A Greener Planet Starts at Home

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Last Updated on April 26, 2025 by Carolyn

Our planet, the fauna and flora that inhabit Earth, need your help. Devastating fires, droughts, and hurricanes have wrought havoc around the world, displacing people, and animals, and ravaging forests. Let’s strive together for a greener planet.

Though many people dispute their existence, climate change and global warming are real, and we should be concerned. Major effects of climate change and global warming are more frequent and extreme storm systems, hotter temperatures worldwide, and drought.

As individuals, can we make changes in our day-to-day lives that will slow the process or even reverse it? Absolutely! A greener planet starts at home. A greener planet is achievable when we all contribute. Let’s get inspired by some eco-friendly successes from around the world as we work towards a greener planet.

Creating A Greener Planet Through Water Conservation 

Contrary to what our country leaders might decree, oil is not our most valuable resource; water is. It’s becoming scarcer by the day.  Many water sources like the famous African Nile River and the Rio Grande that have been depended on for centuries are now mere trickles compared to their former bountiful states. 

According to the WHO (World Health Organization), 1 in 3 people globally do not have access to clean drinking water. It’s time to recognize that water is a privilege and that we must protect it.

Cape Town, South Africa a Pioneer in Water Conservation 

In late 2017 Cape Town’s water situation was extremely bleak. They were on the threshold of Day Zero, the day when residents would have to start lining up to receive their daily water ration.

With water reserves shrinking rapidly Cape Town took action. Strict water restrictions were put in place ultimately limiting per-person water usage to 50 liters daily. To put this in perspective consider that the average American household uses over 1000 liters of water daily.

Cape Town successfully engaged the community in assisting with water conservation efforts via a campaign that included financial incentives and investments in infrastructure.

Residents were encouraged to change their water consumption habits, including taking shorter showers, reusing greywater, wearing clothes more than once between washings, and limiting flushing of toilets.

Meanwhile, the city implemented leak detection systems,  offered free leak repairs to residents, imposed tariffs on heavy consumers, and installed a new water pressure system.

The results? The city cut its water consumption by 50%, and with rainfalls returning to normal, averted the impending water crisis.

Water Conservation Measures We Can Take at Home

Conserving water doesn’t have to be difficult, we only need to be aware of our consumption to find areas where we can improve.

Here are a few ideas to reduce your household water consumption:

• Install a water-saving showerhead. This can reduce the water used for showers by as much as 40%. Shortening your shower time by just one minute can save 2-2.5 gallons per shower.
• Fix leaky taps and toilets
• Install water-efficient toilets.
• Turn on the washing machine only when you have full loads
• Turn off the tap after wetting your toothbrush
• Use cooking water for watering plants

Are you aware that 30% of the average American household’s water consumption is for outdoor use? We can easily reduce that by:

• Setting up rainwater collection barrels and using the water from them to water our gardens.
• Watering our gardens early in the day, and preferably when it’s not windy to avoid evaporation,
• Replacing turf lawns with drought-resistant native plants and grasses.
• Mulching trees and plants to retain water in the soil.
• Plant trees. Trees capture rainwater in their canopy slowing runoff and allowing the water to infiltrate the soil.

Simple Method to Provide Water to Wildlife and Pets

I put an eavestrough on my shed and a shallow rubber pan under the downspout to catch water. I’m amazed at how much water this simple system collects from just the morning dew running off the shed roof.  Wild birds love the pan of water and can often be found perched nearby and fluttering down to bathe in it. When it rains or snows a fair bit, the pan overflows pushing any dirt over the side so it’s almost self-cleaning and needs only an occasional rinse to keep fresh and clean.

Reducing Energy Consumption

“Incredible as it may sound, in the US, we waste about two-thirds of the roughly 100 quads (quadrillion Btu) of energy we consume each year. Most of this waste is due to the burning of fuels. When we burn fuels, whether it’s in a car’s engine or our home oven, most of that energy becomes useless waste heat.”

Burning fuels is inefficient and results in waste that becomes carbon emissions. We need to source our energy from clean sources such as solar, wind, bioenergy, and hydropower.

World’s First Carbon Negative Country

Bhutan wears the crown for being the world’s first carbon-negative country. Nestled in the Himalayas between China and India some of the world’s worst carbon offenders, Bhutan bears the brunt of climate change caused by these countries’ emissions. It’s seen temperatures rise and ice melts. If Bhutan didn’t take action it would have faced catastrophic flooding as a result of the Himalaya’s melting glaciers.

The country has dedicated over 70% of its land to forests and offsets twice the amount of carbon it produces. 

Bhutan encourages reforestation and also issues subsidies for the purchase of electric vehicles that run on electricity generated by hydropower. Bhutan exports 80% of the hydropower it generates.

Bhutan places happiness over GDP and has emphasized the rights of future generations to environmental safety and the enjoyment of natural resources. The country is on track to achieve zero waste by the year 2030.

Helping to fund its environmental initiatives is the up $100 daily sustainability fee charged to each visitor to the country. 

If a small developing country like Bhutan can afford to make such substantial climate change actions certainly we can make similar changes.

How to Reduce Energy Waste in Our Daily Lives

We all use energy in various ways throughout our day. We use energy to heat our home, light our houses, to cook, to power our electronic devices, to heat our water and for transportation. 

There are many areas where we can cut carbon emissions by switching to sustainable energy sources as well as places to trim our daily consumption.

Decreasing our Energy Consumption at Home

Peak Demand Awareness

We see peak demand fees on our electric bills but do we know why they are there and why decreasing our energy usage during peak hours is so important?

Peak demand is the maximum electricity demand a utility system experiences during a set time frame. 

Peak demand is important as electrical companies need maintain enough energy-generating ability to meet this peak demand. Decreasing peak demand decreases our need for fossil fuel-burning sources to fill the gaps.

Know Your Peak Demand Hours

Peak demand hours will vary depending in your location. Where I live peak demand is 4-8 pm.  Most of my appliances are natural gas but my laundry machines and dishwasher are electric so I rarely use them during these hours.

Save Money by Minimizing Peak Usafe

You can keep a few extra dollars in your wallet if you can keep in mind peak demand hours. My electric company charges a peak demand fee of $3.00 multiplied by my highest amount of usage (in kilowatts) that occurred within one 60-minute period during peak hours. 

Contributing to a greener planet doesn’t just benefit the environment; it can enhance our quality of life as well.

Alternative Energy Sources

Choosing an alternative to carbon-sourced energy is a great way to reduce your carbon footprint.

Solar, wind, and water-sourced energy are all good sustainable energy alternatives, though all are not available to everyone.

The cost of alternative energy installations has been dropping tremendously over the past few years making it more affordable and reducing their breakeven time frame.

Starting Small is an Option

Converting your whole house to an alternative energy source is intimidating.  But have you considered using alternative energy for a smaller installation like an automatic gate opener, yard lights, a pond pump or to power a greenhouse fan? I have used solar energy to power all of the above and more, and have no complaints.

Solar can be a great way to power equipment that needs electricity but isn’t close to a conventional power source.

Solar Powered Gate Opener

I have run an electric gate opener off of a small solar panel for over 10 years and have had zero issues with powering it.  It was simple to install saved having to trench power to the gate under the driveway.

Solar Powered Greenhouse Fan

I was having problems regulating the temperature in my small greenhouse during the summer.  On sunny days the temperatures inside the greenhouse exceeded 100 degrees.

I researched purchasing solar fans but they seemed either undersized or overly expensive. With some research, I came up with a DIY installation that only cost about $100 and pushes a large volume of air through the greenhouse.

I documented my design of my DIY greenhouse fan in this video:

And here is a link to the fan installed and running: Installing the Solar Green House Fan

Install a Smart Thermostat 

Smart thermostats are great little devices that “learn” your household’s routines. If no one is home it’ll lower the ambient temperature of your house. When you come back in it’ll bring the temperature back up. Many utility companies offer rebates for the installation of smart thermostats so not only will this home improvement save you money in the future, you might not even have to shell out much to purchase it!

Dress Wisely

Just changing your clothing habits can decrease your carbon consumption. Wear a sweater over your T-shirt in winter and you can probably keep your house a couple of degrees cooler.

And vice-versa in the summer: Wear shorts and light breathable clothes and you can probably keep your house a little warmer and still be comfortable.

Cooling Effect of Trees

Do certain rooms of your house suffer from the afternoon sun beaming through the windows and making the rooms feel like a sauna?

Have you considered planting a fast-growing tree to block some of that sun? Shade from trees can cool the surrounding air by as much as 9 degrees and temperatures under trees can be up to 25 degrees cooler! And if you plant a deciduous tree it lets the sun shine in through the winter when you want its heating effect.

Alternative Methods of Transportation 

Cars are huge contributors to greenhouse gases. Choosing an electric car for your daily commute will have a big impact on your carbon footprint.

Did you know that both Europe and California have banned the sale of new combustion-powered vehicles after 2034? Like it or not, before long many of us will have to make some changes in the not so distant future. 

If you live in the city consider taking the bus or if feasible bike or walk to school or work. Your body and the earth will thank you. If you can’t bike or walk perhaps carpooling is an option?

Restoring Nature

In the last century mankind has ravaged the earth; stripping her of trees, and polluting her air and water. As a consequence the disfigured lands suffer from fires and flooding, and many animals have lost their homes. It’s time to reverse this cycle and restore as much nature as possible.

We can’t create a forest overnight but we certainly can start planting trees for the future be aware of how we are impacting the fauna and flora around us and take steps to make amends to rectify some of the damage we’ve done. 

Plant a Native Plant Garden

If you’re tired of planting beautiful flowers every year only to have them wither up and die because soil, temperature, or other variables aren’t perfect, consider a native plant garden.

Doesn’t it make sense that native plants will grow better than their foreign counterparts? And that native flora will support biodiversity by attracting native insects, amphibians, and birds.  Planting native plants will also deter invasive plants from taking hold.

The National Wildlife Federation has lots of useful information about creating native plant habitats and even has a program where you can certify your yard as a Native Plant Habitat.

Be sure to include pollinator food sources in your native garden.  75% of the world’s flowering plants and 35% of our food crops depend on pollinators such as bees, butterflies, bats, and birds to reproduce.

A Habitat Restoration Success Story

Choosing methods of transportation that support a greener planet can significantly reduce your personal carbon footprint.

In 2022  young entrepreneur, Avi Stopper and plant guru, Deb Lebow-Aal united forces to found PlantanOasis.org.  For many years passersby would see Deb had at work in her West Washington Park garden oasis and would ask if they could enlist her help to create a similar garden in their yard. This sparked the foundation of the Oasis Project which has now completed about 60 garden projects in the surrounding area. Labor is provided by volunteers and a paid refugee crew.

The PlantanOasis.org’s mission:

“Our vision is a city transformed into a giant botanic garden, where you walk your dog in the morning through fields of wildflowers, buzzing with native pollinators and birds.”

2025 is the Oasis Project’s 3rd Anniversary and judging by their photo gallery and waiting list for Oasis gardens they are realizing their mission!

Bird and Bat Houses, Nest Boxes, Baths and Feeders

As you attract wildlife to your native garden you will want to accommodate the housing and dietary needs of the birds and bats.  Bird houses and nest boxes can provide homes to birds whose habitat has been destroyed.  Bird baths provide a welcoming fresh water source and feeders are a good opportunity to provide a nutritious diet to our feather friends. Be sure to research what birdhouse or nest box your favorite bird prefers!

Smart bird feeders like the Birdfy are the latest rage. These bird feeders sync with your phone, taking snapshots of your feathered visitors (and I’m sure furry ones too) as well as alerting you to and identifying new species of visitors to your feeders. These feeders are credited with inspiring a whole new generation of birders.

Danger Lurks in Your Windows

The last thing you want to happen is for your wildlife visitors to get hurt on your property. Each year millions of birds are killed by flying into windows. This video demonstrates a simple method of preventing bird vs window casualties.  The glass marker used in the video is a Posco Glass Marker.

Minimize Harmful Garden Chemicals for a Greener Planet

Lawn care is undeniably big business. It is predicted that in 2025 over 12 billion dollars will be spent on lawn care products in the US alone.  A further 61.74 billion dollars is predicted to be spent on lawn care services.

We pour on chemicals to make seed germinate, add fertilizers to make grass grow, pour gallons and gallons of water on it, spread weed killer, cut the grass with gasoline-powered equipment, bag up the cuttings, and toss them in the trash. This is an incredibly environmentally unfriendly cycle. Let’s break it.

Instead of creating another expanse of green turf that consumes resources, consider giving back to nature and creating additional wildlife habitat or a rain garden.

If you must have a lawn, focus on improving your soil via organic methods, and plant hardy varieties of grasses that don’t require much water.  The grass cuttings? They are gold, don’t throw them away. Use them for mulch, compost, or to make liquid fertilizer.

No Space Too Small

Even if you live in an apartment with just a balcony you can have a window box filled with plants either to feed yourself, or to feed wildlife as it passes by. Create a sanctuary for yourself with plants and enjoy relaxing in its solace. You say you don’t even have a balcony? No problem you can more than likely participate in a community garden or volunteer at a nature center or local CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farm.

Every Little Action Counts For a Greener Planet

This post has presented several major environmental issues facing humanity and actions that each one of us can implement to help avert an environmental crisis. Being eco-aware is essential for creating a greener planet. Each step we take can lead to significant changes. I’m going to plant a pollinator garden this year, as well as work on a sustainable energy solution for my home, what action are you going to take?

For more inspiring eco-friendly ideas please explore our sustainable life posts.

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