1. Re-route your commute.
• Walk or bike to work and save money on gas and parking
while improving your cardiovascular health and reducing your risk
of obesity.
• If you live far from your office, investigate the option
of telecommuting. Or move closer—even if this means paying
more rent, it could save you money in the long term.
• If your streets are not conducive to biking or walking,
lobby your municipal government to increase spending on sidewalks
and bike lanes. With little cost, these improvements can pay huge
dividends in decreased traffic and pollution.
2. Buy used.
• Whether you’ve just moved to a new area or are looking
to redecorate, consider a service like craigslist or FreeSharing
to track down furniture, appliances, and other items, rather than
buying them new. Check out garage sales and thrift stores for
clothing and other everyday items.
• Use your creativity in gift giving, including making homemade
gifts, donating to a good cause, or even regifting. (And gift
green, in general.)
• Your purchasing habits have a real impact, for better
or worse. When making new purchases, make sure you know what’s
“Good Stuff” and what isn’t.
3. Buy local.
• Shop at your local farmers’ market. Though the offerings
can be more expensive, you can generally count on a higher quality
product—and the entire purchase price goes directly to the
farmer. Buying any goods produced locally saves energy by reducing
the fossil fuels needed to transport food and other items across
the country and around the globe.
• Start a local currency program in your town. This can
ensure that money stays in your local economy, valuing local services
and supporting local merchants.
4. Compost your food scraps.
• Composting helps reduce the amount of waste you send to
the landfill, which can save you money if you live in a municipality
with a “pay as you throw” system. In the process,
you create free, healthy fertilizer for your garden (or your neighbor’s—or
lobby for a community garden!)
• If you don’t have a yard or space for a compost
pile, try indoor ‘vermiculture,’ or worm composting.
5. Change the thermostat setting and install energy saving
devices.
• Setting your thermostat a few degrees lower in the winter
and a few degrees higher in the summer can translate to substantial
savings on your utility bills.
• Install low-flow showerheads and take shorter showers
to save water and the energy used to heat it. Or, consider eventually
installing a solar hot water heater on your property.
• Wash clothes in cold water whenever possible and use a
drying rack or clothesline.
• When incandescent bulbs burn out, replace them with longer-lasting,
low-energy compact fluorescent bulbs.
• With the money you save from making these changes, consider
buying wind energy from your local utility or purchasing renewable
energy offsets. Renewables offer our best hope for reducing greenhouse
gas emissions, as well as a host of other pollutants. In some
cases, “green energy” options can be cheaper than
electricity from conventional sources!
6. Skip the bottled water at the grocery or convenience
store.
• Filter your tap water for drinking rather than using bottled
water. Not only is bottled water expensive, but it produces large
amounts of container waste.
• Check out this recent update and life cycle analysis for
the latest on bottled water trends.
7. Make your own cleaning supplies.
• Using simple ingredients such as baking soda, soap, and
vinegar, you can make cheap, easy, and non-toxic cleaning products
that really work! Save money, time, and your indoor air quality.
8. Think twice about new electronics.
• E-waste from discarded cell phones and computers is a
growing environmental problem. Mounds of electronic refuse are
being shipped abroad illegally for ‘disassembly’ by
workers with little protection against the mercury and other toxic
substances they contain.
• Keep your electronics as long as possible and dispose
of them responsibly when the time comes.
• Buy higher-quality items and don’t give in to ‘psychological
obsolescence’ marketing campaigns.
• Recycle your cell phone and support good causes at the
same time!
• Ask your local government to set up a responsible recycling
and hazardous waste collection event.
9. Add one meatless meal per week.
• While strict vegetarianism isn’t for everyone, even
the most devout carnivores can cut back on meat consumption without
cramping their style—and save money in the process. Industrial
meat production requires huge energy inputs and creates noxious
waste problems. The proliferation of factory farms is damaging
the environment, and the global nature of the industry creates
conditions that promote the spread of diseases such as avian flu,
potentially costing society billions.
10. Use your local library and other public amenities.
• Borrowing from libraries, instead of buying personal books
and movies, saves money and printing resources. Consider donating
the money saved to your local library.
• Be an active civic participant and ensure that the public
spaces and facilities in your town are well maintained. This will
promote a healthy, sustainable community.
