3 Quick Tips for Protecting the Environment and Your Wallet

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Climate Change and pollution often dominate the conversation around the environment and can appear to be large and intimidating problems. This doesn’t mean one is powerless to make a difference. We would like to share 3 tips we have found to be exceptionally helpful for protecting our environment while also helping to pad your pocket book. These tips may seem obvious to some, but a surprising number of people overlook these simple ideas to help make a personal difference with environmental and financial benefits!

  1. Consider a thermos instead of using bottled water:  Bottled water has become a popular go to solution for staying hydrated on the go. But unfortunately this convenience comes at the cost of an extensive contribution to plastic pollution and worse, often uses water sourced from places that are significantly water insecure. Instead, consider investing in a simple thermos and using it while on the go. The costs of water from the tap are far below the distorted costs of bottled water and will quickly make up for the cost of a few thermoses.

Some quick math show’s how quickly this environmentally friendly shift can benefit you. A basic thermos can cost anywhere from $15 to $30. In contrast, a 24 pack of bottled water will cost you a little over $5 (though many places may cost more). If you consume a single bottle a day, you will spend on average about $6.25 a month. At this rate, a thermos would begin to save you over the long term in as little as 2 and a half months, last far longer, and not contribute to the problem of plastic pollution. And with a recent report finding less than 6% of plastic is recycled in the US[1], this can be a good first step for addressing plastic pollution in your community.

2)A home rotary fan: It gets hot in the summer and turning up the a/c is perhaps the most soothing way to deal with this problem. Unfortunately air-conditioning can be a very expensive service, and lead to significant spikes in your power bill. Worse still, the energy consumption of cities worth of such devices can strain local power grids, leading to brown outs or leading to significantly increased emissions from unclean fossil fuel based power plants. A simple rotary fan can sometimes be sufficient for helping to reduce ones energy consumption without forgoing the ability to cool off during the hot summer months.

3) A home garden: While a fun hobby for some, growing your own food can be both a fun way to help the environment while also protecting your wallet from the challenges of inflation. From backyards full of rows upon rows of vegetables, to the simple 2 pots of tomatoes on the back porch; growing food in a local garden can help you save money while mitigating the environmental impacts of relying upon food transported hundreds (or even thousands)  of miles from farm to plate.

 

 

[1] https://www.beyondplastics.org/press-releases/the-real-truth-about-plastics-recycling

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