Going green does not have to be an intensely political thing to do, especially if we focus on practical ways to go green. While we have serious disagreements on the issue of global climate change, there are things that every American can do in his or her daily life to improve our natural environment. A deep concern about ecological sustainability should be embraced by every American. We don’t have to agree on every issue pertaining to the environmental sustainability discourse, but we should all have a commitment to protecting and sustaining our natural environment. After all, we all depend on a healthy natural environment for our survival.

Why would you turn on every light in every room of your home when you’re not even using those rooms? Use only the necessary lighting for your home. You will find that this will help you to save on your energy bill. With gas prices continuing to rise, it would help to reduce air pollution and the need to consume so much gas if we would choose to do more walking and riding of our bikes to our destinations that are within reasonable distance. Again, this will help you to save money—while improving our natural environment. Imagine how healthier you will become through this form of exercise too.

One of the most significant ways that you can go green is to move as close to being paperless in your daily operations as possible. If you do not have to use paper, then simply don’t use it. If you have to use paper, then purchase recycled paper. For instance, students should not purchase notebook paper unless their teachers require them to turn in assignments on notebook paper. Use your laptops and desktops more to execute the tasks you currently use paper to complete. When you buy paper for your printers, use recycled paper.

Begin to actively recycle plastic bottles, newspaper, and other recyclable items in your home.

Don’t keep your cellular phone plugged up to the charger when it’s completely charged—unplug it. Additionally, don’t leave your laptop charging overnight while you’re sleep—unplug it.

When the temperature in your home is at a level where it’s tolerable for you to not turn on the heat or air, exercise some restraint and don’t turn on the heat or air. As the weather warms up, consider opening the windows of your home instead using the air conditioner.

When you wash your clothing, try to wait until you have a larger load of clothes to wash instead of a few items here and there.

The aforementioned phenomena can be done with relative ease and would not only save you a significant amount of money, but would also have a meaningful impact on ameliorating our natural environment and would earnestly help to promote the cause of ecological sustainability. It is essential that we become more educated about ecological sustainability. The greatest challenge that the peer-reviewed literature has found to enhancing efforts to become ecological sustainable is the need to increase education about ecological sustainability.

Let’s go green without making this an overly political phenomenon. Embrace more green practices in your daily life!

Antonio Maurice Daniels

University of Wisconsin-Madison