Living Green and Saving the Environment

Or, at least starting to learn how to live green and help save the environment. I've never been one to think too much about saving the environment but in the last few years I've started to get onboard. I'm lucky enough to live just over an hour to Yosemite National Park and it's one of my favorite places in the world. I would hate to think that beautiful place would not be here, or be as beautiful, for new generations to enjoy, in 25 years, 50 years or 100 years from now.

A few years ago, I worked on a political campaign for a business colleague and friend. She didn't win but I learned a little bit about helping to save the environment. Now, I intentionally don't live where I can walk to the store, to lunch, etc. but I can hire a gardener and use green gardening tools instead of gas powered mowers, edgers, etc.

And, I'm a salesperson for a company selling hospitality, paper and janitorial products and in the last 12-18 months more and more hotels are requesting green products. Many of our vendors that make up our product lines (P & G, Kimberly Clark, etc.) are developing more and more products that are easily recycled, and green. In addition to that, many of these companies are also changing the way they work - one is intentionally using less paper with a commitment to lower their use annually, another now builds more factories across the country so they don't have to run trucks using more gas and polluting the air, and other methods of how they can work more efficiently they would not have considered just a few short years ago.

The company I work for serves the hospitality (and janitorial) customers in the San Francisco Bay Area and it's with the hotels where we really see the changes coming. More and more hotels are requesting green products. When I stayed at a hotel in the SF peninsula last spring, I was stunned to see signs in our room instructing us in how to recycle our garbage, complete with different wastebaskets. I was quite surprised but it has helped me realize we all need to jump on this bandwagon.

Now, I really do separate my waste before it goes out for garbage pick up every week. I actually sell my plastic water bottles every few months and give my soda cans (very few!) to a friend who sells them.

Some other things we can do are pretty simple -

Start separating recyclable trash from true garbage - and research this. More can be recycled than I every realized.

Consider investing in a solar system. A large production house and recording studio in my city replaced their roof last year with a new roof including a solar system because the owner's CPA told him it would pay for itself in seven years. And, save him thousands of dollars in energy costs every year afterwards.

Check before you light…your fireplace if you're in an area with mandatory fireplace regulations. They started this in my area two years ago, and while admittedly it used to annoy me, I do jump online and double check to see if I can enjoy a fire before I go and start a one.

In your home and/or office, you can use the back side of your computer paper in your fax machine. You'll save some trees and a little money because you won't be buying as much new paper. And, remember to buy recycled paper when you do buy it.

Consider installing motion censor bulbs in your rooms at home and/or office so the lights will automatically turn on and off when someone enters or leaves the room.

Take showers instead of baths to save money and install a low-flow showerhead for even more savings. Little things like turning the water off while you brush your teeth is easy to do and the savings adds up.

Next time you purchase a new appliance for your home, make sure it has the "Energy Star" label. These products can reduce your energy bill by 20 - 30%. Consider a front-load washing machine when it's time to buy a new washer. They use about 1/3 less water than the top loading machines which also reduces the amount of electricity used every time you wash a load. Also, clothes come out dryer which reduces drying time.

So, do what your can to - Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.