If you have ever had the experience of moving house, you know that after you have finished packing up your must haves, there is usually a pile of other stuff you are not sure whether to trash or take with you. As we all look to move into the new year, there is any number of misconceptions around having a more green existence that we would be better off leaving in the old year. Here are three things I invite you to join with me in leaving behind for good.
Granted this may be a tough one, but I think we can safely leave behind blaming the utilities for bills we rack up. Our favorite utility, BEC, comes to mind first. Yes, they set the rates but we are the ones who decide to leave lights on in unoccupied rooms, keep air-conditioning systems on when spaces are vacant and light up our yards like a landing strip. It may be hard to let go of this one but once we realize how much control we have over our own bills we are on the right path to curbing our use and thus expenses.
Wasteful driving needs to be a thing of the past. It has been such a long time since gas has been less than $4 a gallon; we have seemingly become anaesthetized into expecting it to be this high, so much so that we are becoming price insensitive and have not adjusted our road use to accommodate the new reality.
There is much, however, you can do to reduce your gas bill even though you can't control the price at the pump. You can try to get a work posting close to where you live, bring lunch from home, get to work early to avoid idling in traffic or leave work late, group non-essential errands to a few days a week and access goods and services close to work and home. If you have children, enroll them in schools that are either close to work or home.
Finally, we need to get rid of the thinking that green living is expensive. Admittedly, because a lot of the products such as lighting and detergents that are eco-friendly are new to the market, there is often an upfront cost that is higher than for traditional items. This, however, is changing due in part to greater investment taking place targeted at improving technologies and reducing cost.
Indeed, where the government steps in and reduces taxes on eco-friendly products this helps as well. Oftentimes though, if we just looked a bit deeper into the numbers, over the lifetime of the product the savings are realized in reduced electricity consumption on low wattage bulbs or reduced need for hot water for use in low temperature detergents as examples. Paramount to all of this is the fact that conservation is free and an investment in changing our behavior should take place before any spend on green products.
Challenge: Leave whatever is preventing you from being green in 2011. We would like to hear how this article has helped you. Send questions or comments to sbrown@graphitebahamas.com.
Sonia Brown is principal of Graphite Engineering Ltd. and is a registered Professional Engineer.
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