Protecting our planet can seem like an overwhelming responsibility at times...but the truth is that everyone, and every effort, makes a difference.
At Earthbound, we've grown into the country's largest grower of organic produce by taking one small step at a time. Even slight changes in the right direction have a big impact on the environment we share.
Simple lifestyle choices like these can place a better future in your hands.
The ways in which you use water make a big difference in how much you use. Taking a 10-minute shower with a low-flow showerhead saves 1.5 gallons every minute over a conventional showerhead (that’s 15 gallons a shower). Even food uses different amounts of water in production and preparation — your morning cup of coffee can account for as much as 37 gallons of water use, but a cup of tea can use just 9 gallons from crop to cup. See more water facts on GOOD’s “Walk This Way” chart.
Compact fluorescent bulbs are as bright as incandescents, but they use only 1/3 the energy of traditional lightbulbs. Changing just 1 bulb in every household in the US would reduce air pollution as much as taking 1 million cars off the road for a year. You’ll find lots more ways to be energy efficient at the Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star website.
Most plastic packages and containers carry a code inside the “chasing arrows” to indicate what type of material they contain. The most commonly recycled types are #1 PET and #2 HDPE, but there are actually 7 types of consumer-recyclable plastic. If you buy plastic, choose products and packages made from 100% post-consumer recycled material. Make sure they have recycling codes and recycle them when you’re done! Find a recycling facility in your area at Earth911.org.
When it's cold, turning down your heater thermostat by just 1 degree saves a lot of money and over 800 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions each year — just think how cozy a nice sweater can be! And when you wash that sweater (and your other laundry) in cold water, you’ll save more money, more energy and still get your clothes sparkling clean (not to mention cold water is kinder to fabrics, too). Check out more ways to keep your cool without sacrificing comfort (or style) on The Daily Green.
Recycling saves forests, reduces waste, produces jobs, saves resources, and generates far fewer greenhouse gases than virgin paper production. When you buy recycled paper products, you help create a market for recycled paper and incentives for waste companies to recover post-consumer paper. Currently only 20 percent of office paper in the US gets recycled. Use the Environmental Defense Fund’s Paper Calculator to see how your paper choices matter.
Creating some carbon dioxide is unavoidable. American Forests' Climate Change Carbon Footprint Calculator lets you calculate your personal carbon dioxide emissions and offers a way to offset what you can’t eliminate by planting trees that will absorb it. Since 1999, Earthbound has planted trees with American Forests every year. To date, we’ve planted more than 710,000 trees, which will absorb about 242,900 tons of CO2 during their lifetimes — and provide important environmental benefits, too.
Energy production from fossil fuels (also known as "brown energy") produces huge amounts of pollution. Renewable energy sources, like wind, water and solar, can produce energy with far less environmental impact. Call your local utility to find out about switching your power to certified renewable sources. You can learn more about verifiable green energy from the Center for Resource Solutions’ Green-e Program.
