Maui Living Furniture

Environment

Water

Last year Americans spent nearly $11 billion on over 8 billion gallons of bottled water, and then tossed over 22 billion empty plastic bottles in the trash. In bottle production alone, the more than 70 million bottles of water consumed each day in the U.S. drain 1.5 million barrels of oil over the course of one year.

Food

Instead of having lunch delivered to your office, walk to a nearby restaurant and save take-out containers by dining in. Or bring your own container to the restaurant and have it filled there. At the very least, bring a set of your own silverware and a bottle of your favorite condiment to the office so you can skip the plastic utensils and the little packets of salt, pepper, ketchup and soy sauce.

Transportation

Start making a note of each car trip you take. “Changing your car habits is one of the most dramatic ways to reduce your environmental impact,” says Jodi Helmer, author of The Green Year: 365 Small Things You Can Do to Make a Big Difference ($14.95, Alpha, 2008). Getting a clear picture of exactly how car-dependent you are can help in finding ways to cut back.

Energy

Get a baseline of your current carbon footprint using the reliable online calculators at either safeclimate.net or lowimpactliving.com. Set a goal of how much you’d like to reduce your impact over the coming year—10 percent is a good start. Get your friends and co-workers involved: Send out an email today inviting them to join your year-long challenge.

Recycle

Although island living presents real challenges in the area of recycling there is still plenty we can do to reduce the amount of “waste” entering our landfills.  Recycling centers for plastics, glass, aluminum, cardboard, and newspaper can be found in most communities.   Get creative in the way you dispose of used or unwanted items.  Utilize websites such as “Craig’s List” to post your cast offs.  Call local  shelters to see if they have a need for the items you are trying to get rid of.   Donations to non-profit organizations are  a great way to recycle things you no longer need or want and  are tax-deductible.

Each one of us has the ability to make changes that have a positive impact on  our own health and the health of the planet.    We need to be aware of the impact our lifestyle has on the environment and begin to make changes.   Even small changes can make a big difference .