imagine. We can substitute our plastic, leather and cotton products with something made of bamboo. The benefits of bamboo over other materials are not only attractive from an environmental perspective but also from a quality perspective. The production of bamboo is considered to be carbon neutral and many bamboo products feature a higher quality. It is important to always look for alternative environmentally friendly material but at the same time it is essential to keep the consumption to a reasonable level. 

WEDNESDAY: Use Your Own Mug: A small gesture that can make a big difference. A plastic cup can take up to four hundred and fifty years to decompose and it takes a lot of water to be produced. If you take your own mug from home, you can help the environment in many different ways by saving water, reducing trash, generating less emissions etc. Even the water that is used to wash the mug is less than the amount wasted to manufacture plastic cups. So just grab your favorite mug and take it to work. Your company will not have to spend money on plastic cups and your boss will probably like to see that you care and actually take action to save the planet. In fact, it can even motivate your employer to go green too and you might even be considered a role model for the other employees.

THURSDAY: Recycle: Recycling bottles, cans, packages etc. is an important act in our combat to help our planet recover. You should also think about reusing something like a glass or plastic bottle or any kind of container before throwing it out to be recycled. Also opt for buying recyclable products (and make sure it is really 100% recycled). This is a very important gesture and only powerful if done every day. 

FRIDAY: Save Energy and Water: Try replacing the light bulbs of your house (the ones that burnt out) with fluorescent ones and if possible install a solar energy system. You should also consider unplugging some appliances such as your laptop, the modem or the TV at night or when you are not at home or when you are not using these devices. Keeping the freezer and refrigerator full of food helps retain the temperature and you can reduce the temperature needed to keep an empty fridge and freezer cold. You might also consider using a broom and a shovel instead of a vacuum cleaner, turning off the tap while brushing your teeth, urinating in the shower and avoiding washing your car with a hose. Why not use a bucket of water instead?

SATURDAY: Keep Your Plastic Bag: Save the bags you got last time you went to the supermarket, take them with you next time and use them again. This cycle can be repeated many times. If plastic bags take hundreds of years to decompose, you might even think that using environmentally friendly bags is a wiser decision. They are offered at many retail points today.

SUNDAY: Eat healthier: Reducing or totally avoiding the consumption of meat and consuming organic food is a great way to start. What we eat directly affects the environment as companies cut down the Amazon rainforest for planting soy and raising cows. Apart from destroying the Earth’s green lungs, large quantities of water are used in livestock production.     

Bonus Tip: Be a Green Gardener: When you are working in the garden, try to take all the necessary precautions to do an environmentally friendly job. Instead of using peat moss on the grass you can use rotting leaves; they do the same job plus we avoid taking the peat moss from bogs from which it is derived and we will not disrupt the natural balance.

We can be “green” in every area of our lives; all we need is to think of how, instead of just doing what we have been doing up until now. Think green, when you go on a cruiser by choosing an eco-friendly one, pick an eco-lodge when you are on vacation and camp instead of booking a hotel. This way of thinking is what the world needs. 

Help us apply these tips in your everyday lives. THE EARTH BLOG'S FIRST ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY WEEK WILL TAKE PLACE FROM APRIL 23RD to APRIL 29^TH. We are going to share some pictures of our actions during that week and we would really welcome any of your pictures that show your commitment! Talk about it with your friends, family and neighbors and share this article on Facebook. Contribute to a better world with a greener future.