by Zarrah O'Curren

Created on: February 17, 2010

I love the idea of being environmentally friendly or going "green" if you prefer. The idea of helping humans and nature coexist is appealing and there is an entire industry aimed at this. Even before the "Green" movement (as it is called) became vogue there have always been those people who would go around the park picking up trash, adopting a tree, planting their own gardens, recycling etc. Solar Power, Wind, Electricity, bio-fuel, natural gas, hybrid engines  have all been put to good use for at least the past decade and technology is getting better. Now the question is asked: What is the Best ways to go green? My answer: The best way you can afford.

From Megavolt.co.il (an Israeli website) it says: A standard incandescent bulb can last for 700-1000 hours, and can be used with a dimmer. Soft white bulbs use a special coating inside the glass bulb to better diffuse the light; but the light color is not changed.

I personally like the True spectrum incandescent light bulbs. The ones that are blue or purple and not white, they last any where from 5,000 to 20,000 hours and they range from 2 to 7 dollars depending on the type and wattage size.

I also look at recycling my cans and paper. It helps to live in a city that gives both a recycling, trash, and yard waste bins. I believe this is the norm for most cities so its very simple to recycle. Most states offer resources on their websites to help those wanting to know where to throw hazardous waste as this is not something you throw in the waste bins or the drain.

These are the two things I currently do. I am currently in the progress of finding a timer for my light switch as well as a night light that only turns on when the room get dark. My friend has one of these and it works great. We have put our sprinklers on automatic, only turning it on in the summer time. All of these things add up to many hours of power, water and money saved.

So I say it again: The best way to go environmentally friendly is the best way you (and I) can afford. Someday soon we will have a breakthrough in technology that will put our use of oil in the history books. Until then think "Wallet green" and do what you can.

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