The GreenPath Company

It’s encouraging to see more and more people ditch the plastic shopping bags in favor of reusable bags. It’s also encouraging to see more and more retail outlets offering some type of bag for customers to purchase. Unfortunately there still remains a problem with this process. Well more than one problem but until big grocers and retailers stop offering plastic bags as a choice we will have to rely on ourselves to help solve the problem. The problem I am talking about is to remember the bags when we go shopping. Even with the best intentions we all seem to “forget” from time to time. We have our bags in the car all the time and we sometimes forget to take them into the store with us until it’s too late. Frustrating as that is we have come up with a solution that works for us. Remember the old song line “Tie a yellow ribbon round the old oak tree”, well we tie an organic cotton ribbon round our old steering wheel as our reminder to Remember the Bags (RTB). Kind of like tying a string around your finger to remind you to do something. It works for us, so far, and in additon to this solution I have a few others that may prove helpful to you.

Try these ideas out and let us know how they work for you and also let us know if you have tried and true methods you use that we can pass along.

1. Write on your shopping list “Remember the Bags” and highlight it so it stands out. This should remind you as you head out for a shopping trip to bring your bags.

2. Put a sign or note on your garage door or whichever door you go out to get into your car to RTB.

3. Put a sticker on your steering wheel as a reminder.

It doesn’t matter what you do as long as you remember, so continue to spread the word about replacing the plastic AND more importantly RTB.

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In our June newsletter we included some “green” tips on ways to improve your gas mileage and in this day and age with the price of gas rising daily, it seemed appropriate. Our tips are simple and cost next to nothing and if done on a regular basis can save us $.94 per gallon. Seems like we should all do our best to incorporate these into our “routines”, especially now, and IF the price of gas goes down to more reasonable levels, say below $3.00 (ha ha) we will be the big winners in this. If you are skeptical about the savings I read an article this week in the local paper from a Consumer Watch reporter who tested some similar tips over the course of 2 tanks of gas. He drove his “normal” way to work for one week and his normal way was 5 miles over the speed limit, accelerating quickly when lights changed and not paying attention to the lights as he approached them. Then he followed his own advice for one week and one tank of gas and tried the following:

1. He drove the speed limit 2. Accelerated slowing from a stopped position up to the speed limit. 3. Payed attention to the traffic lights and slowed down sooner when the light ahead changed to red and tried to time it so he did not have to stop as often.

The results were about a 10% increase in his gas mileage from 21.5 mpg to 24 mpg. He estimated that this would save him about $250 per year or about $10 per month. If you combine these savings with the ones outlined in our tips below it can add up in a hurry. Here are our tips:

1. Air it out - keep your air filter clean and improve gas mileage by up to 10%. You can do this by using an air hose to clean it out or replacing it when you can’t see through it. Estimated cost savings: $.28 per gallon

2. Straighten up - if your tires are out of alignment it forces your engine to work harder and will reduce fuel economy by up to 10%. Keep them aligned and save another $.28 per gallon

3. Stay in Tune - regular maintenence, including tune ups can improve gas mileage by up to 4% and save another $.11 per gallon.

4. Keep up the pressure - make sure the air pressure in your tires is up to manufacturer’s standards and improve gas mileage up to 3% and save about $.08 per gallon. I do this monthly and it takes about 10 minutes.

5. Take it easy - a 5 mile reduction in driving speed can improve fuel consumption by up to 7%, especially on the freeway. If you drive 65mph Vs 70mph you can save up to $.19 per gallon.

I know all of these take effort, but come on how hard is it really? Try these tips and the tips on city driving mentioned above and test them for your yourself. I am.

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Green Kids

Replace the Plastic but “RTB!”

Breath a little easier, naturally

Whistler, BC

It’s a gas!

Green & Growing