Tuesday, June 12

Get Responsible. Seriously. Let's do it together.

A while back, I posted about being smarter about our environment and what small changes we can make to better Earth.
Last night, Christy and I were talking about some new commercials she has seen while she takes a work break, watching Charmed. They struck a chord with her and when I heard about them, it really got me inspired to take a more personal and proactive look at what we are doing, good and bad, to the environment.

Why should we wait for the government or scientists to one day drastically cut the use of gasoline, emissions, and the use of gas-powered power tools such as leaf blowers, mowers, weed-eaters, etc.

Seriously. What will it take for all of us to band together to say, enough is enough. We need to take responsibility and do our part to stop global warming. You see it happen all the time. Only when it affects us personally, hits home, do we actually make a change.

This is not a "SAVE THE EARTH YOU FOOLS" speech. Well, it is, sort of, but mostly, I am trying to ask, WHY WAIT UNTIL IT COMES TO DRASTIC CUTBACKS AND RESTRICTIONS BY THE UPPER HAND when we can begin doing it now to save Earth for our kids.


Here are a few of my suggestions:

One: Try to stop using gas-powered leaf blowers - how about breaking out the broom and get some exercise.
Two: Try to stop using gas-powered lawn mowers if you can - purchase a REEL lawn mower or spend a bit more and get an electric or battery-powered one.
Three: How about selling one of your two SUVs and buy something more practical as a second car , like say a Toyota Yaris, or Prius, or even a small Honda Civic or Ford Focus, to name a few.

I am also realistic and understand that it takes money to do this, and time. It does not have to happen all at once, but small steps will really help. OK, I will get off my soapbox now, but please think about it.

Oh, and what am I doing to save Earth?

Blogging about it - for starters. I use a broom instead of gas-powered blower, we are planning on getting a REEL (electric-powered) mower, electric leaf blower, and also, ridding our backyard of as much grass as possible and xeroscaping in the front. I plan on stepping up our GREEN-ING in the future too, by planting more shrubs, trees and vines to provide shade so our house uses less energy. We also keep our thermostat set to 686 in winter and open windows instead of AC as much as possible in the summer.

If you have energy-saving tips to offer, please pass them along here. I would love to have more ideas. Thanks.

5 comments:

Ivy :: Fusionbox said...

How about move your investments to green funds.

davegannon said...

you mean big tobacco is not a green fund? I like that idea. thanks. is there a list somewhere of green funds?

Jen said...

How about switching your lightbulbs to compact fluorescent?

You could stop using paper napkins in favor of fabric ones...

Or switch your monthly bills to "paperless" billing!

davegannon said...

hey jennifer, thanks for commenting. all three suggestions are very wise and GREEN. actually, we do all three of those at our house. I should have mentioned them. i guess we all do more than we realize.

painterjoy said...

Hey Dave, you green machine.
I heard that unplugging appliances when not 'on' keeps extra electricity from being used. Bringing your own canvas bags to the store. Looking for products that use recyclable or biodegradable packaging, or as little packaging as possible. Not buying 'to go' things which use wasteful packages.
You will be in for a challenge soon. Diapers and toys. Very green-challenged areas.
I admire your caring and ingenuity!

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