HOW GREEN is your LIFE?

Still half-heartedly recycling? Reluctant to give up your toxic candlelit evenings and other comfy conveniences? It’s time.

We can't ignore it any longer, we need to save our planet. Even the most cynical non-believers in the global warming debate must surely now concede, as ignoring the weight of evidence is just irresponsible.

Still dubious? Well, whatever your reasons reasons that spell out why you should go green immediately— but there are also

Turning off the lights, unplugging phone chargers when using energy-saver light bulbs, and switching off the TV half an hour earlier all ensure that less of your hard-earned cash leaves your pockets. By using energy more wisely, you can help reduce global warming. Not ironing, for ‘environmental reasons’, is a fantastic rationale for joining the crusade. environmental diehards, has implemented a casual dress code. Translation: No more starched clothes to prepare for the morning. Wrinkle-free clothes are also a thing of the past as they’re not only made from unsafe chemicals, but they they’re also more expensive. So now, to adhere strictly wrinkled clothes to work - guilt-free.

Refusing to buy more and more ‘stuff’, particularly for demanding children, feels a little easier when we can truthfully say that we’re helping them to preserve their environment. Who now feels comfortable with the casual disposal of old toys, gadgets, and impulse-bought shoes and other things that become redundant almost as soon as they enter your home? It’s estimated that, each year, students around the world consume so much paper that it causes forests to be destroyed. So, when our kids started the new school term, my husband and I asked them to simply reuse notebooks with empty pages. They salvaged their old notebooks by ripping off the unused pages, punching them with a three-hole punch, and placing them in a folder. We also made sure that all their glue, crayons, and scissors from the bought new ones.

My husband has also started to unplug electronics and appliances, and I’m trying to remember to switch off the lights when I leave a room. The candles and soaps we now use are all-natural, our car journeys are less frequent, and we avoid plastic-packaged products like the plague.

But, just when you think you have things spin! The last time I used a public restroom, two options presented themselves. I could either (1) put on the hand dryer which would release fumes (now known to be toxic) into the atmosphere, or (2) wipe my hands on the recycled paper towels - but, no doubt, some chemical or the other must’ve been used in the recycling process. And then, what about the vehicle that transported it would’ve also left behind some unsavory emissions. What to do?

I just wiped my hands on my jeans and left. Perhaps, it’s best to live life as traditionally modern conveniences. But, that’s a choice we make when we decide to go green.

- Amanda Best