Go A Little Greener... Does It Really Hurt?

I took out my recycling this morning. I use clothe bags for my groceries. I drive a propane powered vehicle. Those are the things I do for the earth and each day I try and learn more.

I've been doing all those things for years now because some of them also save me money. We also recycle glass and cans here. We only put as much water in the kettle as we're going to use; dont have anything electrical on standby; only iron laundry when necessary (usually just my work tunics); unfortunately, I have to use the car for work but I go grocery shopping etc on the way home rather than make separate trips; keeping tyre pressures correct, avoiding sudden changes in speed; I read somewhere that it used less fuel to reverse into a space than to reverse out of it.. I'm guessing its something to do with the engine having to work harder when you first start up and when you reverse - so if you reverse when the engine's already warm you save (??); garden and food waste is composted; I handwash small items of clothing ... I'm sure there are other things I do & more that I could do. I work on a busy hospital ward and it really winds me up to see the number of plastic aprons, bottles, paper towels etc that cannot be recycled as they must be treated as clinical waste!!

first...your getting a friend request because i like the way you think. Second i actually blog about exactly what your saying and working for walmart i always encourage costumers to green up their lives. I even started building a website about it. its a work in progress but i guess I'm just going to have post it here. i haven't worked on it in a couple of weeks...been busy. but i am going to work on it some more soon...probably my next day off. hears the link. http://www.homeworld.ws/ . thanks for an awesome discussion!

i hope we do that
but i think we cant change our habits as we take the easiest way
thats my opinion

I have the cloth shopping bags and I am doing much better at remembering to take them when I go shopping. They really are quite nice because they are bigger and you don't wind up with 50 bags to unload when you get home. I have heard mixed messages about using the dishwasher, I have heard more that it actually saves on water, I am not sure but I don't run mine but about once a week anyway. I always turn off my computer at the end of the day and there are other little things I do here and there so I don't think it hurts to go a little greener. If I had the room to put different cans I would do more recycling of plastic. I plan to start that when we move into the bigger apartment at our complex, just not sure how soon that is going to happen. Have a happy and safe 4th, God Bless!

You make a valid point when you say if everyone did a bit, that would add up. Too many people take the stance: I am only one person. I have no way to make a difference.

But many "one persons" working together can make great strides! My own efforts include using my vehicle only when necessary, washing dishes by hand, conserving the amount of water I use, recycling, cutting back on electricity, and numerous other small things that add up.

A great discussion!

Karen

Yes, your family is probably annoyed with you. People don't like to be preached to about something as banal as 'going green.' People like you would probably be happy if we went back to the stone age, and had no electricity or supermarkets or even money itself. If you want to be green, fine. Just don't shove it down someone's throat. It's like someone trying to change your religion or something. That's why a lot of doors get slammed on door to door salespeople, lol. The only part of the green garbarge I believe in is recycling. Beyond that, it's lunacy. Have a nice day.

I always do those things you say, except for the plastic bags that i use sometimes but then i use them to throw garbage (if i didn't use plastic bags from shops i'd have to buy waste bags:D), i also avoid using the car every time it is possible and use mass transit.
I still can't understand why so many people in the united states use the dryer, hanging the clothes and waiting 1 day can save loads of electricity (and money), and i find no draw-back in that.
I also recycle everything i can (metals, paper, glass and plastic) too bad there is not yet organic waste composting in my area, and living in a flat i can't compost my waste here^^
I turn off everything when i am not using it, and avoid keeping things in standby.

Hi there,
I think it's a great thing I'm actually doing that myself.
I started cleaning out my garage and gave away a bunch
of clothes, recycled plastic containers and recycle cardboard
boxes

You are right if we all made a little efort it would make a bug diference. So can you imagine if we actually made more than just a little efort?
I have a conteiner where I put all my recycling items in there and I was surprice to see that every week it we get it all the way to the top. It must be better tu put it in the recycling container than the regular trash so they can do something better with it. I also hand wash my dishes I just don't like to wait until the dishwasher getd full of durty dishes. I changes all the little bulbes to the little florecent bulbs that use less electricity and also tune of all the electricol items and disconect them from the wall outlet. Well on disconecting all the items I tend to forget to do it for all of the things but I might disconect some every night.