Every Day Is a Chance to Live Green

I strive to live every day by my motto that "less for me means more for others."  By this I don't mean that people should take more than their share of resources because others are doing without.  I mean that if each and every one of us made small changes to our lifestyles, we could save countless resources for others. 

• According to Diet for a Small Planet by Frances Moore Lappe, if you sit down to an 8 oz. steak, the "feed cost" of that steak is 45-50 people with empty bowls in front of them, bowls that could have been filled with a full cup of cooked cereal grains.
• If we recycled 100 million unused cell phones, we could save enough energy to power 194,000 homes in the US for a year.  
• We go through 100 Billion plastic bags per year in the US, less than 1% of which get recycled.  An estimated 12 Million barrels of oil is required to make them, and the annual cost to US retailers of giving them out is estimated at $4 Billion.  
• The chopsticks that you get with your Chinese takeout cost China approximately 25 Million trees a year to make.
• Americans consume an estimated 70 Million+ water bottles a day, and only 14% get recycled. 
• Each person in the US uses an average of 700 pounds of paper products per year.

So I don't eat a lot of red meat.  I do eat it, though, I won't deny it.  I know being a vegetarian would be even better for the planet, though. I have had the same cell phone for a little over two years.  It is only the second one I have ever owned (I lost my first cell phone).  When this phone finally does need to be replaced, all I have to do is return it to AT&T, because the carriers recycle used cell phones.  

I carry a reusable bag with me absolutely everywhere.  They make them to fit on your belt buckle or key chain.  

My boyfriend and I rarely if ever order takeout.  It is environmentally disastrous, not to mention lazy and bad for your waistline.

I rarely drink bottled water.  On occasion I have bought a bottle of water or juice while out, but I ALWAYS recycle the bottle.  

We do not keep paper towels or paper napkins in our apartment.  I use sponges and old socks for cleaning, and we simply wash our hands after a messy meal, or if really necessary, wipe our hands on a cloth towel.  

We swapped out all of the regular light bulbs in our apartment with CFLs.  I turn off the lights when I leave a room, and I shut off and/or unplug appliances I am not using.  

For every bag of garbage we make, we make 2-3 bags of recycling.  

We eat as local and as healthy as we can afford to-organic as much as possible.  

We don't own a car.  We both own a bicycle, though.  And we both walk a lot and use a fair amount of public transportation.  

We don't have an air conditioner.  We have a ceiling fan and a window fan, and we turn them off when we are gone.

I just live this way because I feel it is the right thing to do.  I don't feel like I am sacrificing anything.  I feel blessed by what I do have and feel that everyone should have the chance to experience abundance in their lives.  If everyone on Earth consumed the way we did in the US, we would need 5-6 Earths just to satisfy the demand for resources.  I personally think that says that we, as a country, are thoughtless and greedy.  The Earth is not ours to plunder.