From Guest Blogger Devin Morrissey: Four Eco-Friendly Changes You Can Make This Fall
The changing colors of the trees, the sudden chilling wind, the shorter days and longer nights — these things can cause us to forego eco-friendly habits in order to find some comfort. However, as noted by American author Jamais Cascio, “Resilience is all about being able to overcome the unexpected. Sustainability is about survival. The goal of resilience is to thrive.”
Just as the world experiences renewal each year, so should our sustainability goals. How are you going to keep your goals alive this autumn?
As the warmer months end and fall begins, we should re-evaluate our lifestyle to determine where we can reduce our impact on the environment. Below, you’ll find four eco-friendly changes you can make this fall that you might have not considered:
Keep Food Miles in Mind — Eat Local Produce
Eco-conscious consumers are likely already familiar with the concept with food miles: the distance food is transported from the time of production until it reaches your plates. Produce from big-box retailers typically travels across the world, accruing many food miles and contributing to an excessive amount of pollution. Naturally, you’ll want to buy produce that has fewer food miles in order to avoid supporting such detrimental ways of doing business.
Buying local, in-season produce can ensure that your food has a minimal impact on the environment. Furthermore, by buying produce in bulk, you can decrease your impact further. Opting for plant-based meat alternatives can also help you reduce the resources used in the food you consume. Try visiting your local farmers market and explore what your local community has to offer.
Warm Up With Supplemental Heat Sources
It can be hard to adjust to lower temperatures. As the leaves begin to fall and the breeze picks up, it can be tempting to crank up your thermostat. You’re not alone. In fact, according to the U.S. Energy Information Association, residential electricity demand during winter peaks “can each range as large as 67 billion kilowatthours.” Clearly, turning up the heat can incur some serious energy costs — and increased carbon emissions as well.
When looking to reduce your impact on the environment and save some money on your heating bill this season, start by using supplemental heat sources to keep warm. After taking a hot shower, open the bathroom door and stick around. After cooking, linger around the oven for some warmth. If sunlight makes specific places in your home warm during certain times of the day, arrange your furniture so you can lounge in these areas. Of course, you can also rely on space heaters and fireplaces for additional warmth.
Kickstart Eco-Friendly Renovations by Refinancing Your Home
Eco-friendly renovations, like solar panels and low-flow toilets/shower heads, are becoming more affordable as time passes, but it can still be difficult for the average household to come up with the initial investment on a whim. Instead of delaying such improvements, make your house work for you by looking into refinancing.
A popular option is cash out refinancing, which, as explained by financial experts, “is when you refinance your home and take out a loan for more than what you currently owe and then you would take the difference in cash to use it for whatever you need.” Choosing this option would give you a lump sum of cash to use however you’d like — and eco-friendly renovations tend to pay for themselves. By refinancing your home, you can reduce your overall living costs (and carbon footprint) in the long run.
Recycle Your Unused, Clunker Cars
When the seasons change, you may find that your older automobile isn’t suited to new weather conditions. As result, you may leave your car parked on your property for a few months … or a few years … or forever. Recycling, one of the three big Rs of sustainability, applies to old vehicles too. If you find yourself with a clunker on your hands, don’t let it sit around and gather rust. Instead, look into recycling it.
The Clunker Junker provides a number of facts about the environmental benefits of recycling your old car:
- 98 percent of the materials of a car can be recycled
- Recycling a car saves, on average, 2,500 lbs of iron ore, 1,400 lbs of coal, and 120 lbs of limestone
- Using scrap, car manufacturers can reduce air pollution by 86 percent and water pollution by 76 percent
The environmental benefits are clear. Support the environment (and clear some space on your lawn) by recycling your old, unused cars.
These are just a few suggestions for reducing your impact on the environment this season. What other ideas would you suggest? Leave your thoughts in the comment section below.
Devin,
1) Switching to “plant-based meat alternatives” is unlikely to be either healthy or environmentally beneficial.
2) Refinancing your home is of dubious environmental or economic benefit since the costs of refinance would be onerous. In most states environmental home improvements attract subsidies and tax credits as well as income tax deductions.
Few people have old cars sitting around, but what what would really improve the environment (and your neighbour’s peace) is to trade your old two/four stroke mower in on a new electric mower with a lithium-ion battery pack.
Americans spill more than 36 million gallons of motor mower fuel yearly, and create more than 128 million tons of smog-producing pollution per day, just mowing lawns! The same applies to other power equipment, hedge trimmers, leaf blowers etc.
3) Trade your old car for a new Tesla (or similar) product.
These are far more practical ways to save the environment than hanging around your bathroom !
Those are some great tips for going green during the fall. Another way is to use public transit instead of a personal vehicle because it distributes the emissions among multiple people.