GREENING: FOR YOU AND YOUR WORLD

From Washington Post money mavens Glink and Tamkin: “Another year, another Earth Day. Looking back, is there anything you did in the past year to shrink your carbon footprint?…The high-level concept: Reduce what you use, reuse what you can, and then recycle the rest….”

Can’t afford it? Not necessarily true. There's a lot of money to be saved by greening. Herb Hauser, president, Midtown Technologies: "Green means different things to different people…[For some, it’s about] the environment, but [for others] it has to do with money…"

The cost saving approach solves some of the inevitable conundrums that come with looking for the “right” way. If the "right" way isn't obvious, choose the “cost-effective” way and be a market driver. Conundrums are not excuses for doing nothing. Remember: “Reduce what you use, reuse what you can, and then recycle the rest…”

Recycling is always right. Don’t let anybody say otherwise. Some wiseacre wrote NewEnergyNews complaining that the new compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFLs) require special recycling because of their mercury content. To quote the Vice President, “So?” Recycling CFLs is not a big deal. They rarely burn out. Save them and take them when it's time to recycle other electronics.

Is that too much to ask when it's doing the right thing by the only earth we have to live on?

No complaints about all the savings from using CFLs, by the way.

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Dual Benefits of Green Choices: They Help the Earth and Your Wallet
Ilyce Glink and Samuel J. Tamkin, April 12, 2008 (Wasington Post)

WHO
Ilyce R. Glink and Samuel J. Tamkin, authors, Real Estate Matters; The PayItGreen Alliance; Environmental Protection Agency

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. (click to enlarge)

WHAT
After replacing the old bulbs with CFLs, turning down the heat at night, recycling batteries, paper, metals, glass and plastics, scraping the plates before dishwasing them, turning off the water while brushing and recycling bottled water bottles – what’s next?

WHEN
- Monthly: The PayItGreen Alliance calculated the impact of replacing paper bill paying with electronic paying. At 19 bills and statements and 7payments/month the average U.S. household could save 6.6 pounds of paper and 171 pounds of greenhouse gases/year.
- Yearly: If 2% make the switch to electronic paying, it cuts 15+ million pounds of paper, 181,000 trees, ~144 million gallons of wastewater and 10 million gallons of gasoline – every year. It also saves $100 on postage and $50 on paper – not to mention late fees.

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WHERE
- For money saving efficiency information, go to Environmental Protection Agency
- There is an EPA site for other recycling information, like what to do about electronics, motor oil and composting food scraps, yard clippings and dead plants.

WHY
- Doing good for the environment often cuts down expenses, too.
- Use permanent instead of disposable items and repair instead of replace to cut waste.
- Buy products with less packaging and fewer toxic chemicals.
- Don’t let conundrums like “Paper or plastic?” be excuses for doing nothing.

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QUOTES
Glink & Tamkin: “The amazing thing about saving energy is that it's not only good for the Earth, but it's also good for your wallet -- a classic win-win scenario.”