Or at least that’s the rumour. I’ve read that Prius in 2009 will have the option to upgrade to solar powered A/C.
Toyota has not confirmed or denied these plans, but given the state of the economy, fuel prices and overall green thinking thanks to global warming, you can only assume this will be a home-run.
I hate paper waste. I despise seeing shredded paper all over offices, stacks of useless files being thrown out etc. I find it offensive that we simply toss out paper as if it had no value at all. The majority of paper is not recycled, and is just thrown in the trash and therefore land filled.
I had a thought about 2 years ago where we would work an initiative to stop bulk junk mail. Who loves getting tons of paper in their mailbox daily that you never even look at? I hate it, and I thought if we could eliminate the BILLIONS of pounds of junk mail waste that we produce yearly, we may be able to make a dent in the clear cutting and absolute decimation of our world’s forests.
Today I was browsing for some tips on how to make a service like this, when I ran into Green Dimes which is a service that takes local area junk mail providers and allows you to remove yourself from their lists for up to 5 years.
This takes some time with their FREE service. You may want to set aside 30-60 minutes to complete all of the opt-out processes but I can assure you it is worth it if we can help reduce waste even a fraction of a percent.
This service really will help if we can spread the word. So if you liked it, tell a friend.
Note: Go to the biggest culprit directly and remove yourself to stop 90% of the BS in your mailbox. Click Here Now.
I was doing a random search today and I ran into a sign that suggested motorists shut off their engine when idling at long rail crossings. I come from farm area and 150 car trains are not uncommon and they do take forever to pass. Sometimes 5-10 minutes. You could save yourself some coin and the air by turning off your engine during planned or unplanned LONG idle periods.
I think we need to begin adopting more ideas like this to place green ideas inside of people’s heads without them thinking about it.
I think one of the hardest parts of “being green” or being just environmentally friendly / aware is that you start to notice what a small percentage of the populace is the same way. I was on a business trip this weekend and I was in a “fat city”, which is just a city that has an overweight and bloated populace. Minneapolis, MN. The average person there was around 20-30lbs heavier at least than what I am used to in Southern California. I watched the habits of these people and I noticed that they tended to be very wasteful. From using too many napkins at dinner, to ordering too much food and not eating nearly enough of it, to even using way too many paper towels in the bathrooms. These are some small and short examples but you get my drift. The average person in any state and any area are not on our side - you’re pretty much alone.
That’s the way it has been for years. Yes, it is slowly changing but change is gradual and the average person won’t become friendly to the environment or go green for 10-15 years. It will happen when somethng drastic changes in the world.
So when you’re making choices, don’t make them to change the world for 10 people or 100 people. Do your part, reduce what you can and be happy knowing you’ve just saved the Earth and X amount of waste/carbon waste and so forth. Trying to compare and gauge yourself against the next guy who has never recycled a day in his life can be depressing and counter productive.
If we do our small parts and others slowly catch on, we can make an impact. Don’t take on the world at once on your own and you will enjoy doing your part a whole lot more.
One thing that I have discussed a lot with friends and family is the cost of going green. Many people have a problem with making a full switchover because the cost of organic goods is much too high (not enough supply and demand) or because it is not easy enough to purchase items or services to maintain the lifestyle.
I do want to put out a warning out there: Watch out - going green can be expensive.
Now I know what everyone is thinking which is “Why on Earth would an Eco-fan warn people against being good to the environment?” when in fact this really isn’t what I am saying at all.
Green is now a trend. The last 2 years have seen a massive boom in the industry and as such there are people out there trying to capitalize on this trend as with everything else on the planet. When you are making purchases, ensure what you are buying is
These are just some common sense tips and it’s sort of difficult to expand too much without sounding exceptionally boring. Just consider what you are buying and using and ensure you aren’t overspending just for the sake of being trendy and green. Having to eat ramen for a year because you just installed solar panels on your roof is a noble thing to do, albeit stupid because sure you saved the Earth a small headache but you’re now killing yourself.
Any more thoughts on this? I’d love to hear them!
This blog was started as a way to help vent how easy it is to make a small difference. Many green or eco websites these days are trying to make you feel too guilty. Some of the people who run the sites are vegans, don’t walk on grass and have 0 carbon footprint.
That’s nice and all, but for the average person who just wants to do a small part and feel good about helping reduce our impact on the world - where do they turn? I am hoping that GoEasyEco.com will be your website of choice and you will enjoy reading a daily RSS feed from it.
Since I was a kid, my mom was always about recycling. She insisted on turning off power drains whenever we were not using them. We never had lights on in the house in rooms we were not in. We never used heat or AC if we didn’t need it. I didn’t really think anything of it and neither did she. She did these things because they benefitted US. Turning off idle power sources and lights meant 20-50% in power savings. Being from the great white north of Canada, that could be the difference between a $80 bill and a $150 bill which is a major difference. Little did she know she was actually helping the environment at the same time.
I kept this attitude as I grew up and moved to the USA. It was here in California that I noticed why our world is being abused and decided to help do my part to change that. The sheer amount of waste that is produced on a daily basis is staggering. It’s not only staggering but depressing at the same time.
As I researched ways to conserve, save and help do my part I ran into biodiesel, composting and many other topics that I hope I can share my passion for with you. I will scour the net finding news worthy of posting and I hope you find it as interesting as I do.
Enjoy, and remember that going green can be easy and in some cases fun!
