What's Your Green Resolution?

Julie Rains — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 13:07:47 +0000

Save money and live healthier by taking action. One to three (or more) changes per household can make a great difference in decreasing energy consumption, eliminating or minimizing toxins, reducing waste, and offsetting your carbon footprint.

Wise Bread bloggers share green resolutions for the upcoming year, beginning on October 15, 2007: Blog Action Day. Tell us what actions you intend to take to improve the environment. Be creative, and list resources for accomplishing your goals if you'd like. Share your resolutions in the comments and be entered in a random drawing to win a $25 gift certificate from Amazon.com.

This drawing is over. Congrats to E.C. for winning the drawing. Thank you to everyone who participated!

Julie Rains

I want to (and plan to) do more but I'm listing what I know I can accomplish in the next year:

Install a programmable thermostat.
Plant a tree.
Research hybrid cars big enough to carry camping equipment and bicycles but with better gas mileage than my Corolla.

Will Chen

Get at least 3 friends to switch from bottled water to Pur Water purifiers.
For the next Father's Day, change all the lights in my parents' house from regular bulbs to CFC bulbs.
Unplug all my electronic gadgets before I go to sleep every night. "The Department of Energy estimates that in the average home, 40 percent of all electricity used to power home electronics is consumed while the products are turned off. Add that all up, and it equals the annual output of 17 power plants, the government says." NY Times.

Justin Ryan

Replace my 10-year old Camry with a smaller and more fuel efficient option.
Find a place to recycle the baskets of glass and plastic bottles I have in the trunk.
Ride the bike more often, once I'm actually within 10 miles of anywhere I want to go.

Linsey Knerl

Take a trash bag with us when I take my kids for a stroll. Have them pick up any garbage we see and remind them of proper stewardship of the world around us.
Continue using the clothes line for most of our laundry when it is above freezing temps.
Commit to making one trip to town a week to cut back on gas usage and wasted time!

Sarah Winfrey

Ride my bike to work.
Wean myself off paper towels.
Find a way to recycle normal household items that are not bottles and cans (it's pretty hard to do in an apartment in my neighborhood!)

Andrea Dickson

Stop using toxic chemicals on my body, such as fingernail polish and polish remover.
Start taking the bus to work - sure, it's going to take a lot longer than driving, but it's better than dealing with the blood pressure issues caused by the morning commute.
No more take-out styrofoam containers - either I bring my own Tupperware to take it home, or I eat it in the restaurant.

Nora Dunn

Switch to linen napkins as an alternative to paper napkins.
Bring reusable bags to the grocery store and stop using plastic bags altogether.
Move to Hawaii, where I'll live an environmentally sustainable lifestyle! :-)

Jessica Okon

Be more diligent about recycling things other than cans and newspapers.
Switch to more earth-friendly cleaning products.
Giveaway before I attempt to throwaway.

Ed O'Reilly

Replacing incandescent bulbs with fluorescent bulbs
Be very aware of water usage
Completely eliminate the use of household cleaners and use alternatives

Resources

Places where you can recycle batteries, electronic parts, plastics, and more at Earth 911-Recycling
How to dispose of CFC/CFLs (compact fluorescent light bulbs) from EnergyStar FAQs on CFLs
Reducing your carbon footprint
Wise Bread's Green Living section

This article is from Julie Rains of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

CFC

What's Your Green Resolution?