{"id":1205,"date":"2017-01-06T18:44:17","date_gmt":"2017-01-06T18:44:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spmodels.net\/nature\/?p=1205"},"modified":"2017-05-06T18:52:10","modified_gmt":"2017-05-06T18:52:10","slug":"10-ways-to-go-green-and-save-green","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spmodels.net\/nature\/10-ways-to-go-green-and-save-green\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Ways to Go Green and Save Green"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><i>How can we live lightly on the Earth and save money at the same time?\u00a0<\/i><\/h2>\n<p>Climate change is in the news. It seems like everyone&#8217;s &#8220;going green.&#8221; We&#8217;re glad you want to take action, too. Luckily, many of the steps we can take to stop climate change can make our lives better. Our grandchildren-and their children-will thank us for living more sustainably. Let&#8217;s start now.<\/p>\n<p>Keep reading for 10 simple things you can do today to help reduce your environmental impact, save money, and live a happier, healthier life.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><b>Save energy to save money<\/b>.\n<ul>\n<li>Set your thermostat a few degrees lower in the winter and a few degrees higher in the summer to save on heating and cooling costs.<\/li>\n<li>Install compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) when your older incandescent bulbs burn out.<\/li>\n<li>Unplug appliances when you&#8217;re not using them. Or, use a &#8220;smart&#8221; power strip that senses when appliances are off and cuts &#8220;phantom&#8221; or &#8220;vampire&#8221; energy use.<\/li>\n<li>Wash clothes in cold water whenever possible. As much as 85 percent of the energy used to machine-wash clothes goes to heating the water.<\/li>\n<li>Use a drying rack or clothesline to save the energy otherwise used during machine drying.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Save water to save money.<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li>Take shorter showers to reduce water use. This will lower your water and heating bills too.<\/li>\n<li>Install a low-flow showerhead. They don&#8217;t cost much, and the water and energy savings can quickly pay back your investment.<\/li>\n<li>Make sure you have a faucet aerator on each faucet. These inexpensive appliances conserve heat and water, while keeping water pressure high.<\/li>\n<li>Plant drought-tolerant native plants in your garden. Many plants need minimal watering. Find out which occur naturally in your area.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Less gas = more money (and better health!).<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li>Walk or bike to work. This saves on gas and parking costs while improving your cardiovascular health and reducing your risk of obesity.<\/li>\n<li>Consider telecommuting if you live far from your work. Or move closer. Even if this means paying more rent, it could save you money in the long term.<\/li>\n<li>Lobby your local government to increase spending on sidewalks and bike lanes. With little cost, these improvements can pay huge dividends in bettering your health and reducing traffic.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Eat smart.<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li>If you eat meat, add one meatless meal a week. Meat costs a lot at the store-and it&#8217;s even more expensive when you consider the related environmental and health costs.<\/li>\n<li>Buy locally raised, humane, and organic meat, eggs, and dairy whenever you can. Purchasing from local farmers keeps money in the local economy.<\/li>\n<li>Watch videos about why local food and sustainable seafood are so great.<\/li>\n<li>Whatever your diet, eat low on the food chain [pdf]. This is especially true for seafood.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Skip the bottled water.<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li>Use a water filter to purify tap water instead of buying bottled water. Not only is bottled water expensive, but it generates large amounts of container waste.<\/li>\n<li>Bring a reusable water bottle, preferably aluminum rather than plastic, with you when traveling or at work.<\/li>\n<li>Check out this short article for the latest on bottled water trends.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Think before you buy.<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li>Go online to find new or gently used secondhand products. Whether you&#8217;ve just moved or are looking to redecorate, consider a service like craigslist or FreeSharing to track down furniture, appliances, and other items cheaply or for free.<\/li>\n<li>Check out garage sales, thrift stores, and consignment shops for clothing and other everyday items.<\/li>\n<li>Watch a video about what happens when you buy things. Your purchases have a real impact, for better or worse.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Borrow instead of buying.<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li>Borrow from libraries instead of buying personal books and movies. This saves money, not to mention the ink and paper that goes into printing new books.<\/li>\n<li>Share power tools and other appliances. Get to know your neighbors while cutting down on the number of things cluttering your closet or garage.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Buy smart.<\/b>\n<div><\/div>\n<ul>\n<li>Buy in bulk. Purchasing food from bulk bins can save money and packaging.<\/li>\n<li>Wear clothes that don&#8217;t need to be dry-cleaned. This saves money and cuts down on toxic chemical use.<\/li>\n<li>Invest in high-quality, long-lasting products. You might pay more now, but you&#8217;ll be happy when you don&#8217;t have to replace items as frequently (and this means less waste!).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Keep electronics out of the trash.<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li>Keep your cell phones, computers, and other electronics as long as possible.<\/li>\n<li>Donate or recycle them responsibly when the time comes. E-waste contains mercury and other toxics and is a growing environmental problem.<\/li>\n<li>Recycle your cell phone.<\/li>\n<li>Ask your local government to set up an electronics recycling and hazardous waste collection event.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Make your own cleaning supplies.<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li>The big secret: you can make very effective, non-toxic cleaning products whenever you need them. All you need are a few simple ingredients like baking soda, vinegar, lemon, and soap.<\/li>\n<li>Making your own cleaning products saves money, time, and packaging-not to mention your indoor air quality.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How can we live lightly on the Earth and save money at the same time?\u00a0 Climate change is in the news. It seems like everyone&#8217;s &#8220;going green.&#8221; We&#8217;re glad you want to take action, too. Luckily, many of the steps&#8230;<br \/><a class=\"read-more-button\" href=\"https:\/\/spmodels.net\/nature\/10-ways-to-go-green-and-save-green\/\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1206,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1205","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-go-green"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/spmodels.net\/nature\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1205","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/spmodels.net\/nature\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/spmodels.net\/nature\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spmodels.net\/nature\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spmodels.net\/nature\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1205"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/spmodels.net\/nature\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1205\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spmodels.net\/nature\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1206"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/spmodels.net\/nature\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1205"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spmodels.net\/nature\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1205"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spmodels.net\/nature\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1205"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}