Think about the environment everyday, not just on Earth Day, April 22. Being green also means saving green -- the green dollars in your wallet. Here are three easy things to do to help you travel green, and be greener at home, too:
One -- Take a re-usable shopping bag to the store with you. If you are like me, you have dozens of plastic bags from the last supermarket trip and dozens of cloth tote bags, too. Use them. What is the logic in bringing home yet another plastic bag just to add it to your local landfill? In many parts of the world, shops don't give you a bag, you have to supply your own.
Buy yourself one of the colorful totes from Chico Bags. Light, reusable, and they fold up into an integrated pouch as small as your BlackBerry. Easy to keep in your purse or car glove compartment, so it's always handy.
Two -- Stop buying bottled water. Americans spend something like $16 billion on bottled water, and that doesn't count the cost of the oil to manufacturer and transport the bottles, including to the landfills where they wind up. An astounding 80% of water bottles wind up in landfill, according to Nalgene, which makes re-usable water bottles.
Filter your own tap water. That's what several of the dollar-a-bottle brands do. You'll save green -- both the environment and your wallet.
Three -- Slow down. Driving 65 mph, rather than 75 mph, can improve your fuel economy by 15 percent. There are more tips on saving money at the gas pump on my Great Drives blog.
Yes, my friends, it's easy to be green. Also less espensive.
Go Green! Celebrate this earth we live on, not just Earth Day 2008, but everyday.
