Mainstream America is slowly starting to think more and more about how to save energy, save money, and reduce their emissions and carbon footprint. You can’t go far without seeing different media outlets running the story or the segment on the top ten things “you can do” to go green. Often, they leave out one of the most obvious components — the impact of where we choose to live.
Treehugger published a list last week for the 10 things that anyone can do to “green” their rental housing — which often has limitations on what you can change than owner-occupied housing.
Their most important thing? Location:
1. Choose Well
The location of your home can have a huge impact on your ability to live sustainably, so think hard about your lifestyle when you are looking for your next rental property. Are there good connections to mass transit? Is it walking distance to work, or downtown? Are the roads safe for cyclists? It might help you to talk with current residents to find out more, or just take some time to scope out the neighborhood by yourself. The more people who seek out greener communities, the more developers and local authorities will be motivated to create them. How to begin? Visit Walk Score to locate restaurants, parks, grocers and other businesses and amenities within walking distance of your possible future home.
With 1/3 of our greenhouse gases coming from transportation (which incidentally is taking a bigger share of our income as gas prices go up), choosing a place to live where you can drive less, walk more, or have access to transit can account for a level of savings that better weather stripping, more energy-efficient water heaters, and miserly compact florescent bulbs would take years to approach.
H/T to our own Stephanie Potts for passing this along.
