Six Economical, Green Steps My Family has Taken

Many families are taking steps to reduce energy consumption and be more environmentally conscious. Some families have taken extensive steps to dramatically reduce energy consumption and protect the environment, while others have minimally done so. My family has not taken heroic efforts, but increasingly has taken small environmentally friendly steps without a big cost or change in lifestyle. Nonetheless, there are other things we could but have not yet done.

Hybrid car: Last year, we were pleased to get a hybrid Honda Civic to replace our 15-year old small car. Not only does this improve our gas mileage to about 40 miles per gallon, but we reduced the additional cost by the federal tax credit (being phased out for Honda hybrid vehicles as Honda has met the threshold of cars eligible for the credit). We find that we choose to drive the hybrid over our other car more often than we had initially expected. With gas prices rising to closer to $4.00 per gallon, we enjoy the less frequent fill-ups and watching the dashboard monitor showing our gas mileage. Few other families are actually enjoying watching their car's gas mileage in the current economy.

Mesh or cloth grocery bags: We have acquired inexpensive cloth bags from nearly all of our local grocery stores, and whenever we remember to keep them in the car we no longer need paper or plastic bags. A few stores even knock a few pennies off our grocery bill. Whereas we used to receive strange looks from the grocery cashiers when we pulled out the cloth bags, we now find they are more widely accepted and even appreciated by cashiers.

Recycling: Most communities have improved recycling collections, and our county makes it very simple by allowing us to commingle different recyclable products. Even though we once separated different types of waste and sometimes took them to different recycling drop-offs, over time, we have increased our recycling as the county and my office take more products right at our curbside.

Backyard Compost: Our trash has been further reduced by keeping a backyard compost bin. We add kitchen wastes from fruits and vegetables, leaves, and grass, and are amazed to see how the volume keeps declining as the composting process develops. The compost would be even faster and richer if we actively turned and layered the material we add, but we just occasionally stir it. This spring, I sorted the bottom layer through a screen and added it to my small herb and vegetable garden. Not only will this reduce our trash and hopefully help my tomatoes, peppers, and herbs, but I saved a few dollars from not having to buy compost at my local garden store.

Compact fluorescent light bulbs: We have been replacing our traditional light bulbs as they burn out with compact fluorescent bulbs. The technology has improved, with less of the "warming up" period of flickering and brightening from a dim start, and there are increasing choices of shape, brightness, and light tone at lower prices than a few years ago. Nearly half of our home's bulbs are now compact fluorescents, and we will slowly keep adding more as the old ones finish their lives. Despite the higher initial cost of the bulbs, some utility companies offer rebates or coupons for their purchase and they are estimated to save money over their lifetimes due to lower electricity costs.
Solar Christmas Lights: OK, this purchase did not really save any energy because it added rather than replaced Christmas lights to our front yard. But out of curiosity last winter I purchased a string of solar lights for a small shrub. While the lights appeared blue on the package, the actual lights were white with a blue twinge. But the look was classy on a small shrub we have not previously decorated because it would require a long extension cord. Instead, we had a small solar cell posted next to the shrub and the lights automatically shined (at a low level) each evening and night, restoring the power charge during daylight. No reduction in electricity for my family, but some additional décor without a few cents on our extra electricity bill.

I do not cite these economical environmental steps to claim that my family has made sacrifices or heroic efforts to be more green. In fact, they have been enjoyable, a modest cost or savings, and a small step to being more environmentally sound. There are a number of other steps we have considered, but have not yet done due to hesitance to change, cost, or laziness.

Unplug appliances: This is a simple step that is increasingly cited as a way to reduce costs and energy consumption. Even when not in use, many appliances and electronic products still have an energy load when plugged in. My wife will unplug our computer equipment overnight, but I tend to neglect to do so. Perhaps this will be my next small economical and green step.

Solar water and heat: Both my wife and I dream to have an active or passive solar house for heating our house and water supply, but this remains a dream. Retrofitting the house we have would be costly, and while we have talked sparingly about doing so we have never seriously examined the costs or benefits. But I hope when we find our retirement house in another twenty years we will incorporate solar design if we have not already done so.

Rain barrel: We live in the watershed of the Chesapeake Bay, and our yard slopes to a stream flowing to a man-made lake. Runoff from yards adds to pollution of the Chesapeake, and an easy step would be to add a rain barrel to capture rain falling from the gutters. We worry a bit about mosquitoes, but my reading indicates that most rain barrels do not result in breeding mosquitoes, and if mosquitoes become an issue there are preventive tablets that can be added. Further, the rain water would be beneficial to my small vegetable and herb garden during the hot summer months. Increasingly I aim to take this small step forward but have not yet crossed the hurdle.