Eco SRQ- Eco Sarasota your guide to green living and environmental news that affects you

EcoSRQ

Follow the EcoSRQ Blog

Your Monthly Guide to Greening Up Your Life

Want to live a more Eco-friendly lifestyle but don't know where to start? Here are 12 easy steps to start you on the right track. It is by no means a comprehensive list, but our Green Up Your Life calendar highlights some simple things the average person can do to help the environment. Can't do them all? Try picking a couple and see how it goes. Doing something is better than doing nothing.

January

Reduce you use of fossil fuels. There are many simple ways to reduce the amount of fossil fuel that fuels your life. Some may work better for you than others. Walk or bike instead of driving. Join a carpool. Pick one day a week as a car free day. It will reduce the amount of pollution you contribute to the air and water and you might just find you enjoy being outside the metal box. Need help getting started, try these resources for ideas and alternatives Sarasota County Bike Map

or www.carpoolworld.com Interested in taking it up a notch, how about converting your car to an Electric Car. Check out Wilderness EV for conversion kits and more info http://e-volks.com/

February

Go organic. Try replacing some of the foods you eat and the products you buy with organic alternatives. Start with those fruits and vegetables that typically have the highest pesticide usages such as peppers, strawberries and apples. And if you garden, switch to organic gardening practices as well. There are great ways to keep your garden healthy without the use of pesticides and fertilizers. Compost for your garden is offered locally and many pick-up stations, http://sarasota.extension.ufl.edu/FYN/compost.shtml and tips on organic gardening can be found here http://www.organic-gardening.net

March

Start a compost pile. Why bag up all those great soil nutrients and send them to a landfill. You can reduce the amount of waste that goes to the curb and give your garden an extra boost by composting household materials in your own yard. Contrary to what you might think, a composter doesn't have to be messy or a chore. Check out some neat composting ideas here http://www.stopwaste.org/home/index.asp?page=445 Sarasota County offers free compost for residential use, here's where to pick it up- http://sarasota.extension.ufl.edu/FYN/compost.shtml

April

Just say no to plastic. (We're not talking about your many credit cards, though we recommend moderation there as well.) We are talking about the massive use of disposable plastic items that accumulate in our lives and in our landfills. Use a reusable bag for your groceries and other shopping needs. The global consumption rate of disposable plastic bags is now estimated at over 500,000,000,000 (that's 500 billion, or almost 1 million per minute!) Most grocery stores now offer reusable bags on site. Some even offer cost savings for customers who use them. What about all those plastic bottles?! The U.S. alone consumes an estimated 25 billion single-serving, plastic water bottles per year. Eight out of 10 (22 billion) will end up in a landfill.
(source Container Recycling Institute) Where do all those bottles go? Check out Great Pacific Garbage Patch or Think Beyond Plastic for more information on the crisis of plastic accumulating in our oceans.

May

Go meatless. According to a study published in New Scientist http://environment.newscientist.com/article/mg18825304.800.html

switching to a vegetarian diet saves more fossil fuel than buying a hybrid car. (We are not saying don't buy the hybrid car, it is just an illustration to show how much your diet can impact the environment.) Try going meatless just one day a week. Eating lower on the food chain means that more of the resources used to produce your food, actually make it to your plate. Such a simple change can save billions of gallons of water, reduce pollution produced by agricultural practices, and it may just have a beneficial impact on your health. Visit www.vegsarasota.com for tips and valuable resources to get you started down a healthier path.

June

Take a look at your landscape. How much water does it take to maintain your little patch of non-native sod? How much fertilizer and other chemicals does it take to make it green. Sick of mowing your lawn, maybe you can reshape your yard to be more in tune with wildlife and the local environment. Try planting more native plants. Reduce the amount of grass in your yard by gradually expanding existing beds. It will add more interest to your yard and it will reduce the amount of water, energy and effort it takes to maintain. For more information on adding native plants to your landscape and creating a more inviting landscape for wildlife check out these valuable resources:

Florida Friendly Landscaping Guide

Florida Yards Website

July

Reduce your water usage. Global climate change is affecting many local weather patterns. Many areas are experiencing greater prolonged droughts. Since you've already reduced the amount of water required for your landscaping, consider reducing the rest of your water needs. Fix leaky facets, inside and out. Try one of the many water saving gizmos available at your local hardware store, including kits for low flow toilets and showerheads. Another easy conservation idea includes installing a rain barrel. 1/2 inch of rain off a typical urban roof can easily fill a 50 gallon rain barrel. Looking for cheaper alternatives? Try constructing your own out of a food grade barrel. Check out this link to see how-http://sarasota.extension.ufl.edu/Hort/Pubs/Rainbarrel.shtml

August

Buy local. Everything you use, everything you eat or drink, everything you buy had to be transported to your location. How far did it have to travel? How much fossil fuel did it take to get there? How much plastic and packaging did that involve!? By increasing the amount of products you purchase locally, you can reduce the footprint of your consumption. Try buying fruits and vegetables grown at a local stand. They will likely taste better and may be more nutritious as well. Some of our favorites:

Sarasota Farmer's Market

Jessica's Organic Farm

September

Rethink the chemicals in your life. Chemistry can be good between you and yours, but it is not necessarily better for the planet. Check out the cleaners and detergents in your cabinet. Often there are more eco-friendly alternatives that can be substituted for most household cleaners and pest control products. See our online guide of Eco Friendly Household Products, under Reviews, for some of our top picks for a greener household.

October

Take a break and enjoy all of the eco-friendly things you've done over the past few months. Invite your friends over for a Halloween party and show them you composter. Sound silly, well yes it is. Think of it this way, every friend or family member that sees or hears about your eco projects might just realize that if you can do it, then so can they. Who knows you might even be able to convince your parents to recycle. Don't underestimate the power of individual outreach.

November

Get involved! Know of a particular candidate that has a better environmental policy than the next guy? Why not help that person get elected? Host a meetup, or join an online email campaign to get new voters registered such as VotePoke https://www.votepoke.org/index.html, and most importantly Vote! Apathy is no longer an option, your planet needs you.

December

Think you have too much stuff. You probably do. Most of us have more clothing, gadgets and gizmos than we need to survive comfortably. We never have enough closet space. We rent storage spaces just to contain our extra stuff. Then come the holidays and we run all over town, trying to find the perfect stuff to give to other people who already had to much stuff to begin with. Break the cycle. Try celebrating Buy Nothing day.http://www.adbusters.org/campaigns/bnd Donate your extra clothing and household items to others who really need them. Give simply. Think of other ways to celebrate the season than by wracking up credit card debt. You'll make more memories by spending time with friends and family than by running yourself ragged finishing off your list and your pocket book will thank you come January.