It’s the 4th of July. Happy birthday, America. If news of the Gulf oil spill is getting you down, here are 5 things you can do to be part of a green American revolution and give us all the gift of a less petroleum-dependent future.
1. Ditch your petroleum-based laundry detergent for a plant-based alternative. The eco-friendly detergent does cost more, but you can actually save money by making your own using plant-based castile soap.
2. Put up a clothesline and use it whenever weather permits. Clothes dryers are a significant percentage of home power usage.
3. Drive less; combine errands to do them all at once, carpool.
4. Dig up some lawn and plant a garden. Growing some of your own food is not only good exercise and gives you better-tasting veggies, it reduces the petroleum-heavy system of transporting food from growers to markets across the country. Supplement by buying direct from local farmers and farmer’s markets.
5. Use organic fertilizer on your garden instead of petroleum-based chemical fertilizers. Not only does that reduce petroleum usage, it reduces the toxic runoff that created a
dead zone in the Gulf long before the BP oil spill hit.
Petroleum is in all sorts of common products you wouldn’t expect, so become a more aware consumer. Anybody can make a few changes, anywhere they live, to help give the country a birthday present of a better future. If everybody did a little, the result would truly be revolutionary.
Recent Comments