5 Areas You Can Make Simple Changes and Reduce Your Impact

Whether or not you believe that climate change is a reality, it’s hard to argue with the idea that humans cannot continue to consume at the rate with which have done so in modern history. We already know about the fuel and energy crisis, increasing water shortages, growing landfills, and unsustainable food and consumer goods production practices. It all seems overwhelming, and often we consider our own actions to be a drop in the bucket — for better or worse — so why bother making changes?

Here are 5 areas you can make simple changes that will lesson your impact on the environment. They aren’t big changes. But they are a start, and if everyone started with little changes, we could see big results.

Water
Turn it off. No, I’m not insisting on “military” style showers, turning off the water when you’re not actively rinsing. I’m sorry, but I’m not ready to make that change. What you can do though is turn off the water while you’re brushing your teeth. Many of us turn the water on to wet the toothbrush, and then leave it running the entire time we are brushing our teeth, as if the sound of running water were required to get the job done. Once you realize that you do it, you might even feel silly wasting all that water for no purpose. Most of us tend to do the same thing while washing the dishes. Whether or not we are actually rinsing something off, we tend to turn on the water when we start washing the dishes, and turn it off when every last dish is clean. But if you pay attention to how much time the water is running without being used, you’d be surprised how much of that time adds up. And once your sponge or dish rag is wet, you don’t need the constant flow of water going. Ditto for handwashing. Get your hands wet enough to lather up the soap, and then turn the water off while you’re washing your hands which, after all should take long enough to sing Happy Birthday, and then turn the water back on to rinse.

Power
Unplug your appliances. Most of your appliances don’t need to be powered constantly, and for many electronic devices, leaving the power cord plugged into the wall, even when your device is not attached, power is being delivered to the outlet. Using power strips is a good alternative to what some may complain is the hassle of plugging and unplugging everything all the time. If you plug your appliances into the power strip, turning the power strip off with one switch will also halt the delivery of power to the outlet.

Not to mention, you are eliminating a fire hazard when you unplug things like your toaster, hair dryer and other small appliances that could short out and cause an electrical fire, possibly when you’re not even at home.

To get an idea of how much power your appliances are using, check out the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy.

Trash
Recycle. Period. I admit, that’s easy for me to say. I happen to live in an area with a very liberal recycling policy. My neighborhood collects glass, cardboard and paper (including magazines and junk mail), aluminum, and plastics 1-7 (that’s pretty much all of them!). And, I don’t have to separate any of it which is a HUGE bonus! So we pretty much throw everything in the recycling can. In fact, we had to buy two large trash cans in addition to the small recycling bin we were given to hold everything. Our trash collection comes twice a week, while recycling pick up is only once weekly, and we really need it to be the other way around. I could easily go once every 2 weeks for trash pick up. It really doesn’t get much easier to do the right thing and recycle where I live. And yet, I have neighbors whom I doubt even own a recycling bin because I have never seen it. They have the trash can out there, stuffed to the brim every Monday and Thursday, but recycle absolutely nothing. EVERY SINGLE THING they decide to discard will end up in a landfill. Some may decompose, but most probably will be around long after we will.

If recycling is a challenge for you because your community doesn’t recycle, the “easy” answer is to bring it to a local recycling drop off center. Many Wal-Mart stores for example will take your recyclables. Of course, I realize this isn’t really easy, but even if you made one trip a week to take a box of recyclables, it would be better than those items ending up in a landfill. You could also lobby your neighborhood association, or go directly to your waste management company to begin a recycling program. If you think about it, it can be a mutually beneficial relationship since waste management companies sell their recycled materials. It’s in their best interest to offer the services to as many communties as possible.

Another way to reduce trash is to purchase reusable bags for your shopping and keep them handy whenever you out. I have some I keep in the car, but I also have a couple of collapsible bags that fit nicely in my purse so that I always have them with me. They hold up to 20 pounds, and have a couple of outside pockets. Though I bought mine at my local Wegman’s grocery store, there are similar ones at ReusableBags.com, like this ChicoBag. According to the ReusableBags.com web site, “Each year, an estimated 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide. That comes out to over one million per minute. Billions end up as litter each year.” Do your part to reduce this needless waste. (For more information on the ecological impact of plastic bag use, check out the Reusable Bags Fact Page.) If you do opt for plastic, check to see if your grocery store offers bag recycling. Most do, so you can just bring your bags back on your next trip to the store.

Food
Buy local, and buy organic, whenever you can. I realize neither of these options are possible on a regular basis for most people. I certainly can’t afford to buy all my food produced organically, and although there are plenty of farmers markets in my area during peak growing and harvesting seasons, they’re still not always convenient or affordable. That being said, I do what I can to support eco-friendly growing and manufacturing processes. Not only do I do this for the environment, but for my own health as well as that of my family. I don’t like the idea of our bodies being contaminated by pesticides and hormones and try to minimize the opportunities for that to happen. I always buy organic milk since we consume so much of it. I carry around a list of produce that is more likely to absorb pesticides and budget permitting, try to buy those items in their organically grown form. (To learn more about pesticide levels in produce, click here.)

Even if you don’t buy any organic food, your body and the environment will both be better off buying less processed foods. The more a food is processed, in general, the less nutritious it is, and the more impact the production of that food has had on the environment.

Fuel
No, I’m not going to tell you to go out, spend big bucks and buy a hybrid. (Though if you can, go for it!) Most of us don’t have the luxury of trading in our car every time a newer more fuel effecient model comes out. But there are simple things you can do to make your car run more efficiently.

First, drive like grandpa on a Sunday drive. Accelerate slowly, and obey the speed limit. When you go over 60 miles per hour, your efficiency begins to decline rapidly. Avoid frequent stopping and starting. I realize sometimes, like in heavy traffic, this is unavoidable. But if you watch traffic and/or lights ahead of you and decelerate slowly from a farther distance, allowing you to come to a coast, you won’t require as much gas than if you come to a complete stop and then have to start again.

Keep up with regular maintenance and make sure your tires are inflated to the appropriate PSI, per manufacturers instructions. A tire may not look flat, while not being completely inflated. When it is not properly inflated, it takes more of your  car’s effort to propel it forward.

Don’t carry around more of a load than is necessary. The more weight your car is carrying, the more fuel it will use.

While all of these changes may seem miniscule in terms of the impact they will have, it is up to each of us to make the changes we can. Nothing would ever get done if we always waited for the other guy (or gal) to start making changes first. Think about what you might be able to do, no matter how small, and make an effort to do at least that one thing. For a ton more ideas, check out IdealBite.com which serves up bite-sized ideas for light green living.