Chances are, your life’s already hectic enough without adding
one more item to your to-do list. But this month, several local
organizations are aiming to prove how easy it is to check helping
the environment and saving yourself money off that list with just a
little prior planning.
Hollister – Chances are, your life’s already hectic enough without adding one more item to your to-do list. But this month, several local organizations are aiming to prove how easy it is to check helping the environment and saving yourself money off that list with just a little prior planning.
This May is the Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments’ seventh annual Clean Air Month, and it’s all about teaching people simple ways to cut down on air pollution without hassle or change of lifestyle.
“I think the goal is that once people try (sustainable transportation), they’ll want to continue using it,” said AMBAG’s Shelley Gesicki. Sustainable transportation can include anything from riding your bike or walking to work, to carpooling, to taking the bus every once in a while instead of your car. Cyclists are further encouraged to pedal their way to work during Bike to Work Week, May 15 to 21.
“I know people are hesitant at first to carpool with people that maybe they don’t know or to take the bus instead of driving,” Gesicki said. “But a lot of people who try it tend to do it at least one day a week. I don’t think it’s realistic all the time to have people do it every single day, but that’s not our goal. We want you to incorporate it into your schedule like you would a workout.”
There’s also a cash incentive: AMBAG is offering a $1,000 cash prize to one commuter who promises to use sustainable transportation at least four times during the month of May. And, Gesicki added, “With gas prices how they are, I think it’s a good time for people to try alternative transportation and see how they can save some money while helping the environment.”
And you can keep saving money in an earth-friendly way at home, too, by recycling, buying non-aerosole products, and flicking off the light switch when you leave a room, cutting down on the 4.5 tons of pollutants the average home pumps into the air every year through electricity use alone.
May is also Water Awareness Month, and just like Clean Air Month, you don’t have to make huge sacrifices in order to make a difference, according to Shawn Novack, water conservation program manager at the Water Resources Association of San Benito County.
Anyone in the San Benito County, Sunnyslope or San Juan Bautista Water Districts can get a free low-flow shower head, low-flow toilet (which can save up to 14,000 gallons of water a year), and a $150 rebate on new high-efficiency water softeners from their water district.
In addition, you can fix any leaks in your home, turn off the water while you’re brushing your teeth, take shorter showers, sweep outside instead of hosing down your patio and plant more drought-resistant flowers and veggies in your garden.
“It’s time for people to reassess their water use,” Novack said. “With little things like drips and stuff, it may not seem like you’re saving a lot of water individually but all together it’s a ton of water.”
Jessica Quandt covers politics for the Free Lance. Reach her at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or at [email protected].
