Saving the Environment and Saving Money – Blog Action Day
October 15, 2007
Saving money and saving the environment are sometimes complementary objectives. A lot of it has to do with limiting your resource consumption. For example, using less gasoline is good for your wallet and helps reduce your footprint on the environment. While we’re not the world’s foremost conservationists we do try to manage our resource usage.
Energy
On the road. My wife and I own Honda’s in part because of their good fuel efficiency. I looked at buying a hybrid about 3 years ago but the price tag scared me away. I always try and combine errands so I’m not making multiple trips. I used to ride the bus to work before we had our son. That saved a good deal of gas and money but due to a new job location and kid duty I’m back to commuting in the car.
At Home. This one is pretty simple. Keeping the thermostat lower in the winter and higher in the summer makes a difference. Of course, since the baby came along we’ve been keeping the temperature more moderate for him.
Resources
Our local recycling center used to be pretty close to our house. About a year ago, they moved it to another part of town so now my trips there are less frequent. We still recycle everything; just store it in our garage until the bins are overflowing. I’m amazed at how quickly the glass, plastic, paper, paperboard, newspaper, and aluminum pile up. I’d hate to think of all that stuff going into the landfills instead. Recycling doesn’t save me any money but in some areas where they charge you if you exceed a certain number of trash bags, this could translate into savings.
One other thing I’m amazed by is the amount of things people in my neighborhood throw in the trash. I’ve seen kids toys, BBQ grills, lawn furniture, lamps, and decorations sitting by the curb for the garbage truck this summer. One option these people have is to get rid of old stuff they don’t want anymore through Craigslist or eBay. They could make a few bucks and get the item to someone who wants it, instead of tossing it into a landfill. If they don’t want to take that approach, they could just donate it and get a tax write-off . Not having time to drive it to Goodwill is not a good excuse since there are non-profit groups who send trucks around the neighborhood to pick up donations every month or so.
Blog Action Day
This post is a part of Blog Action Day, where people around the world are taking time to think about their impact on the environment. Thanks to the instigators of this project for getting me to take another look at my impact on the environment. Now that I have a son who will inherit any damage I do to the environment, conserving our resources takes on an additional importance.
All posts by Ben Edwards
There is no any second thing. It’s obviously true that Saving the Environment and Saving Money
Something like A typical mobile phone charger takes nearly as much energy whilst plugged in but not in use as it does when charging your phone. Multiply that by your Nintendo DS charger, your iPod charger, your laptop, your battery-operated power tools etc. Instead of plugging all the chargers in then leaving them in a charging station which just tidies away the wires, only plug them in when you are going to actually use them. I keep mine in a plastic box under a side table the remaining 98% of the time. Maybe not as convenient, but saves energy.
Environmentalism, or going green is in vogue these days. I’ve noticed a lot more companies are advertising their part in helping keep the environment clean or future products that are environmentally friendly.
kids toys, BBQ grills, lawn furniture, lamps? Junkyard scavengers would have a feast day if they ever come to your place.
If some people just know how much money it can save them if they turn scrap into a business I bet the amount of garbage would be minimized a lot.