Take A Green Approach To Life

But being green doesn't mean you need to go and live in a cave, brush your hair with a twig and prance around wearing leaves. You can still enjoy all the comforts of a modern life while reducing your carbon footprint and caring for your environment.

Reducing energy consumption in the home not only helps the environment, it also helps your pocket. For an initial outlay (and if your roof faces in the right direction) you can have solar panels fitted which gather energy that can then be used to light and heat your home. Any excess energy can be sold back to the national grid and some companies offer subsidies to get you started.

If your home is not viable for solar panels, another way to reduce energy consumption is to thoroughly insulate your property, including the loft. This will dramatically reduce the amount of energy used to heat your home, saving you money and making your carbon footprint that little bit smaller. You can also ensure that the energy provider you sign up to produces part or all of their energy through sustainable means such as solar, wind and tidal energy.

Electric and hybrid cars are increasingly touting their wares as being more fuel-efficient and having less impact on the environment. If these are a viable option for you, they can be explored. Alternatively, for the dedicated eco-warrior, alternative means of transport can include pedal-power, car-sharing, public transport and simply walking.

Being green at home is not just restricted to the big and expensive things, however. Moving down the scale from insulation and solar panels are things such as ensuring your house is equipped with sufficient underlay and well-fitted floor coverings to reduce draughts. Tight-fitted external doors and decent double-glazing also help keep heat in and the cold out, all contributing to a reduction in energy consumption. Draught excluders on ill-fitting internal doors can have a significant impact on heating a room, meaning occupants can turn down or off radiators and gas or electric fires.

Another way to bring the environment closer to home and reduce your carbon footprint is to use locally-sourced produce, perhaps by visiting your local farm shop or farmers' market. Air miles, while not directly traceable to an individual, nevertheless have a huge impact on climate change, as well as cost and quality. Much produce has to be chemically treated to ensure it stays fresh until it reaches you from the other side of the globe; buying local means your food is more likely to be in its natural state. Of course, growing your own is perhaps the best way to completely ensure the quality of your fruit and vegetables.

Whatever method you choose, green living is becoming increasingly vital to the future of our planet.