Go Environmentally Friendly into the New Year!

Original Post from 12/29/2015

With the New Year quickly approaching some of us may be pondering what our New Year’s resolution will be.  We could stick with the same ones that have been chosen and mostly broken over the years. For example we could go on a diet, eat healthier, break a bad habit, exercise, get out of debt, spend time with family or live a less stressful life, the list goes on and on.
     Instead of picking a resolution that will probably be broken within the first few weeks of the New Year why not pick one that is more sustainable and is beneficial to the environment. There are several New Year’s resolutions that can be beneficial to the environment and may even be more realistic to stick with. I have compiled a list of five potential New Year’s resolutions that I feel would be very easy to accomplish.

1. Conserve Water
   1. For years my dad was always yelling at me to turn off the water. Unfortunately my dad was more worried about the water bill than conserving water.  Watching our water consumption can be a great New Year’s resolution. Not only does conserving water decrease our water bill but it also saves energy and helps protect out natural eco-systems. There are several ways to conserve water, visit http://wateruseitwisely.com/100-ways-to-conserve/ to lean 100+ ways to conserve water.
2. Create a compost pile
   1. Composting not only gives nutrient rich additive for our soil but it also reduces the amount of waste that we put in the landfill. A compost pile can be easily incorporated into your backyard. By adding food scraps and yard trimmings to your compost pile you can help reduce the amount of trash that goes into landfill. Start you compost pile now and be even closer to having nice nutrient rich compost to add to your vegetable or flower garden this summer. For more information on composting visit http://www.howtocompost.org/.
3. Recycle
   1. Most of us probably have access to recycling in our school, home, workplace or community, but unfortunately most of us still don’t recycle.   Recycling is beneficial for several reasons it conserves energy, reduces the need for landfills and creates jobs. To find out more about recycling and how in incorporated recycling into your New Year’s resolution visit, http://www.hamiltoncountyrecycles.org/.
4. Buy Reusable
   1.  Instead of heading to the fridge every time you want a fresh bottle of water try heading to the sink. This New Year’s ditch the bottled water and buy a reusable water bottle. This will reduce the amount of waste you produce and will also prevent you from having to buy so many bottles of water.  You will be surprised at how much you save when you stop buying bottled water. To find out how much you spend on bottled water head over to Break the Bottled Water Habit, http://205.153.117.210/water/reasons.php to find out how much you spend on bottled water. 
5. Go meatless on Mondays
   1. Some of you may already be vegetarians but for those of you that are full on meatatarians try going meatless one day a week.  Join the movement by going meatless on Mondays.  By going meatless just one day a week you can increase your health, reduce your grocery bill and help combat the fight against climate change. For more information visit, http://www.meatlessmonday.com/articles/a-healthy-new-years-resolution-go-meatless-on-monday/.

Leave us a comment below and let us know what your New Year’s Resolution is.