| Embracing new, environmentally sustainable ideas | | | | can be reused at least several times; and, of |
| is often confusing. New terms like "Greenhouse | | | | course, continue to recycle what you know can |
| Gases", "Carbon Footprint", :Greenwashing", and | | | | be recycled. |
| even the "Three R's" (nope, not what you learned | | | | Greenhouse gases refers to all gases in our |
| in school) are tossed about by a new generation | | | | atmosphere, but generally refers to the elevated |
| of green techies but for most of us, they may | | | | amount of carbon dioxide (CO2 ), a major |
| as well be speaking in Latin. Before a company | | | | contributor to global warming. A carbon footprint |
| can truly become green, the principals must | | | | is a measure of human activity on the |
| understand the dynamics, procedures, and the | | | | environment in terms of greenhouse gases |
| corresponding terminologies. | | | | produced, in units of pounds of carbon dioxide. |
| Let's start with Recycle. Sounds easy. Most of us | | | | Just about everything we do, from washing our |
| are familiar with recycling glass bottles, plastics, | | | | clothes to driving a car to lighting an office building, |
| and newspapers. The confusion starts with plastic | | | | increases our impact or carbon footprint. The |
| coding, that little number inside the recycling logo | | | | major environmental goal in Going Green is to |
| on the product. All recyclable plastics are now | | | | become as close to carbon neutral as possible. |
| coded with a numerical value between 1 and 7, | | | | Greenwashing is the intentional or unintentional |
| representing the type of material used to produce | | | | misleading of consumers into believing their |
| them. However, in most parts of the country, | | | | product or service is environmentally sustainable |
| only plastics coded 1-3 are generally being | | | | and comparable or more effective than it's |
| recycled. The others end up in a landfill for the | | | | conventional counterparts. Companies must take |
| next eon or so. So, instead of simply recycling, | | | | extreme care to not overstate, and make sure |
| we now use the 3R's: Reduce, Reuse, and | | | | to back its claims, or consumers may lose faith in |
| Recycle. Carefully consider the waste before | | | | green purchasing, setting back the entire |
| purchasing an item; try to purchase an item that | | | | movement. |