Climate for Action: Going Green for the Holidays
Posted on December 2nd, 2008 - 10:30 AMAbout the author: Ashley Sims, a senior at Indiana University, is a fall intern with EPA’s Office of Children’s Health Protection and Environmental Education through the Washington Leadership Program.
The holiday season is the most exciting time of the year. I love to try to figure out which gifts to give to my loved ones back at home. Perhaps some cute earrings for mom or a hand-made scarf for one of my girlfriends could work for presents this year. And holiday sales can be a sweet treat too. As you shop for holiday gifts, try to keep in mind the most exciting gift of them all - a healthy planet. There are many actions we can take to reduce waste and save energy during the holidays. Here’s a look to what we can do.
You can reduce waste during the holidays. Thousands of shopping bags and Christmas trees end up in landfills each year. A way to reduce paper and plastic shopping bags from filling up our landfills is to simply ask store cashiers to not bag your small or oversized purchases or carry a reusable shopping bag with you. If you celebrate the holidays with a tree, get your parents to find a local solid waste department and see if they collect trees after the holiday. Some communities offer curbside pickup for trees. This is much better than sending it to the landfill.
When shopping, try to get your parents to buy home or office electronics that have the ENERGY STAR label on them. We learned that some electronics still use electricity when turned off. By replacing old items with ones that are energy efficient we can save over 25 billion pounds of greenhouse gas emissions which is good for the planet and our health too.
And lastly, cleaning up after the holidays can be a huge responsibility if not prepared. My family holiday meals require much more water than ordinary meals. While preparing food and washing dishes, we tend to run the water a lot. For every minute water runs, more than two gallons of water is used. However, this year we’ve came up with a way to reduce our water and energy usage. Take a look-
- Instead of using water to rinse dishes before you put them in the dishwasher, scrape them clean.
- If washing dishes by hand, fill the sink with a few gallons of soapy wash water, clean the dishes, and put them aside. Then rinse them all together afterward.
Sounds like a plan to me. Either of these practices can save up to 10 gallons of water.
Enjoy this holiday with the ones you love and don’t forget to do your part to help protect our environment. For additional information about winter tips to reduce waste and save energy, check out http://www.epa.gov/epahome/hi-winter.htm#reducewaste
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Question of the Week
December 2nd, 2008 at 10:10 pm
I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don’t know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.
Susan
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December 3rd, 2008 at 1:22 pm
Thanks Susan! That was very sweet. Please feel free to tell others about the blog. I would like to hear what others have to say about global climate change. For more information, please check out http://epa.gov/climatechange/
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December 3rd, 2008 at 1:32 pm
The past several years, my family and I have reused gift wrap. For the gifts we give each other and for packing fragile holiday decorations, we use the gift wrap that someone gave us. We don’t care if the wrapping paper is torn a bit or if the gift bag is a little wrinkled. A few years ago I saw bags and bags of trash curbside in my neighborhood on Christmas Day which really disturbed me. I decided to take a stand in helping to reduce the amount of waste my family creates.
I’ve even been reusing gift bags/ tissue paper/ wrapping paper year-round for birthdays, wedding showers, and graduations. I look at this as a win-win-win situation.
1. it cuts back on waste.
2. it reminds me of the gift I received or am giving to someone special.
3. it saves me money from having to buy more gift wrap and tissue paper.
[Reply]
Ashley-EPA reply on December 8, 2008 2:55 pm:
Rebecca, you’re absolutely right-reused gift wrap is a great way to reduce waste. Thanks for your comment!
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December 4th, 2008 at 3:22 am
Recycling and payday loans mean more green in my life and my wallet! I know Kermit said it’s not easy being green, but it definitely is. I can’t afford to buy a new refrigerator or hybrid car, but there are other easy and low cost things that I do on a regular basis to make my life green. I unplug all of my electronics when they’re not in use—including my TV. My electricity bill has dropped significantly. The most prominent green habit in my life is recycling. I recycle everything possible. I bring reusable bags to the grocery store. At home, I am extremely organized, so I love to separate everything out and create individual bins for each recyclable good. To make a little bit of extra cash, I take all my aluminum cans to the recycling station to redeem a certain amount of money per pound of aluminum. My husband drinks a lot of beer, and my kids drink a lot of soda, so it’s a win-win for the whole family. I found an article that talked about recycling cell phones, which is something I had never thought of before. I have a drawer full of old cell phones my family has used, and I am thrilled that I can finally get rid of them and make money doing it. Any extra cash I can get right now is fantastic. My budget is tight, and the holidays are on their way. Speaking of saving money, recycling, and the holidays, I can save money this year by using things around the house as gift-wrap. I have a huge container of spare fabric and ribbons and a whole stack of old shoe boxes in the attic, which will all be perfect for homemade gift boxes. Of course, these simple recycling tricks save me money, but sometimes the winter months bring bigger bills. The extra green from recycling won’t pay for my bills, but I know that payday loans can also add green to my budget.
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December 8th, 2008 at 3:13 pm
Lisa-excellent! I’m very impressed. I too would love to afford a hybrid car but I can’t. However, there are things I can do on a regular basis to make my life green at a lower cost. I think it’s a great idea to redeem a certain amount of money per pound of aluminum. It’s one way people gain incentive to recycle. It truly is a win-win situation. Thanks for your comment and nicely done.
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