Green Living

What is Green Living?

Green living is the philosophy of living your life in ways that have as little negative impact on the natural environment as possible. Those who subscribe to it use products that are environmentally friendly through all parts of their life cycle, from their creation to their ultimate use and disposal. For example, green advocates often diaper their children with organic cotton cloth instead of disposables. Disposable diapers account for approximately 2.1% of landfill waste according to statistics from the National Association of Diaper Services. Reusable cloth diapers do not contribute to this growing problem.

Many who subscribe to the philosophy of green living practice the art of gardening. They grow organic fruits and vegetables to fill their family’s plates year round, season with herbs grown in their window garden and decorate their table with fresh flowers. Even those who live in tight urban areas with few green spaces are practicing guerrilla gardening. They plant flowers, trees and other plants in unoccupied lots, public parks and other places.

Though many who practice green living are satisfied with taking baby steps, some take it to the extreme. They live in eco-friendly houses made of earth bags, straw bales or even recycled shipping containers. Though these homes may sound strange, their owners often take such pleasure in building them that they often become design masterpieces worthy of their own spread in a magazine.

The most hard-core green advocates often aspire to living completely off the grid, producing their own clean energy via solar panels or wind and water turbines. Many green advocates start their dreams of off-grid living small. They may initially try to simply reduce their consumption by using LED lights, solar hot waters or other energy saving devices. Increased prevalence of DIY kits and government grants are making the dream of off-grid living a reality for many who desire to live green.