Friday, December 13, 2019

By John Voket For those focused on environmental sustainability, it can be a challenge to navigate your daily life while still staying "green." To help, WalletHub recently asked a panel of experts to share their advice on living a greener lifestyle.

So, check out the easy ways they advise consumers to “go green” without much cost or effort:
Joseph F. C. DiMento, Distinguished Professor of Law, University of California, Irvine suggests you:

- Invest in one hybrid car and for other trips use other than single passenger transportation.

- Buy what you eat, not what you can afford and might eat.

-Invest in solar at home.

-Be a little cool at home in the winter and warmer in the summer (i.e., don’t overuse heating and air conditioning systems).

-Buy fewer gadgets and those you buy check for environmental impact. Children need not have every new electronic or other device advertised, especially plastics-based.

Robin Rothfeder, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Natural Resource Planning, UW-Extension Specialist, Center for Land Use Education, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, says:

- Eliminate single-use food product consumption with reusable water bottles, coffee mugs, utensils, to-go containers, straws, etc. 

- Prioritize food products with limited or no single-use packaging. 

- Print double-sided whenever appropriate. 

- Opt-in to paperless billing and opt-out of paper junk mail. 

- Take advantage of local recycling and composting programs wherever available. 

- Find nearby electronic waste drop off locations and divert toxic products out of the landfill. 

- Use reusable grocery bags and keep them in a convenient and obvious location so that you don't forget!

- Eliminate 'vampire power' consumption by using power strips to quickly unplug electronics when not in use. 

- Share and discuss easy green lifestyle choices with friends and family.

Raphael Calel, Assistant Professor, McCourt School of Public Policy, Georgetown University, says:

- In summer, set your thermostat a degree or two higher, and in winter set it a few degrees cooler than you otherwise would. 

- Use less hot water by turning down your water heater and doing laundry at a lower temperature. 

- Hang laundry instead of using the tumble dryer.

Finally, Alysa Remsburg, Lecturer, University of Wisconsin - La Crosse, says since each pound of food we consume requires tremendous environmental impacts to fertilize and process, one of the cheapest ways consumers can reduce their environmental impact is by wasting less food. 

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