As the New Year has arrived, think of the way you may become a better person this year compared to last year. The problem with making a resolution is that we tend to start the year thinking about our resolutions, but as the year progresses, we tend to forget all about our resolutions and get no results achieved by the end of the year. You might have found that your local gym is packed with people at the beginning of the year but soon the number of people decreases, and only those who are serious about their health remains in the gym by the end of the year.

environmental issues

To become a better person, your resolutions should not only include getting a better job, better car, and better shape, but also keeping the planet a better place too. Your actions today will impact the planet in the long run, and therefore, our future depends on how we treat our planet today, so why not make a resolution to recycle and work towards a cleaner and sustainable environment?

Most people cannot achieve their goals resolved on the New Year’s Day because most people are not willing to go the extra mile and stick to their goals. The lack of commitment is the major flaw of planning for most people. Once committed, one should make every effort to stay on the goals, no matter how hard it becomes or no matter what it takes. Sticking to goals requires breaking down the goal into smaller attainable goals and then every time you achieve a small goal it gives you reinforcement and confidence to achieve bigger goals.

New Year’s Resolution for a Sustainable Environment

Your New Year’s resolution don’t just need to be about becoming a better person, but it should also be about making the world a better place. There are many little things that we can do in our regular day to day activities that help environment and help reduce our carbon footprint.  The benefits of going green are given below:

Find the green incentives form government:

By going green you may be eligible for tax cuts, rebates and incentives form government. Check your local utility company websites for such promotions and bonuses. Your power company’s website might be a good place to find out about tax cuts or benefits related to your eco-friendly actions.

Replace house hold appliances with energy star ones:

Saving energy could be as simple as replacing your old light bulbs with the latest LED or CFL lights which lasts much longer than conventional light bulbs and uses only a fraction of energy that you would usually use. This saves you a significant amount of money and energy in the long run. If you have old appliances that eat up too much energy, get rid of them. Your new appliances will pay for themselves.

Grow food in your home garden

You grow your own home garden in your backyard, or anywhere in the house, indoors, or outdoors, depending on what type of house you have. If you have enough space in your backyard, you can grow a flower garden as well as vegetable garden that can supply you food and clean, fresh air. You can obtain all your supplies from local Home Depot or similar stores that carry garden supplies. You may also consider aquaponics or small fish farms that may save you trips to the grocery store save you time, gas money and help the environment as well.  The waste from your kitchen can be used to feed your fish farm as well as your plants, and therefore, it is also a great way to recycle food waste from your kitchen.

Recycle and reuse

There are many ways you can reuse stuff around the house. Recycling old bags for shopping, old gift wrappers, calendars, maps and newspapers will reduce cutting down trees. By recycling all your household waste efficiently can reduce mining as well. For example you can recycle all your house hold appliances for scrap metal, recycle old cans and bottles, old newspaper and so on. Recycled paper can save up to 30% of trees. The goods made of recycled materials are now just as good as goods made with conventional materials, therefore, you are able to use recycled furniture, paper, cloths, and so on and help the environment.

Consume less energy and fuel

photo_13933_20090904We can reduce the carbon emission into the air by using less energy. We should start thinking ways to use reusable cleaner sources of energy, driving cars that consume less fuel, and also use public transportation more often whenever possible to reduce carbon use. By using less energy, saving energy every time we can, such as turning off light and heat when we leave the room or using energy efficient appliances can not only cut down your energy bills but also conserve the fossil fuels and nature.

If we all do our share of recycling and restoring the environment we can significantly reduce our negative impacts and carbon footprint on the environment. Recycling all our household waste can effectively reduce mining, reduce cutting down trees and also reduce the filling up of landfills. Thousands of cubic feet of landfill space and thousands of trees can be saved if we all become a little more conscious about the environment and start working towards sustainability.

 Source: Environmental Professionals Network