It is time to stop reading and hearing about environmental problems and actually do something about them. Individual behaviour change is the first step.
Here are five steps you can take to modify your lifestyle and practice more environmentally-conscious choices in May. With each resolution you incorporate into your daily routine, you will find practicing these environmentally-friendly lifestyle tips easier and you will soon notice a difference in how you go about your life on this fragile planet, not to mention the financial benefits of living eco-friendly.
- Avoid purchasing products with excessive packaging: Until a strong and clear message is sent to manufacturers, products will continue to be packaged in excessive amounts. Plastic is a main culprit here. Make your purchases based on selecting products with the least amount of packaging and reward companies that minimize waste. If one of your favourite products continues to be sold in excessive and unnecessary packaging, write a letter to the corporation that manufactures it and let them know you will discontinue purchasing the product until packaging is reduced.
- Write to manufacturers and express concern in or interest about their Environmental practices: If we don't tell companies why we are not purchasing their products or our concerns over their environmental practices, they have little incentive to change. Writing to a company may seem time consuming, but by first designing a template letter outlining your concerns and possible recommendations, you can minimize time spent on letter writing by using the template and simply making minor modifications to customize it to specific products and companies. As a consumer you have power and it's important to utilize your purchasing power to hold companies accountable for their practices. If you are unsure of a company's practices, write to them and find out what their policies are. If you are concerned about specific practices that are harmful to the environment, explicitly say so and let them know you make your purchases based on environmental concerns.
- Help promote eco-friendly babies: There has been a recent boom in the baby product industry for environmentally-sensitive products. The amount of waste that can be created from using disposable items to care for a baby is staggering. Be very selective in what you purchase to care for your baby and remember that the less you consume, usually the better. If you do not have a baby, you can still promote environmentally-sensitive practices by always ensuring gifts for friends and family with babies are eco-friendly and talk to those with babies about their product purchases and the many environmentally-sensitive alternatives available.
- Whole foods for you and your pets: Along with the research promoting the health benefits of eating whole foods - foods that do not require processing and chemical additives – whole foods use less energy and resources to get from the farm to your table than processed foods. Eating foods that do not contain chemicals and additives means less chemicals being produced and getting into our ecosystem.
- No more CDs: Music CDs have become obsolete. For the same price or less, music is available for purchase online and can be downloaded directly to your computer and MP3 player. You can play music directly from your computer or hook your home stereo device up to play directly from your computer. This completely eliminates the resources and energy required to produce CDs, cases and packaging. If you are a CD collector and have grown too attached to the physical form of a CD to eliminate them from your life, purchase only used CDs, never new ones.
Additional Resources
To date a total of 20 tips has been provided; the links to previous Go Green Simply tips are included below.
- Go Gree Simply - April
- Go Green Simply - March
- Go Green Simply - February
- Zero Waste
- Eco-Geek: Recycling CDs
The copyright of the article Go Green Simply - May in Green/Simple Living is owned by Gemma Richardson. Permission to republish Go Green Simply - May in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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