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Have you ever mindlessly hit “yes” to accept an ATM receipt only to cast it straight into the can or see it later surface as car, wallet, or drawer clutter?
by Rebecca Klein
Have you ever mindlessly hit “yes” to accept an ATM receipt only to cast it straight into the can or see it later surface as car, wallet, or drawer clutter?
I hope I’m not the only one.
Listen to this - “If everyone in the United States left their receipt in the machine, it would save a roll of paper more than two billion feet long, or enough to circle the equator 15 times.”
It’s one of the more than 400 solutions shared on the recycled pages of The Green Book: The Everyday Guide to Saving the Planet One Simple Step at a Time, written by environmental consultant Elizabeth Rogers, who created and produced MTV’s eco-friendly show Trippin and has worked with the Natural Resources Defense Council, and Dow Jones MarketWatch columnist Thomas M. Kostigen.
“Neither of us lives in a tree or rides a stationary bicycle in a closet to generate electricity for our homes. We bet you don’t, either,” write Rogers and Kostigen. Their mission – to
create a user-friendly guide spelling out the impact of our actions.
Take store-bought baby food. The authors recommend buying organic and taking the packaging into account. “By selecting reusable glass jars or recyclable boxes over plastic containers, you will reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills. If every year just 1 percent of baby food jars (six jars per baby) were saved and reused for storage, reheating, crafts, and the like, the weight saved in glass would tip the scales at 680,000 pounds, about as much as a Boeing 747.”
Disposable batteries are another culprit. “If 10 percent of children under 12 used rechargeable batteries for dolls, action figures, remote-control cars, and so forth, an estimated 38 million single-use batteries could be saved from disposal. The energy from these batteries could power an electric car to circle the earth 17 times.”
Big time energy eaters are likely gorging themselves in multiple rooms of your home. “Between 10 and 15 percent of a TV’s energy is still used when it’s powered ‘off.’ TV use accounts for more than 10 percent of household electricity bills.” All you have to do is unplug.
Rogers’ shock that this information wasn’t readily available when she was researching for Trippin in 2005 sparked the idea for The Green Book.
In the foreword, Cameron Diaz, who hosted Trippin, shares stories of growing up watching her grandmother raise her own livestock and vegetables, make soap out of meat fat drippings, and reuse tinfoil and plastic bags.
The book includes a number of celebrity contributions. Will Ferrell talks about his love affair with his electric car; he says the electricity only costs about 30 cents a gallon.
Hybrid driving Jennifer Aniston steers clear of long showers. “I found out
that every two minutes in the shower uses as much water as a person in Africa uses for everything in their life for a whole day…,” shares the actress.
Rogers, who has a 7-year-old son, encourages parents to teach their children by eco-friendly example. For her son, bringing home reusable containers and packaging from lunch at school is now second nature.
She believes going green is not a trend that will fade in the future. “I think too many businesses are making changes,” responds Rogers. “I think that hopefully it will just become the new way people start to behave.”
She continues, “I hope it goes as far as it needs to go so that the planet can take care of itself, that our grandchildren and their children have a good quality of life. I think that’s why we’re all doing what we’re doing. That’s why I’m doing what I’m doing.”
For more information on the book and links to additional resources, go to www.readthegreenbook.com. Visit www.ModernBabiesAndChildren.com to learn about earth friendly books that you can read with your children.
