Surviving a Recession and Saving the Planet

Today in my Treehugger.com e-mail there was an article originally posted on http://www.thesimpledollar.com (one of my fave blogs incidentally) showing how many of the things we can do to be secure financially are also sustainable environmental tactics. I also find that most are beneficial to our health as well.

They are:

1. Start a garden. This a pretty simple way to cut costs on fruits and veggies. There is also less cost in the form of shipping and I personally feel much better when I know what exactly is in, or has been sprayed on my food.

2. Learn how to make as many meals as possible from simple ingredients. It is generally cheaper to make food from scratch than it is to buy food that has been packaged, advertised and shipped. And once again, you know exactly what is in you food, no preservatives and artifical crap. Even for the few items that might be cheaper to by packaged, such as boxed macaroni & cheese, the health cost savings from eating real food, made from real ingredients is worth it in the long run. Environmentally, less packaging is always a good thing.

3. Drink tap water as your beverage of choice. This one is pretty obvious. Less packaging, fewer calories, and it's FREE.

4. Drill your own well. Totally not possible for most people, but if you live in a rural area it is a free source of water.

5. Reduce home energy use. We are working on this. We have a programmable thermostat and are keeping the AC set at 80 all the time. In the evenings we open the doors for the cross breeze. We plan to install ceiling fans as well to help it feel a little cooler. I close the blinds all day to keep the heat out. The boys are pretty good about turning off light and the TV. Myles has made it his own little mission to turn off the powerstrip on the TV and accessories downstairs each night. In the winter we've been keeping the heat at 72 during the day and 60 at night.

6. Invest in solar panels or a small wind turbine. This is something I'd really like to look into. Our neighbors recently had solar panels installed and it got me thinking about it seriously. So many people resist the idea saying that it doesn't cover all their energy needs. But I figure every little bit helps. I'd like to figure out how long it would take to pay for itself.

7. Drive less, walk and bike more, carpool and carshare. All excellent ways to skip the heart attack at the pump these days. Less pollution in the air is always a plus. And all the exercise is another fabulous way to stay healthy. My goal this year is to walk the kids to and from school most of the time.

8. Buy a more fuel efficient vehicle. Obviously this depends on a few factors. If your car is paid off and you would require a car payment to get into a new vehicle, it may not be the best financial move. But if your are in the market for a new car, think high gas mileage. Saves money, cleaner air. Win-win.

9. Buy plenty of forever stamps. As gas costs increase, the price of stamps is only headed up. With forever stamps you are guaranteed today's price 5 years from now. Even at a few cents per stamp, it's just plain smart.

10. Learn to entertain yourself with open ended materials. This is great advice for adults and especially to teach our kids. Card games, board games, reading books from the library, running, hiking, etc. are all activites that really don't get more expensive over time. Free entertainment equals more money in your pocket. It also means a better qualitiy of life, and most have a small carbon footprint as well.

So, something to think about. Most of these a relatively easy and don't require much of an upfront financial investment. I'm always looking for ways to cut back, simplify, teach my kids some skills, and do my part to clean up our planet. These steps give me lots of ideas and plenty of concrete things to work on.