Recent Green Weeks:
September 5:
Cook More Efficiently
August 29:
Use Cold Water for Laundry
August 22:
Find New Uses for Old Phones
August 8:
"Bee" Kind to Pollinators: Limit or Avoid Pesticide Use
August 1:
Reduce Waste: End Junk Mail!
July 25:
Encourage Pollination: Help Bees!
July 18:
Use Less Oil: Walk or Bike at Least Once this Week Instead of Driving
July 11:
Water Lawns and Outdoor Plants in the Morning or Evening Only
July 4:
Practice Safe Souvenir Buying
June 20:
Reuse Paper Scraps
June 13:
Safely Dispose of Hazardous Wastes
June 6:
Give New Life to Old Stuff
May 30:
Make Your Own Non-Toxic Cleaners
May 23:
Find Ways to Consume Less
May 16:
Reuse your food scraps and yard waste: make compost!
May 9:
Make Sure Your Seafood's Sustainable
May 2:
Use a Low Flow Showerhead
April 25:
Reduce Weight in your Vehicle
April 18:
Use a Reusable Water Bottle
April 11:
Switch to Fluorescent Bulbs
April 4:
Buy in Bulk
March 28:
Unplug Your Appliances When They're Not in Use!
March 21:
Turn Off Your Engine Instead of Idling Your Car
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What We Do:
Each Sunday, we bring you a new idea about how to live sustainably. You can add each tip to your routine during the week.
We understand that going green can seem confusing and even overwhelming, so we strive to keep the ideas easy and do–able, and—whenever possible—to cite some
of the research behind our tips.
Our Philosophy:
We believe that living greenly and protecting the environment isn't just a responsibility; it's a fulfilling way of life that has its own rewards.
We invite to you have fun and color your life green—one week at a time!
Why Every Bit Really Does Count:
Fortunately, small actions add up.
As an example, let's consider the very first weekly green: Turn Off Your Engine Instead of Idling.
If you have a car and avoid idling it, you probably save at least 2 minutes of warm-up idling on cold days.
If you live in a climate that has three months of cold weather a year, that's 180 minutes of idling. (And 3 more hours to spend warm in bed!)
Say you also spend about five minutes idling in the drive-through, the toll bridge, the school pick–up line, and so forth during an average week.
That adds up to another 260 minutes of idling, for a total of 440 minutes per year. No one would knowingly run their car for over 7 hours while getting 0 miles to the gallon!
The gallons of gasoline it takes to idle for those 7 hours depends on the vehicle model, but since the Environmental Protection Agency calculates that burning a gallon of gasoline emits 19.4 pounds of carbon dioxide,
idling could produce over 100 pounds of Co2 emissions a year. If you also tell 9 of your friends that idling is a bad idea and they stop idling for a year, you could easily prevent 1,000 lbs. of Co2 emissions.
Do it for two years, and you could all prevent 2,000 lbs., a whole ton of emissions!
Now we've gone from 2 minutes, a pretty insignificant number, to 2,000 pounds of Co2: the little things really do add up. And this is only one example. Imagine what you could accomplish by changing not just one habit, but one habit each week. That's 4 greens a month, 52 greens a year... And the little things keep accumulating.
Are there bigger, faster ways of out there to improve the world? Sure there are. Whenever you have the opportunity and the resources to accomplish more, go for it! But don't forget that the little changes matter, too, and keep making the world green—one week at a time.
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Last Revision: April 11, 2010