Today is the first day of Earth Month, if you believe in such a thing. And you should. What greater concept to honor for an entire month than the very planet that gives us life? Why stop at just one day?
In honor of this 30-day celebration we’ll be sharing some Earth-friendly tips that you can practice around the home. Be it energy-saving, water-saving, air-improvements or other, you’ll come away with a suggestion that maybe just make a difference in your world…and ours.
So, the first tip of Earth month concerns waste reduction. In our culture of consumption many of us opt for the convenience of the bottled water. I’ve done it. At times I still do it. In 2008 Americans chugged over 8 million gallons of bottled water, with the average person putting down 28.5 gallons of bottled water a year. That’s a lot of landfill material.
Health implications aside, we’d all do well to move away from these disposables. The bottled water production in the U.S. alone requires about 17 million barrels of oil annually. The industry has been accused of using “scare tactics” on consumers, making us believe that tap water is unsafe.
Well, maybe there ARE potential pollutants in our tap water that we’d prefer to avoid. A few of the towns in my area have substituted chloramine for chlorine in the municipal water supplies, which had a number of citizens up in arms. There were reports of skin rashes, headaches, nausea and other symptoms blamed on the alternative treatment chemical.
So what’s the solution? How about a water filter?
Water filters come in many shapes and sizes and functions, but they can serve as Earth-friendly alternatives to bottled water.
If you are considering a water filtration system for your home, take a look at this Guide to Choosing a Water Filtration system. There are whole-home models or more economical under-the-sink versions. You can get a filtration system for your shower, too, that treats the water you use to wash your body.
Installing an under-the-sink model is a straight-forward DIY job, too. If you are unsure of how to go about it, follow the steps on this How To Install a Water Filtration System video. You’ll have pure, filtered water running from your tap in no time.
So that’s the first Earth Month tip: Cut down on bottled water.
Stay tuned for more! Happy Earth Month!
