6 Tips To Live A Greener Summer

Today is the first official day of summer! The weather is nicer, the vegetables are fresher, and every upstate New Yorker is ecstatic they don't need to turn on their heat for a few months. It's so much easier to live green in the summer time, so here are some quick tips to reduce your carbon footprint for the next few months.

1. Buy local fruits and vegetables. When the weather is warm, it's much easier to buy local since so many foods are in season. We have an awesome public market in downtown Rochester (they won America's Favorite Farmer's Market contest in 2010!) that always has an amazing selection in the summer. Best of all, you're reducing your carbon footprint since the food traveled a short distance to get from the farm to your dinner table (don't forget your reusable bags!).

2. Eat less meat. It takes more money and energy to produce meat than it does to produce crops. If you're a hardcore carnivore, you don't need to cut meat out of your diet all together; it's just easier to eat less meat in the summer summer since the local produce is so fresh. Try to make your dinner meat-free for one night a week this summer. Grill local vegetables without the chicken this week.

3. Bike or walk instead of driving for shorter distances. Most of the driving we do is within 2 miles of our house. With the high gas prices today, your wallet will thank you (and the earth will too!). It's also a great way to get your exercise and get your errands done at the same time.

4. Turn up/off your AC! As refreshing as it is to walk into your chilled home after a long day in the heat, turn your air conditioner temperature up when you're not in the house. If you have an individual AC unit for a room, only turn it on when you're in the room. If you keep your AC up just one degree above your normal temperature setting, you can reduce your summer cooling costs by 4%!

5. Dry your clothes outside. If you have room in your yard, hang your clothes out to dry. You'll save tons of energy by not using your dryer all summer. It takes approximately $194 to run a dryer every year. Cut this cost in half by hanging your clothes during the warm months!

6. Hydrate with tap water. With all the water you'll be drinking this summer, it's a waste to keep drinking it out of the plastic bottles. Ditch the bottles, get a water filter (if you don't want to drink tap), and a good, reusable water bottle. 877 plastic water bottles are wasted every second; don't contribute to that statistic!

If these 6 simple steps are too much for you to handle, try doing little bits of these steps. Eat a meatless dinner once a month. Dry your clothes outside just a few times this summer. If you choose to still drink bottled water, always recycle the bottles. Every little bit helps! We're all happier when the weather is nicer, so let's make the earth happier by treating it right this summer.

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