You may have friends who have made little changes: they now recycle, carpool and take cloth bags to the grocery store. Maybe you’ve even stopped buying bottled water and tote around your own coffee mug. On the large side of things, perhaps you or your family and friends have given up meat, buy organic or now drive hybrid cars. There are countless ways to reduce waste and pollution while saving precious resources, but many people end up asking: Can one person really make a difference?

Green Living: Why You Matter

I’ve had many conversations with people about the fact that they don’t feel small green initiatives, like using cold water to wash clothes, not flushing the toilet every time and forgoing fast-food is really making a difference in the bigger scheme of things. It’s hard to imagine that making little eco-changes are going to help in the vastness of our larger world, but these same small actions created the world the way it is in the first place. While our small, silent, solo choices seem to be insignificant, they undoubtedly create waves of change. Not because we talk about them constantly or try to get others to change because we have, but because the way we live our lives indirectly influences others. For example, a commitment to recycling, carrying a refillable, washable water container or coffee mug and buying local, organic food can have huge impacts on the people around you, inspiring them to do the same. Unless others see new ways of doing things, they are not going to think of doing so themselves.

It took a friend of mine over two years of watching me recycle and compost before she got the great ideas of buying a compost tumbler and calling her trash company to ask for a recycling container. They had given her one when she first moved to her new home, but she had used it as a kitty litter box and had eventually thrown it away. She had never seen anyone recycle and didn’t know the process. I don’t take complete credit, she most likely saw many others making these earth-friendly choices and finally came to the conclusion that it wouldn’t be a bad idea. One never knows how one’s choices are going to affect those around them. I wonder how many people will be affected by her choices.

Saving the Green

Green living can be a fun way to not only save resources, but to save money. Buying that refillable, washable water bottle and coffee mug is going to keep a lot of plastic out of the landfills, while keeping a lot of green in your pocket. Taking shorter showers, turning off lights when not in use and air drying your clothes is not only good for the environment, but it’s good for your pocketbook. Hybrid cars reduce emissions and at the same time reduce your fuel expenses. Cutting back on meat cuts your grocery bill. Almost every ‘green’ living tip is one that saves money as well as the environment. It’s not called green living for nothing!