One Green Thing

When it comes to the environment it’s easy to get overwhelmed. In the face of melting polar caps, disappearing species, monster CO2 emissions and all the other immense global occurrences we can end up feeling like a bug on the windshield. So, in order to keep it positive and recognize everyone’s efforts I’d like readers to pipe in and share one green thing they’ve done this year.

I’ll start: I stopped using a clothes dryer. I work from home and have time to “hang it out” on a drying rack. I also don’t have kids so laundry is not as big a deal for me as it is for you parents who are juggling the daily circus of clean soccer socks and picture day dresses.

While air drying is not for everyone it does save money and cuts down CO2 emissions. Opting out of dryers can save you up to $100 per year and take about 1500 pounds of carbon dioxide out of your home’s annual emissions.

Clothes dryers emit 6.85 lbs of C02 per hour of use, according to the Carbon Rationing Action Group. The US EPA/DOE Energy Star program doesn’t label clothes dryers because most of them use the same amount of energy.

You can read more about my clothesline kick at Clotheslines get a fresh, clean look and learn more about the environmental benefits with the links below. But before you get sidetracked I want you to share just one green thing you’ve done in the past year to benefit the environment. It doesn’t matter how small or how big or even if it was accidental for that matter. Leave a comment and let’s see how big our collective efforts can get. Share your one green thing!

• Laundry List
• National Hanging Out Day
• Freedom to Hang Out
• Not Just Blowing Hot Air: Clotheslines Ideal Bite
• Hang it Up The Boston Globe
• Don’t Get Hung Up on Restrictions: Know Before You Buy Realty Times
• In warming world, time to reconsider the clothesline The Christian Science Monitor