girlawhirl goes green in little ways that add up to big differences

Category: Girlawhirl : Green

Jan 25, 2007

There are lots of little things that Girlawhirl's done in the past year to make her apartment and her life a little greener. Each step was small, a little something that she either added or subtracted in her life, her home, or her day, but amazingly, as with many things, it is in fact all the little bits that add up to a bigger whole…

· Girlawhirl has already replaced her old fashioned light bulbs with compact fluorescent ones, and honestly, it's something she insists that everyone in her family do as well. Not only do the compact fluorescent bulbs last much longer than incandescent ones, but if every household in America replaced just three of the most used bulbs in their home, we'd also keep a trillion pounds of CO2 out of the atmosphere.

· Girlawhirl knows that one of the biggest problems with her own carbon footprint is that she travels a lot. In flight, airplanes don't just emit carbon, but nitrogen oxide, water vapor and other greenhouse gases as well. And all that, combined with the altitude, has an effect that can be up to four times as strong as just CO2 itself. So, Girlawhirl's started purchasing carbon offsets for every trip that she takes. She's in the process of lobbying the policymakers at her company to see if it can become a company-wide practice, but for now, she's happy to cover the cost herself.

For more information on my-climate™ carbon offsets click here

· Girlawhirl lives in an apartment and has no control over how it's heated – really, no control – it can get as hot as 80° in the winter in her tiny apartment! But she still pays her own electricity bill and has called her provider to ask that her energy use be supplied from green sources.

For more information on green energy sources click here

· And who knew that a fun morning at her local farmers market could help Girlawhirl save the world? The Worldwatch Institute has calculated that the food in an average American meal travels 1500 to 2500 miles from farm to dinner table. Local provisions cut down on all that transport, and shopping at farmers markets can help support smaller farms, which can't help but put a smile on Girlawhirl's face.

· Recycling her batteries helps to prevent mercury, lead acid and other heavy metals from finding their way from landfills into water and soil. Girlawhirl's been recycling her batteries for a while now, and it's so much easier than she thought it would be.

For more information on batteries and battery recycling click here

· And last, but definitely not least, Girlawhirl's joined hundreds of thousands of other Americans in the Virtual March sponsored by stopglobalwarming.org. With more than 600,000 participants, marchers are sending a message to city, state and national government that this is an issue that can no longer be ignored.

Click here to join Girlawhirl on the Virtual March.