|
Right now, the planet’s resources
are being depleted far faster than they can be replenished. Reserves
are dwindling and are becoming more common and widespread than ever
before. Thankfully, it’s not too late to make the changes that the
planet and its people need for a safe, healthy, prosperous, and
compassionate future. Think about the impact that each individual
decision has, and weigh the pros and cons of your everyday actions and
choices.
Recycling
-
Fact: If you recycle one aluminum
can it saves enough energy to power a television for four hours.
-
Fact: If all our newspaper was recycled, we could save about 25
million trees each year!
-
Fact:
It takes aluminum cans 200-500 years to decompose if it is not
recycled.
Pollution and Waste
-
Fact:
Every 60 seconds, 37,000 empty soft-drink bottles are thrown
away in the U.S.
-
Fact: An aluminum can that is thrown away will still be a can 500
years from now!
-
Fact: Plastic bags and other plastic garbage thrown into the ocean
kill as many as 1,000,000 sea creatures every year.
-
What you can do:
Set up a complete recycling system for bottles,
cans, photocopier cartridges, batteries, printer ink cartridges, and
plastic.
Energy
-
What you can do: Install water-saving taps, showerheads, and
low-flush or dual-flush toilets.
-
What you can do: Make sure that all equipment or various household
appliances are turned off before you leave the house or at night.
-
What you can do: Install task lighting and high-efficiency compact
fluorescent lighting.
Saving and Investing
Wisely
When
it comes to saving or investing your money, you can make it work for
both you and the environment by choosing where you bank. An increasing
number of financial institutions offer savings accounts or investment
services that support green, sustainable, and socially responsible
programs, often in your own community. Some financial institutions not
only offer these accounts but conduct their day-to-day operations in a
socially and environmentally responsible way.
The kinds of financial programs that these institutions offer may
include using the money in savings and investment accounts to leverage
low-interest loans to help local businesses improve their energy
efficiency or to build alternative energy infrastructures such as
solar and wind power. Programs may also help non-profit organizations
set up work or affordable housing initiatives.
When it comes to long-term investments such as mutual funds or the
stock market, you can go green there, too, by opting for an ethical or
green fund that invests in companies that meet various environmental
or social criteria or by investing directly in the companies
themselves. Some green-minded investment accounts ask you to accept a
lower interest on your savings in exchange for these positive effects,
but for others, you have the opportunity for just as much of a return
as you would get if your money were in the conventional accounts.
• Source: Green Living for
Dummies
It is time for all of us to make
better CHOICES… Are you with us?
|