I am wondering if this global financial meltdown is going to be good for the earth.
High fuel costs, along with poor consumer confidence, could mean fewer shopping trips. That is fewer gas miles, fewer items for landfill, and people getting by with less. Less consumption, more re-use. A win for the environment and savings rather than credit-busting commercialism.
Have you noticed how a lot of the advice for saving money is also good for the environment?
Check out the tips in this article about saving money while eating well.
Those drive-by meals from Burger King or Subway while you are running the kids from one place to another? Those count as eating out as well.
If you eat in not only do you save money and likely eat better, but you are saving the earth those gas-guzzling journeys, the packaging waste and goodness knows what else damage fast food does to the environment.
Lots of good eco approaches save money in the long run, like better insulation for your home, better mileage cars, etc. This is before we get into alternative energy, like adding solar panels and so on.
Am I off base here or does this make sense? Can you think of other ways where saving money helps the environment? Please share in the comments …
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Dana 12.09.08 at 8:43 pm
I’ve lived simply, except for traveling, most of my life and I save a lot being green. I love paying less to the electric company and using a rain barrel I barely pay anything for water. With all the tips on the Internet, it can be easy saving money and the planet.
Condo Blues 12.15.08 at 3:30 pm
I’ve been doing the green thing long before we started calling it green. I had a lot of college student loans to pay back and had to find extra money where I could. As my back account grew, I kept on keeping on because it was not only good for the planet but my wallet as well. And I like making things out of repurposed materials.
This year I challenged myself to cut my home’s electric and natural gas consumption by 20% by doing simple home improvements (i.e. sealing air leaks) and changing habits. I’m doing it too. In November I reduced both my natural gas and electric consumption by 75%. I want to prove that while things like expensive solar panels are super sexy, you don’t need them to save money on your home utilities if you just pay attention to what and how you’re using to heat/cool/electricfy your home.