Going green – everyone is doing it. But how does one take the first steps to being environmentally responsible and living “green”? There are a few easy changes you can make to ensure your carbon footprint is minimized. First, limit the amount of times you use your car, and carpool whenever necessary. A good rule of thumb is that if it takes you less than 10 minutes to drive somewhere, give yourself extra time and walk instead. Similarly, eating fewer meals outside of the home, and cooking more meals inside reduces waste.

Other ways to partake in a more green lifestyle are to recycle and compost. Inquire about your town or city’s recycling facilities. Oftentimes, it’s as easy as requesting a separate garbage container and separating your plastic and paper to be picked up on a different day. Invest in a compost bin and fill it partially with soil. Dump all food garbage into the compost bin, remembering to rotate the pile at least every two weeks. Eventually, you will have rich soil to use in your home garden. Going green doesn’t have to mean an entire lifestyle overhaul. The move to a more conscious style of living helps make giant strides in improving our environment, and our world.

My wife and I recently saw Food, Inc., a documentary by Robert Kenner. We were stunned to find out the lengths to which the public is kept in the dark about the food we eat. This is an even more important issue given that we are in a national obesity crisis.

One thing that I found particularly disturbing was the ways that food companies like Tyson, Perdue and Smithfield keep the farmers under their thumb. The farmers must continually buy expensive new equipment or face termination of their contracts with the companies. This keeps them heavily and constantly in debt.

Since most people love white meat, the food companies have genetically modified chicken so they have bigger breasts. This is achieved by injecting them with hormones. Naturally these hormones make it into our bodies, causing any number of health problems for us.

Our beef has also been tainted because cows have been taught to eat corn feed instead of grass. This deprives the beef of the natural nutrients that grass fed cows have long provided. In turn, it affects our bodies in a negative way.

What we took from the film was the need to know what is in our food. We cannot assume that our best interests are being looked after. Knowledge is the best weapon.

So what is a “green” Christmas? While some may go overboard and stop the lights, forget the tree altogether and not shop for presents due to carbon gases, there are some things you can do that are practical to help your Christmas be as green as you can possibly be without giving up all the wonderful traditions of the holidays. You can start off by making sure all your lights are safe LED lighting. Since LED’s take less energy you won’t feel guilty about having lights in and outside your home.

Buy a tree you can use for three of four days and then plant. You can buy these at a local nursery with a nice root ball. Put the tree for about a half a day in the garage or shed to help it come in from the cold. Make sure you have a large pot to both cover the root and hold water because it will need water. Keep it in for not more than five days before getting it ready to go back outside. You can either plant it in the pot or in the ground, if the ground is not frozen where you live. The last tip is to shop online and save gas and those carbon emissions by shipping directly to your family and friends.

My husband and I recently returned from a trip to Central Texas. The purpose of the trip was for a campus visit at UT Austin to look into their graduate program at the School of Architecture. During my tour I visited a couple studios, visited the Architecture library and archives, and took in a lunch forum about Sustainability. There were nicely packed box lunches provided for attendees. The discussion basically centered on legalizing sustainable practices in our building codes at a federal level. The speaker, a lawyer with a passion for environmental law, made some very good points. She shared though that while there are some cities talking about initiatives, they are not DOING much about it. While she was speaking I began to look around the room of 40-50 attendees and the white boxed lunches on their laps. Lunches consisted of sandwiches wrapped in foil and then butcher paper, chips, cookies, etc. There were also canned and bottled beverages.

I hoped, especially because of the topic being spoken on, that there would be recycle bins for the boxes and butcher paper. Drink containers are pretty much a given anymore, so I wasn’t as concerned about that. So when I walked back into the hall, there it was, a large bin marked “Trash” piled high with white boxes. How disappointing. Why are our governments (city, state, federal) all talk and no action? Could it be because their “constituents” are too? They represent us. They will not change until we do.

In the print and marketing world there are many alternatives to be green from t-shirts, bags and pens to card stock, recycled and reused products. I had never thought about changing our company’s marketing focus to the use of green materials because I had never thought to ask and until recently, nobody every showed me. I like the fact that most of us do not throw away reusable products so that $1.00 item that would normally end up in the trash may cost less up front but you have to continue to replace it.

Instead, if you were to spend a little bit more for an item that is generally reused, that item keeps your brand and message in the forefront. Another advantage is the fact that many of your customers are looking for ways to help the environment and if they can do that by working with you, they will and they will feel good about it. More and more people are aware of the carbon footprint the products they use are leaving as well as the importance of sustainability and how it affects our eco systems. With this said, it just makes more since to market with green products and since there are so many, you still have a great many choices and price points

I recently sat in a meeting of Realtors and Builders talking about the “greening” of America and how so much of it is misunderstood. The fact is that if you pay a lot of money for something it doesn’t mean it “must be green”. There are many products on the market today that are said to be Energy Star and green when they simply are not. Let’s talk about a few items that are beneficial to you and the earth we know and love.

If you invest in a tankless water heater, make sure it is an “on-demand” water heater that starts and stops as you use water. Any water heater that runs all the time is not your best choice. You can also invest in a solar water heating system. Both of these will save you money on energy costs as well as give you a federal tax credit. Another thing that can be done is adding to your existing insulation with environmentally sensible insulators like soy-based foams, loose fit cellulose and denim. You will want to go with the one that has the highest R-value. Do your own research and choose your best option for the type of construction you are building or live in.

Bridgestone-Firestone is a huge international corporation, more known for its tires than for being friendly to the earth. But the company has a strong “green” philosophy and corporate culture that values conservation and environmentalism. The company, which bases its U.S. headquarters in Middle Tennessee, pushes innovation and awareness of the environment from top to bottom. The company is rather low key about their commitment to the environment, yet it is being recognized by conservationists and organizations that track environmental performance. In 2008, the company was named Industrial Conservationist of the Year by the Tennessee Wildlife Federation. Bridgestone’s commitment is as much about little details, such as using energy efficient light bulbs, as it is about the big picture. Manufacturing of industrial products is done with minimal environmental impact, or at least that’s the goal. Every single employee is encouraged to make a difference and to participate in the company’s greening efforts.

Each Bridgestone manufacturing location has an environmental manager. For example, the plant in Warren County, Tenn. has surfaced as a leader among production facilities for its energy-saving innovations and land preservation efforts. The plant uses hydrogen fuel cells for engines used at the plant, a cutting-edge “clean energy” method that emits water instead of carbon into the air. The water-efficient toilets installed at the manufacturing plant save hundreds of thousands of gallons of water a year. And, there are plenty of other examples of the company’s vision. Bridgestone’s La Vergne, Tenn. plant was able to reduce the,use of chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) refrigerant was reduced by 88 percent. CFCs are widely blamed for contributing to depletion of the Earth’s ozone layer.

There is one very important reason for you to consider if not insist on your yard and garden be planted with a high percentage of native plants; it supports the ecosystem in your area.  If the eco system looses the native plants then the insects that thrive on those plants are reduced considerably which in turn takes much needed food away from birds and other species and, well… you see what happens!  This all starts with the elimination of native plant species.  It is estimated that there are thousands, if not millions, of suburb areas that have completely eliminated the native plants from their landscape plans.

Since it would be extremely costly to rip out everything and “go native” you can just start slowly reintroducing native plants back into your landscape.  If you need help with what will work best for your area go to a good local nursery as they should be able to help you choose some great, colorful plants that you will love.  Supporting your local eco system will help your area continue to thrive to its fullest!