Thinking Green on St. Patrick’s Day

Sunday, 03. 16. 2008  –  Category: All Blog Posts

photo credit: tranlannhi

As tomorrow is St. Patrick’s Day, and I am of almost solely Irish descent, I feel compelled to comment today on things that are green. Above and beyond its place as the traditional color to be worn in honor of St. Patrick’s day, thinking green is becoming increasingly more important to reverse the human impact on the earth. Individuals, communities and businesses are increasingly concerned about managing our carbon footprint in order to protect and defend our planet for the generations to come.

Here are 3 easy ways to get green – tomorrow and throughout the rest of the year.
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• Compact flourescent bulbs – OK, their light may not make you look your most glamourous, but according to the Environmental Protection Agency, if every American home replaced just one light bulb with these energy saving bulbs, we would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes for a year, more than $600 million in annual energy costs, and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of more than 800,000 cars.
• Get rid of the plastic bags – Some countries have already outlawed them - or ensure that vendors have to charge for them. Bring your own bags with you when you shop.
• Recycle where you can and encourage the initiation of recycling programs where you can’t – Twenty years ago, only one curbside recycling program existed in the United States. By 2006, about 8,660 curbside programs had sprouted up across the nation. As of 2005, about 500 materials recovery facilities had been established to process the collected materials.

Enjoy your St. Patrick’s day tomorrow. Please just make sure to recycle those bottles when the party’s over.