The Many Shades of Green Living

With a gallon of gas costing as much as your morning latte, the idea of “going green” is turning heads as our decisions as consumers and citizens pile up around us. Where “going green”—a reference to the prominent color in nature—once meant an all-or-nothing proposition for which most or all choices were environmentally conscious, the modern definition is more fluid. A recent Yale University research study revealed a sea change in attitudes about our impact on the environment, with 83% of Americans citing global warming as a “serious” problem, up from 70% in 2004. The good news is it’s never too late to paint one’s life a deeper shade of green. What can seem daunting is selecting the perfect hue.

“I think minimally a green lifestyle is one in which a person takes active steps to ensure that his or her choices minimize negative impacts on the natural world,” says Rob Fergus, senior scientist with the National Audubon Society.

The key word here is “choices.” During the first 30 days of going green, the key is to shift one’s choices in a way that suits current obligations and preferences while having fun along the way.

Varying Shades of Green Living

Jennifer Boulden knows a thing or two about having fun while making key lifestyle changes. Co-founder of IdealBite.com, her mission is to feed readers eco-consciousness one green email at a time. “Adopting a green lifestyle means doing what you can, knowing that no one is perfect and we don’t have to try to be,” she says. “But where it’s convenient or possible or fun or inspirational, do give it a bit of extra thought.” This means thinking about how your choices impact the environment or about how you can better align your lifestyle with a more earth-friendly way of doing things. For example, a large family who drives an SUV, can minimize daily waste by using reusable lunch bags.

In contrast to the dour, doom-and-gloom days of yore in the environmental movement, Fergus is hip to the current trend toward choosing among a range of lifestyle choices from “light” to “dark” green. “Recycling and replacing incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescents and driving a hybrid car are all what I would consider light green lifestyle choices,” he says. “Darker green choices might include producing as much food as you can in a backyard garden and supporting local organic agriculture, minimizing use of a car by cycling or using mass transportation and cutting back on electricity use and adopting household alternative energy sources like solar panels and geothermal heating and cooling.”

“I can envision a very dark green lifestyle in which the exteriors of our buildings are planted as native habitats for birds and other wildlife, our energy is mostly locally produced with minimal use of fossil fuels, and less travel is needed in our daily routines,” Fergus adds. “In this deep green utopia, we’d all work less, eat less and spend more time in our gardens and with our friends and families.”

So how exactly does one chart a course for Utopia? For many people, switching to the earth-friendlier side of the dial comes as a natural outgrowth of their hobbies and interests. Garden writer Jodi Torpey was researching pests and plant diseases for her book, The Colorado Gardener’s Companion: An Insider’s Guide to Gardening in the Centennial State, when she came across environmentally conscious gardening methods. “I began considering the implications of gardeners automatically turning to chemicals to solve common gardening problems,” she says. Her research revealed that suburban lawns receive more pesticide exposure than farmland. “With so many lawns in the country, this represents a tremendous toxic load on the environment,” explains Torpey. “When it rains, fertilizers and pesticides are washed away into the storm drain system, and these pollutants end up in our waterways.”

While Torpey had previously used some organic gardening methods, the research for her book led to deeper changes, like switching to organic fertilizer, which was harder to find but eventually accessible. “It takes a conscious effort and a lot more work to be green in the garden,” she says. “I’ve become more diligent in composting my kitchen waste, but that takes more time than turning on the garbage disposal.”

At first, the writer worried her efforts alone wouldn’t make much of an impact. “I’m happy with my results, but I know my efforts are only a drop in the bucket,” Torpey says. “It’s hard to imagine how one person’s efforts will have much of an impact on this problem.” Despite these concerns, Torpey feels her extra efforts have been worth it. “Don’t try to do everything at once, but start with what will make an immediate impact,” she says.

Fergus agrees. “Sometimes green alternatives can be more expensive than the not-so-green options,” he says. “Many people think that a green lifestyle means doing without, sacrificing and suffering. While it might be important to forgo some things in order to be more environmentally sound, the green alternatives often provide their own lifestyle benefits.” He advises learning to value eco-friendly benefits over not-so-green choices. Instead of spending hours indoors after work or school, “greener alternatives like bird watching, fishing or gardening provide exercise, fresh air and a connection to the environment. Is it really a sacrifice to skip a couple hours of television to connect with nature?”

Going Green for the Kids

For many people, parenthood can foster a deeper desire to preserve resources for the kids. Emily Bennings, a mom of four kids in the Cincinnati area, read the eco-classic 50 Simple Things You Can Do To Save the Earth, by Earth Works Group, in high school. “It’s easy to try to save the planet when you’re young and without children or a job,” she says. Emily formed habits like turning off the tap while brushing her teeth, taking shallow baths instead of showers and recycling. “As I got older and had my children, it became important to me to do as much as I could to protect the planet from irreparable harm,” she says. “I have been lucky to be involved in a community at work that passes on information about living a green lifestyle.”

It’s not easy living the green life with a family of six, but Emily is energized by her conscious choices. She stresses the value of everyday decisions to her kids by sharing the message she received as a teenager. “I am proud of my children when they pick up trash, turn off a light or practice some of the habits I’ve tried to instill in them,” she says. Because parents must consume so many different products in the process of raising their children, Emily has become aware of a myriad of choices that might seem insignificant to the casual observer. The family joined a community-supported agriculture co-op, which will provide locally grown produce during summer months. They reuse plastic cutlery and opt for cloth napkins over paper towels. “I try to avoid buying products that are meant for one use only or otherwise disposable, though we did use disposable diapers,” she says. “Every time I throw something in the trash, I think about how long it will take it to biodegrade and how it will affect the planet while it lies in a landfill somewhere.”

Going Green Mistakes Are OK

There is no need to try to be perfect when it comes to going green. While Emily admits to occasional frustration with wastefulness, she feels “there are no mistakes. You do the best you can when you can, and when you can’t, you let it go and try to do better the next time.” She advises to start out small to avoid burnout, and also to bring consciousness to your everyday actions. “Think about the impact of your behavior on the planet and you will find there are plenty of opportunities to cut waste each day,” she says.

Michelle Bexelius, designer and co-founder of VerdeZone, a company dedicated to helping people design healthy, eco-friendly living spaces, suggests planning ahead without striving for perfection, and letting the rest go. “The other day I got my kids some bottled water. I usually use reusable stainless steel bottles,” she says. On that day, Bexelius admits she hadn’t adhered to her normal routine of planning ahead. “Take the time and be organized, get your reusable shopping bags and put them in your car,” she says. “Make sure you know where your farmers’ market is and plan your grocery shopping around that. But if you can’t do it sometimes, don’t feel bad; as long as you’re making these big strides and changes, then it’s OK.”

Even though giving advice on how to lead a healthier, more eco-conscious lifestyle is her business, Bexelius worries about being preachy. “I have to be careful to not come across as too strong or knowledgeable because it scares people off,” she says. “I want to be able to spread the message of green living to people by example.” Bexelius suggests bringing your own reusable containers to festivals and fairs to tote home leftovers, hanging tote bags for grocery shopping on a hook conveniently located by your car keys, and when you wear or carry something eco-friendly, flaunt it. “As a graphic designer, I often dress in eco-friendly clothing, and I point it out when I do,” she says.

Successfully Living Green

Finding support for your new lifestyle is vital for success. “Community is very important, especially if you live in a city,” says Milwaukee proofreader Carrie O’Connor. She suggests starting a dialogue with people in one’s spiritual or religious community. “Volunteerism is another aspect of a green lifestyle,” Carrie adds. “We realize our interdependence, forego the distraction of consumerism and give as we have received.”

When single mom Sarah Compton moved to Portland, ME, from San Francisco, she brought some of California’s conservation consciousness with her. From installing dual flushing toilets (which provide two flushing modes depending on the amount or type of waste produced) to outfitting her garden with a drip irrigation system (which uses tubes fitted with tiny holes that supply water directly to plants), Sarah has noticed a drop in her water bill. However, it hasn’t all been easy. The dual flushing toilets cost more, and the drip irrigation system had some initial kinks that needed smoothing out.

“That’s one of the stumbling blocks of going green,” says Sarah. “You have an idea about how to get it to work, and sometimes you have to struggle to get it to look the way you pictured it in your head.” After making a couple of calls, Sarah arranged to have the person who makes rain barrels for her local water department come and speak to a group of neighbors about Drip Irrigation 101. After that, the community was armed with plenty of information on how to effectively recycle rainwater. “I have found that people who are in the field of conserving things—whether it’s water or building green buildings or whatever—are so passionate and excited that they’re more than happy to help people,” says Sarah.

Ultimately, finding support, having fun, planning and pacing are the best way to bolster new habits. “Make green fun,” says Fergus. “Ask yourself, ‘How green can I be?’ You don't have to sell your car and buy bicycles for the whole family tomorrow. But if you have kids, you may ask them which is more fun—riding in the car or going on a bike ride. It’s only us adults, with half-hour commutes, who find cars more fun,” he says.

“Chart your course from the beginning and make sure you’re going to have attainable goals,” says Boulden. “You’re not going to sell your McMansion and be in a yurt in 30 days, but if you have reasonable goals, you’ve mapped the course and you know it’s going to be fun, you’ll make an impact.”