Making Green by Going Green
Though I am not a big fan of society in general, I have clung to the opinion that I believe most consumers -want- to go Green, they are just too lazy to, or not knowledgeable enough on what they can do. It’s a big lifestyle change, and a lot of hard work trying to adjust your method of thinking and incorporate concern for the environment in everything that you do.
With this, I’ve come to the conclusion that if we cannot encourage millions of lazy Americans to work to adjust their lifestyles to meet the needs of the environment, then we’ll adjust the environment to meet the needs of lazy Americans. I’d like to find ways to inspire and make it easy for everyone to live eco-conscience lifestyles.
And since money is a big inspiration for -everyone-,
5 ways to make money by being eco-conscience:
1. Start up a Business - The gas price gouging is just one of many issues that American’s feel strongly about. Prices for precious resources are only going to get worse, so a great alternative than buying from big corporations, is to find a small business that is meeting their needs at a lower price.
CNN Money posted an article with 9 of the biggest environmental concerns plaguing the majority of humanity. With this they have also offered a list of ways people can make money by starting up a business to help resolve these issues.
DIRTY WATER:
The background: More than a billion people lack access to drinkable water.
The solution: WaterHealth International, based in Lake Forest, Calif., sells miniature water-treatment plants to rural communities in the developing world, where potable water is financially or logistically out of reach.
The payoff: WaterHealth operates more than 500 systems in Asia, Africa, and Central America, delivering water to an estimated 500,000 people.
The opportunity: WaterHealth estimates that there are about 2 billion people without access to clean water or whose water supplies could be improved with filtering. “We want to play a leadership role in delivering clean water,” Addy says, “but the market opportunity is certainly large enough to accommodate a number of players.”
Essentially, there is a need for most everything, and any underdog company can capitalize on that need. Take a look at Los Angeles Organic Vegetable Express or (L.O.V.E), who delivers organic vegetables to his local area, kinda like a Netflix for organic food (which is becoming a big stickler in society lately).
2. Get paid to Recycle - Wouldn’t it be nice to get money for things you were going to throw away anyhow? InventorSpot posted an article listing several ways that you can exchange your “trash for cash“. Did you know that if you sign up with Recycle Bank, that all you have to do is recycle with them every month, and you earn up to 25 RecycleBank Dollars a month, which can be used at more than 100 big name and eco-friendly businesses like Starbucks, Target (my store of choice over Wal-Mart), and Petco.
Check out InventorSpot for other ways to get cash for your trash.
3. Participate in Green Incentives - Forward-thinking companies across the country now offer cash incentives for eco-friendly drivers. Bank of America employees who live within a 90-mile radius of Boston, Charlotte, or Los Angeles can receive $3,000 toward the purchase of fuel-efficient hybrid. The same can be said for those workers making the hiking boots and backpacks at the New Hampshire-based Timberland group. Techies on staff at Google get their pick of $5,000 to buy or $2,500 to lease any model that gets more than 45 mpg. Don’t work for one of these companies but want to be rewarded just the same? Pull into select Kimpton Hotels, such as New York’s 70 Park Avenue and Hotel Madera in Washington, D.C, in an owned or rented hybrid car and receive $20 off your room rate.
According to TreeHugger.com, on March 15th, IKEA stores in the United States will tack on 5 cents to your bill for each plastic bag you use. The program is an incentive to get people to use reusable bags instead of adding to the problem of plastic bag waste. All proceeds (up to $1.75 million), will be donated to American Forests, which is a non-profit conservation organization that plants trees to offset C02 emissions.
Customers will be encouraged to instead purchase their reusable “Big Blue Bag” for 59 cents. The program has already taken place in the UK, and the reduction has been 95% so far. It’s a small step (and I personally feel they could charge more than 5 cents per plastic bag used), but on a grander scale, it’s a step in the right direction.
4. Live in only needed space - There have been times I’ve been bitter about my living situation. The house we rent is falling apart, the landlord is 97 years old and lowers our rent in exchange for us doing our own maintenance, which works out really well for us. But I am unable to fix anything up, because we do not own it, and he won’t sell. You can see through the floor in the bathroom because the wood is rotting, there are no closets because the house is old, and until recently, the wiring was old and dangerous.
Then I drive around town and I see all of these new houses popping up. Big beautiful wastes of space with big colorful signs in front that say “Doves Landing Homes, Starting at $400,000.” Then I think about how these homes are accompanied with electric heat and air conditioning that serves to heat the -entire- square-foot of living space, even the space they don’t use. And then my little cottage doesn’t look so bad. The effort to chop wood every winter is worth it to save on the heating costs for one stove to heat up our -entire- house.
When my father worked construction, he would tell me stories about young couples that would purchase these homes, and they would be so empty because once they bought the house, they couldn’t afford to buy furniture.
You just don’t need a 400,000 house. I don’t care who you are. Save the money and buy only the space you need.
5. Do It Yourself - HowToPedia.org and Wikihow.com are both great resources that provide input on How to do things. HowToPedia.org specifically targets “simple technologies that require no complex machine, and are easily explainable and usable by individuals or small communities for a sustainable and ecological future”.
And lastly, if you simply enjoy spending money, it’s worth mentioning that one of my favorite financial advice blogs, The Simple Dollar has an article on 25 Gadgets that Actually Save Money.
Entry viewed times. Posted in Environment and Nature
One Response to “Making Green by Going Green”
March 10th, 2007 at 3:04 am
Thank you for the links! We are going to have a garden this year, and our house has a septic system. It is really cool, because the “clean” water is recycled into the yard via a sprinkler system! Some parts of the yard are much greener than the rest! The new houses here cost about half of what they do where you live, and are probably just as huge. The perks with this house, and it is a bit on the large size, is that it has a 2 acre yard which is partially wooded. At least it makes me feel better, lol. I don’t know much about living green. I like ikea, and those bags are pretty nifty.
wow, I may need to buy that water bottle, it rocks!