In 1970, Kermit the Frog first sang on Sesame Street about how hard it was “bein’ green.” Kermit, however, quickly traded lamentation for celebration, proclaiming, “It’s beautiful! And it’s what I want to be.” Forty years ago, The Muppet Show, like the global environmental movement, was young and fledgling, but full of ambition.

Bein’ enviro-green was much harder in those days than it is now. There was no curbside recycling. No low-flow anything. It probably never occurred to people without budgetary constraints that a hot, 20-minute shower had costs beyond a few extra kWhs or BTUs on the utility bill. Energy was cheap and abundant. We were mired in a quagmire of a war, the civil rights pot was boiling over, and the Beatles were breaking up, but hey man, the world was our oyster. Global warming…what in the world is that?

Today, we may be mired in yet another war (or two), facing a Climate Change crisis we can’t even fully grasp, and wrestling with the huge, interconnected ups and downs of a technological revolution, but it sure is a lot easier bein’ green! In fact, there are now several shades of green to choose from. We can go long or stay short. Settle for the backyard or shoot for the moon.

Nowadays, green choices are there for the choosing, the choice is ours, and there isn’t a bad choice among them. Here are just a handful of green steps we can all take, separated by green shade, beginning with some simple, no-hassle steps and culminating in those big moonwalk-ish steps we’d all love to take but for pesky obstacles like money.

A Spot of Tea Green

A lot of folks get down on green living due to a fatalistic sense that they’ll never be able to do it, or, more to the point, never be able to afford it. This is simply not true. In fact, a big reason for the success of the green movement has been inspiring people to take the easiest of steps, because through just a few small lifestyle changes, we quickly notice the difference, both on energy consumption and cost. For many of us, the road to a sustainable lifestyle begins at that most famous of mobius loops…

• Reduce-Reuse-Recycle—Today in the majority of urban centers and a growing number of suburban and rural towns, curbside recycling is an accepted weekly occurrence and a daily household task. Programs vary, but these days there’s little reason to trash most of our plastics, glass and aluminum. Recycling programs even exist for batteries, motor oil, plastic grocery bags, lumber, paint, scrap metal, appliances and more. Yet the most important thing to remember is that recycling is last on the famous triple-R loop, which has come to symbolize environmentalism in general. Reducing our consumption—buying local, buying bulk, buying less—and reusing what we have—glass jars, rubber bands, junk art, whatever—is tantamount to successful reduction of our environmental impact.
• Reusable Shopping Bags—Speaking of reuse, plastic grocery bags (and plastics altogether) are nothing but trouble for the environment. It’s common to see them blowing around parking lots, clogging storm drains, and not rotting in landfills. While they are recyclable at many grocery stores, it takes energy to recycle things—energy spent that could easily be avoided by carrying a reusable shopping bag into the store with you. Some stores or organizations give them away, and some stores give a small cash credit for using them. Either way, for the low-low price of $5 or less, you could have major positive impact on the environment every time you shop.
• The Power of Cold Water—It takes a lot of energy to heat water. Every time you take a hot shower, wash your clothes in hot water, or let the faucet run hot over dirty dishes kilowatt-hours (or Btus) and dollar signs add up. Switching to cool showers, opting out of heated-dry on your dishwasher, or running the cold-cycle on the clothes washer saves all around.
• Energy Efficient Lighting—Compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) are many times more efficient than traditional incandescent bulbs and last many times longer. Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are even more efficient. These bulbs may be more expensive at the store but they last so long they end up paying for themselves in energy savings over and over again.

Shining Emerald Green

In the middle of the green-brick road are a number of steps that, in all actuality, keep getting easier as the environmental movement gets stronger. Someday soon, the following choices, which for now may cost a little more or require a little more effort, will become standard. They won’t be green living—they’ll be everyday life.

• Low-Flow is the Tempo—A step up from taking cooler or shorter showers is to install low-flow fixtures in the bathroom or kitchen. Not only are low-flow toilets, faucets and showerheads on the market, they are now quite prevalent, affordable and well-tested. They are also very effective. Using the full array of low-flow fixtures in your bathroom, according to the EPA, can save up to 9,000 gallons of water per year.
• Programmable Thermostat—Half of energy conservation is more accurately described as energy management. The beauty of programmable thermostats is that, with a little initial effort, a single device can monitor and control your heating and cooling system all by itself while ensuring that energy is used only when necessary. Most of us are far too busy to remember to turn the heat down when we leave for work in the morning, which is why a programmable thermostat is the perfect marriage of conservation and convenience.
• Volunteer!—Sacrificing a day or two this summer (or even a few hours) to help plant a tree, rip up a parking lot, clean a beach, or un-litter a highway will go a long way toward greening your community. Odds are good you’ll also meet some wonderful people, get some exercise, and feel generally good about yourself with a renewed faith in humanity and the world. Go ahead. Sign up!
• Walking the Emerald Aisle—There are far too many ways to go green in this day and age that may not yet be custom in most communities, but are nevertheless accessible and good for everyone and everything. You’ll find plenty of these opportunities while strolling the “emerald green” aisle of life. Try riding a bike, taking the bus or walking to work, organic gardening, collecting rain in a barrel, opting for renewable energy on your electric bill, reclaiming all sorts of things, buying used and shopping local…to name a few.

Deep in the Forest Green

Now for the big dogs. The epitomes of pollution’s enemies. The steps that may come with daunting requirements such as up-front cash, owning a home or a total change of scenery and/or lifestyle. Fortunately, like everything else along the green spectrum, the bigger steps are getting easier to take day by day and year by year. They may always be big, but at least the road is getting wider. And there’s always room for more in the Forest.

• Home Solar Power—A home’s best friend, solar power is spreading like wildfire across the world’s rooftops. Home solar power can be harnessed in so many ways, on new construction or as part of remodels, to heat water or create electricity, to nurture a green roof, or light a garden path. For years, home solar electric systems, resting atop the solar ladder, have been far too expensive for the masses, but high demand, rebates, and technological improvements are steadily lowering those costs. Still, at this point, going solar is a very deep shade of green indeed!
• Geothermal Heat Pumps—Anything the sun can do, the earth can do as well. They are, after all, part of the same massive ecosystem comprising our world. Instead of installing panels on rooftops, geothermal heating and cooling systems bury tubes in the ground, using the relatively consistent temperatures beneath the surface to heat ambient air in winter and cool it in summer.  A brilliant and renewable endeavor that is subject to the same price limitations but also the same rebates and incentives as solar power.
• Moving Off-Grid—About the time Kermit the Frog sang “Bein’ Green,” a subculture of hippies was looking for ways to abandon modern civilization for the loving rigors of Mother Nature. Today, you don’t need to be a society-dodging hippie to get, in the parlance of our times, off the grid. Renewable resources like solar, geothermal and wind power, smart ecological homebuilding, and a number of other maturing techniques make going off-grid easier than ever. It can be challenging, however, in our increasingly more grid-connected world of smart phones, computers, and all around interconnected society. While you can’t get more Forest Green than living in the actual forest, you can go off the grid in the city too—and stay connected to your Facebook friends thanks to the tech-gift of wireless internet.

Dan

Dan Harding is a well-versed veteran of solar critique, commentary and reporting. He has published well over 1,000 articles on a wide variety of solar industry topics, ranging from cutting-edge technology and gadgetry to political satire and powerful editorials. Dan is the resident solar expert at CalFinder. He holds a B.A. in English from Michigan State University, and enjoys reading, writing and home construction.