Green Tips

By Deborah DeMoulpied

Tis the Season.
Good tidings.
Consumption.
New Year’s intensions.

And all at once.  No wonder it feels so over whelming.

As we head to do the holiday shopping, the report on the warmest year on record may dampen the spirit and cheer of the season. How can we in good consciousness buy new “stuff”? Does the kind of “stuff” it is really matter? Well, let’s hope so.

Everything has a carbon footprint. We all have a carbon footprint just by merely existing. Products have life cycles, materials can vary greatly, and production and transportation carbon costs differ immensely.  By choosing gifts with less environmental impact, we all stand to be better off in the long run. The old “vote with your dollar” could not be more appropriate. You can make a difference.

It is good news that the world leaders and countries are finally coming together and finding common ground to combat climate change. We also have to do our part – Buy what matters, make commitments, get involved, and vote for people who also care about the future.

For 2015, some words of wisdom (some make great bumper stickers) may help guide you  for green living awareness. Sayings? Tips? Advice? Mantras? Does it matter? How about just good food for thought:

1. We All Live Downstream.
2. Leave it Better than You Found It.
3. Live Simply.
4. When You Throw Something Away, Where Is Away?
5. The Time to Do the Right Thing is Always Now.
6. There Is No Planet B.
7. Consume Less – Share More.
8. There’s No Place Like Home.