Eco-conscientiousness has become somewhat of a frenzy recently, either as a moral crusade or as an opportunity to jump on the bandwagon. Rather than succumb to the image in the media, there is just one thing you need to know; being eco-friendly will actually benefit you. With a few simple steps, being conservative with what you use can help to make you and your family healthier. It might even save you a few pennies in the future. We are constantly reminded of the mantra; ‘reduce, reuse and recycle’, and there are many small factors that we can follow to reduce our carbon footprint.

Perhaps the most critical, and even more important, is to take some time to educate yourself on what causes global warming. You may have heard about ‘greenhouse gases’, but what exactly are they? And where can they be found? There’s plenty of guides available concerning how to be ‘eco-friendly’, but you can’t be if you don’t understand the reasons. Not to mention the value your actions can have. If you are already comfortably accustomed with why aerosols are burning a gaping hole in our atmosphere, then read on.

Reduce

First of all, reduce waste, and be smart about it. From big to small, everything you do, everything you buy uses energy of some form. Your car is the obvious example, as it uses a huge amount of oil. Not only releasing poisonous gases of its own into our atmosphere, but the whole process of siphoning it out of the ground, refining it, and delivering it straight to your fuel pump uses an unimaginable amount of fuel. If possible, carpool, every little thing you do really does help. We live in a wonderful world where paper is being replaced by a digital reality. If you are religiously keeping paper records in a vault, perhaps it is time to get up to speed and save a few trees.

Re-Use

Next up, reuse. I think we have all been guilty in the past of throwing something in the bin because we ‘can’t be bothered’ to dispose of it properly. Taking a few extra seconds empty your plastics into that recyclable bin will do the whole world a favour. Meanwhile, in Britain especially, we are guilty of wasting food, and a lot of it at that. Re-heating food is certainly not the devil and there is plenty you can do to get the most out of what you eat. Got a lot of little bits of leftovers remaining? Consider a soup, you may even surprise yourself!

Recycle

The final point; recycle. A little obvious, but it is worth noting that the materials you can recycle are increasing all of the time. Be sure to keep up to date so you can keep your waste low.

While it is all well and good because we are ‘saving the planet’ by throwing those tins of baked beans into the recycling, but done correctly, becoming eco-friendly will improve your health. As we waste less, the air we breathe becomes cleaner. If we buy food locally, we rid ourselves of the chemicals used to preserve food shipped here. And if you ditch your car for a bike, your happiness will stem from much more than just feeling good for yourself.