Altering our lives to change the environment isn’t always convenient. Some people feel they are entitled to unlimited consumption, and some people are just afraid to make the initial changes to live a more green lifestyle. For these people, simple, unobtrusive changes could allow them to help the earth without the hassle of changing all of their habits.

We all have our own reasoning, but I hope we can agree that it’s in our best interests to limit our use of resources.

Here are some easy ways to “go green” without having to make a serious commitment:

1. Unplug your chargers – Chargers may continue to use power if they are plugged into the wall, even if they aren’t charging a device. Unplugging the charger when you unplug your phone or computer won’t cause a hassle for you, and it will prevent this needless power usage. 

1. Get a reusable water bottle – Although plastic water bottles are convenient, the price of bottles adds up (and so does the plastic from them that ends up in landfills). By using a refillable water bottle, you keep all of the plastic bottles you would have used out of the garbage and save money.
2. Try a flexitarian diet – A flexitarian (also known as semi-vegetarian) diet is one where the observer occasionally eats meat. This type of diet can improve health as well as save resources. By cutting meat out of a few meals each week, the impact adds up.
3. Replace lightbulbs – Compact fluorescent lightbulbs are more eco-friendly than their incandescent counterparts. By switching out incandescent lightbulbs in your house for fluorescent ones, you can reduce pollution without experiencing any real change in your life.
4. Take shorter showers- Showering uses a lot of water, but it’s a necessity. To help the environment, aim to make your showers just one minute shorter. This will save about 7 gallons of water per shower.
5. Recycle – Given the proliferation of the movement to “go green,” it’s likely that right next to that garbage can you’re about to throw something in is a recycling bin. Use it. It’s not much effort to take the step over to the recycling bin and recycle paper, glass, plastic, and aluminum.

If you’re looking for more easy ways to “go green,” visit http://www.50waystohelp.com/.

Written by Kyle O’Hara’14