Shades of Green - It's not all or nothing

You don’t have to go out and buy all new energy-star appliances, install sun panels, and build a wind turbine in your backyard to be “green” – although it’s nice if you can afford it! And you don’t have to completely change your lifestyle to make an impact on your carbon footprint. It’s all about getting started; doing what you can, and feeling good about it. Sometimes it’s hard to get started, and then hard to keep it up – believe me, I know! I vowed to stop using plastic bags when shopping … but I kept forgetting to put the reusable bags back in the car when I was done unpacking groceries. One quick solution was to buy one of those nifty nylon bags that scrunches up into a very small attached bag that fits into the smallest of purses, or can hook onto a belt or backpack. So now I always have at least one reusable bag with me all the time – and while it’s “only one bag”, if EVERYONE carried and used one bag, it would cause quite an impact!

Start with the three R’s – Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle, and see where it takes you. Simple actions like turning off lights when you leave a room (good; better – replace incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs), turning off your computer and other appliances when they aren’t in use (good; better – unplug them or buy a smart power strip), recycle plastic bags (good; better – use reusable bags when shopping). There are so many actions you can take that will make an impact!

I found an interesting web site called “One Million Acts of Green … when we all do one act, we act as one, and help the planet”. Check it out: http://bit.ly/uQK8i . There are suggestions for doing acts of green, checklists to check off what you already do, and what you pledge to do. You can create a free profile, and track your progress, as well as see the impact everyone is making. It’s packed with good ideas for green acts. It’s a start ….