4 Foolish ways to go Green

I was reading this article on Msn.com the other day when I came across this article of “4 Foolish ways to go Green” by Sally Herigstad. I couldn’t help but wonder how much of it applied to Pakistan. I mean as usual we are only trying to copy the west without actually realizing its true benefits. Companies are making it a point to mention on their packaging that their product is environmentally friendly even though a large percentage of the air pollution in Pakistan is caused by factories which don’t care at all about the environment. The Government is imposing carbon tax on petroleum products but these Carbon taxes will probably not be used to enhance factories to prevent carbon dioxide from emitting in to the environment.

In the article it was mentioned that companies are luring customers to buy products just because they are “Green”. Well I would completely agree with the writer of that article who says, “Buy a T-shirt because you need a T-shirt, not because you want to save the planet”. Simply wearing a T-shirt which says “Go green” isn’t really helping the environment. There are probably better ways to raise awareness.

The article also mentioned the fact that sometimes people tend to buy low-quality green products which do not even accomplish anything. For example, a recent entry into the green market is a low-flow toilet that requires three flushes. It is not saving much!
If we really want to help save the environment, there are some easy ways to do so. First of all change your electricity bulbs to energy savers. Secondly close the refrigerator door almost immediately after you take the desired item out. Think about what you want from the fridge before opening it because by leaving it open for just a few extra seconds, you are wasting a lot of energy.

Third and the easiest thing to do, switch of the lights when you leave the room. This is such a simple thing to do, but sometimes it's so hard to remember! Put little stickers near the light switches you leave on the most often, reminding everyone to turn them off when they leave the room.

Some other tips are to turn off your car while waiting for someone. Roll down the windows first after sitting in the car, this cools down the car a little before you blast on the Air Conditioner in the car. Use the Air-conditioner in your house for only a few hours and at 26 degrees centigrade. Better yet, have a green garden on your roof top to reduce the heating effects of direct sunlight.
Going green should not become a fad, like so many others that have come and gone. It requires some simple changes to our lifestyle and these are usually enough to save a lot of wasted energy.