It’s funny to see people’s reaction when you tell them that something existed almost seventy years ago, before it actually become popular. The keep calm and carry on catchphrase can be traced back to the second world war, found in England as public safety posters. I guess this explains why the crown is always on the top of the image, showing their deep affection for their queen, as they should.
It takes all of us to foster change, but this isn’t always easy
A lot of critics suggest, to a large extent we will never manage to adapt completely to living green, because there are just too many people to convince. It’s extremely hard to ask anyone to change the way they live. And you thought an organisational culture change was hard, try changing the world. There is even a study that suggests extroverts are less likely to adopt a greener lifestyle. This study suggests that particular personality traits in people are more or less likely to adapt to a greener lifestyle.
But there is light at the end of the tunnel, because small changes in our own homes are plausible, you just have to know how, plan around how to adapt to living green and stick to it no matter how tough it gets.
How to go green with the least amount of hassle
The Earth Hour campaign has it spot on when it comes to living green. Turn off lights you’re not using. If we teach ourselves to practice green initiatives in small bursts perhaps the adaption process with go smoother in years to come. What’s one hour of no lights? Thanks to load shedding we should be used to it by now.
The same goes for electrical appliances. Switch off appliances and pull out plugs that you don’t use often. Try plan your meals around using a microwave instead of an oven, this will reduce your energy usage. Woolworths is very good with providing shop-goers a variety of ready-to-eat meals that just need to be popped in the microwave and voila! – a beautifully cooked meal that didn’t need heaps of energy to make.
Your garden can be green too —well greener…
Gardens are an easy place to start living green. We rely on plants and vegetation to breath and reduce carbon dioxide, but in the wake of our water crisis, many were accusing garden owners of wasting water unnecessarily, yes gardens need a lot of water, but grey water can be used instead. We should also strive to collect rainwater in a septic tank. The next time you peel your veggies for a meal, consider using these peels as a garden fertiliser, meaning there’ll be a little less garbage in a landfill somewhere and it’s a friendlier fertiliser version for the environment.
Let’s turn our national flower back into the king protea
Plastic bags, once deemed our national flower by our then environmental affairs minister Valli Moosa couldn’t have said it any better. Plastic bags pose a real threat to the environment especially for our oceans, you may be thinking I live in Gauteng, why should I be worried about the ocean? Everything is connected, a change in one environment affects others.The sad truth is plastic bags according to researchers may never fully decompose and simply become smaller pieces of that plastic bag.
We can reduce the amount of plastic bags that hit our gutters and oceans by taking our own bags the next time we go on a shopping trip. Reusable bags can last you a while if you treat them like any other garment and wash them when the need arrises.
Here at Window Art we believe going green is the only place we should be going, it’s why our pride and joy window film is environmentally friendly all the way. Contact us to find out more about how our window film can help you live a greener life. All these initiatives will save you money in the long run and ensure we have a place to live for our children’s children.
Download our green building guide today, to ensure you’re going about your green initiatives the right way.
Image Credit: http://inhabitat.com/
