Benefits of Going Green – 7 and Counting

As we have been preparing for the new school year, we’ve been looking backwards as well as forward and reviewing our progress over the year to date. We have our green goals and have been tracking our progress on them but it struck me that the benefits of going green have gone far beyond meeting those goals. Here are the main benefits of going green we have experienced:

(1) Financial Benefits of Going Green

I’ve mentioned before that we started down the green path to save money and boy, has that worked for us! On our new site, Family Profits, you can read about how we have paid off more than $80,000 in credit card debt and the majority of our $100,000+ student loan debt, all while working in the nonprofit sector. By taking to heart the green mantra of Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and paying particular attention to the order of those three R’s, we were able to focus our salaries on paying off debt rather than making another run to the mall.

While companies and advertisers want you to think that going green is expensive, the fact is that reducing consumption is the greenest thing you can do. Using less energy, less gasoline, and less stuff is much more green than any eco-friendly product.

(2) Environmental Benefits of Going Green

While it is clear that there are wide-spread environmental benefits to going green, what we has surprised us is how quickly our immediate environment improved. Several years ago we moved into our current home. Based on the items left in our shed and garage, the former owners used several pesticides and herbicides on the yard. We haven’t used any (there are those financial benefits again!) and the amount of wildlife in our yard has grown incredibly. We’ve gone from only seeing a few birds to seeing lots of birds, possums, tarantulas, lizards, snakes, squirrels, and hummingbirds.

Along the way we’ve added native plants to portions of the yard and those have attracted monarch butterflies, hummingbird moths, red wasps, garden spiders, ladybugs, and some bees (though we hope to see more bees in the future).

In just four years, this property has shifted from a fairly lifeless zone to one that is much more biologically diverse. Most of that shift occurred because we simply left the land alone and didn’t poison it. We marvel when we think of how much it could have changed if we had known more when we moved in four years ago.

(3) Health Benefits of Going Green

By cleaning with homemade cleaners and carefully disposing of hazardous household waste, we removed many toxic items from our home very inexpensively. By eating organic, local produce available through a CSA and avoiding plastic in our kitchen, we are ingesting fewer pesticides and harmful chemicals. And we have seen the difference in our health.

Richard used to get show stopping migraines on a regular basis. Those have ceased. I used to get a sinus infection several times a year. Those have also ceased. We feel better than we did when we first met, even though we are now ten years older. That is a true benefit!

(4) Parenting Benefits of Going Green

Although our family approaches going green together (thus our tagline!), I was really surprised by the parenting benefits of going green. Making our life more eco-friendly has allowed us fabulous opportunities to talk about important concepts like sharing or taking turns in a real world context. Empathy, patience, and thoughtfulness — skills that parents want their children to have — get lots of practice when going green.

I’ve also treasured the opportunity to slow down and experience nature with my children. There is an amazing world all around us. Taking the time to see it and talk about it with my children has been incredible.

(5) Time Management Benefits of Going Green

When we think about how our weekends used to be so rushed, we wonder how we maintained that pace for so long. We used to rush from store to store, running our errands and preparing for the week. There were groceries to be bought, drycleaning to be dropped off, items to be purchased. I get tired just thinking about it!

Now Saturday mornings usually start with buttermilk pancakes, made from scratch. (Try Alton Brown’s recipe – it is our favorite!) We hang out reading library books or playing games. If it is a nice day, we work in the yard while the girls play. No more racing from store to store for us!

And less stuff inside our house means less to tidy up and less to clean. Reducing our consumption has given us more time in several ways!

(6) National Security Benefits of Going Green

I’ve had the good fortune of working with military personnel and have seen first-hand how much they and their families sacrifice. The United States’ dependence on foreign oil is nothing less than a national security threat. And for our troops overseas, maintaining access to fuel is a life threatening job. According to “Pentagon Looks at Green Options”

The stakes are high, with the army estimating that reducing fuel consumption by just one per cent translates to about 6400 fewer soldiers in fuel convoys, a favourite target of insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Lots of people talk about supporting our troops. One very tangible way of doing so is reducing our dependence on foreign oil.

(7) Tax Benefits of Going Green

In 2009, there are some serious tax benefits for going green, many of which extend beyond this year. There are federal tax credits for items that improve energy efficiency in homes, such as approved windows, doors, insulation, and HVAC units. See the bulletins issued by the IRS on Credit for Residential Energy Efficient Property and Nonbusiness Energy Property for more information. There are also federal tax credits for hybrid and electric cars. And the details on rebates for energy efficient apliances will be announced soon.

What benefits of going green have you experienced? We’d love to expand our list!

Related posts:

1. Our Journey to Green Photo by web-guy This post is a submission to...
2. Maintaining Green Motivation in the Workplace This post is my submission to February’s APLS blog Carnival...
3. New Rules Proposed on CO2 Emissions and Fuel Efficiency Yesterday the EPA and the Department of Transportation’s National Highway...
4. Deciding to Decide This month the APLS Blog Carnival is focused on decision...
5. Simple Changes for Healthier Eating After posting an earlier article on how to afford organic...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.