Tips for Sustainable Living

It doesn’t take a Herculean effort to practice greener habits. Making minor adjustments to in your every day routine can dramatically reduce the size of your environmental footprint. Here are a handful of tips you can try at home:

Eat local.  When veggies and fruits are in season, buying them from a farmer’s market can save hundreds of miles in transportation costs. You’re also much more likely to find growers who don’t use pesticides and herbicides on their crops. To find a farmer’s market near you, visit www.localharvest.org.

Make the switch.  Replacing a single 60-watt incandescent light bulb with a 15-watt compact fluorescent bulb (CFL) that gives off comparable light can save $40 or more in four years. 

Break the bottle habit.  Americans buy 28 billion bottles of water each year, with more than 22 billion bottles ending up in landfills.  Producing those bottles required around 17 million barrels of oil in 2006 and that doesn’t include the oil used to transport all that water. 

Educate yourself. The Marianist Environmental Education Center has a variety of videos, books and discussion guides appropriate for use in Marianist Communities.  Email meec@udayton.edu for more information.

Try a meatless meal.  Substituting plant-based protein just once a week or substituting grass-fed beef for grain-fed beef can have a positive impact on the environment.  Vegetable- and grain-based protein requires far less energy than animal protein to produce.

Be an Energy Star.  Look for the blue Energy Star label when purchasing appliances and electronics. Energy Star appliances use 10 – 50 percent less energy and water than conventional models.  Visit www.energystar.gov.

BYOBag.  Worldwide between 500 billion and one trillion plastic bags are used each year. Less than one-percent of those are recycled, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates.  Plastic bags require oil for production and represent a major litter problem.  Using cloth shopping bags can save the average shopper six bags each week.

Opt out.  Who needs junk mail? Each year, roughly 100 million trees are used annual for advertising mail. That’s not just a solid waste issue. Remove your name from bulk-mail lists at the Center for a New American Dream at www.newdream.org.

Pray. The Catholic Coalition on Climate Change’s resources page at www.catholicsandclimatechange.org links to prayers and reflection resources for individuals and communities.