Green Balance
is a section of the Function 8 website dedicated to helping people live a green balanced life. You are responsible for your actions, lifestyle, consumption, waste and are a part of your community. Remember that your wallet is the strongest vote you have in a free market enterprise/capitlaism Western world. Suggestions and links below and more to come in the future.
Function 8’s Green Balance Top Ten:
Consume Less:
Buy only what you need and buy quality products that will last you as long as possible. Try not to buy anything disposable.
Drive Less: Walk, skateboard, ride your bike and minimize your time driving the car.
Do all your car errands at once, try not to drive in traffic and don’t leave your car idling while waiting for something. The latter 2 of those suggestions contribute the most to automobile air pollution and greenhouse gases.
Conserve Energy: At home and at work. An easy solution is to put everything on power strips and turn those power strips off when not in use and especially when you leave home or the office. Almost every electronic device and charger (cell phone, ipod, digital camera, etc.) consumes energy when NOT IN USE! The only way to stop the energy consumption is unplug it or have it on a power strip and turn the power strip off. It’s a very easy solution at home and at work and you’ll definitely see your electricity bill go down. Use CFL light bulbs everywhere you can.
Make Your Next Car Purchase With Fuel Efficiency In Mind: Choose the car that suits your needs with the best fuel efficiency. If everyone in the world did this it would make a HUGE impact on curbing global warming while showing the automakers and consumer trends that fuel efficiency comes first.
Always Carry Shopping Bags: Canvas, plastic, paper, hemp, whatever! Just make sure you have re-useable bags in your car and if you’re walking or biking to the store. Try to never use store supplied plastic or paper bags. And if you don’t have a bag with you and you only have a few items or less, consider no bag!
No or Less Food To Go: As much as to go food is being packaged in biodegradable, compostable or recyclable containers in cities like San Francisco and Oakland (because they made it illegal to use styrofoam and plastic bags!), it still creates a lot of waste and a lot of oil to get those containers to all the restaurants. Is it really going to be that much of an inconvenience to eat at the restaurant and then continue on with what you were doing? No Styrofoam: Try not order any food to go from any vendor using styrofoam. Perhaps take it upon yourself to explain to them that styrofoam has a half life of 7,000 years. That’s a minimum of 14,000 years for styrofoam to biodegrade.
Recycle: Recycling has now become a viable way to cut down what we throw in land fills. When everyone recycles it not only cuts down our waste, it creates responsibility for what one consumes. At this point recycling not only pays for itself it should help your community expand its recycling and waste programs. There are more recycling options than ever, for example did you know you can drop off unused prescription medicine to keep it out of landfills and our waterways. Or try composting, if you buy fresh and bulk foods you can create a nearly zero kitchen waste!
Buy Responsibly: As mentioned above, your wallet is your strongest vote in the Western world. Think about where what you are buying comes from. From produce and meat to coffee and clothes, you can choose to support local farms and artisans. Paying a fair price for ethically certified products means an alternative to mass production and a decent quality of life for the producers families. Choosing organic certified products means minimzing chemicals you ingest and those that end up polluting our in environment.
Be Part of Your Community: Get involved in your community and help friends, family, neighbors and your city?

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