Dallas, Texas (WiredPRNews.com) — Back when this Greenie was just a kid, the price of a stamp was a simple $0.18 and USPS was the only way to send letters, bills and Christmas packages full of holiday cheer. Fast forward twenty-two years and technology has all but made snail mail not only relatively unnecessary, and has shed light on the environmental effects that mail has on the earth. The title of this article is only half true, because by following these few easy tips, your trips to the post office will be virtually obsolete.
Let me first point out the atrocity that is the rate of a postage stamp. It must be noted that the reason for the increase is modern technology and the Internet. Armed with that knowledge, why not figure out ways to stop relying on those overpriced, inch-size stickers and never have to but a sheet of them ever again?
Paying your bills online has so many benefits, it’s crazy to think about the last time this Greenie mailed a check. Most banks offer free bill-pay and the capability to schedule payments days in advance or simply have them done for you without ever sitting in front of a computer. Naturally, this option saves time, the cost of a stamp, and energy to route it to the destination.
Holidays have been built up around the greeting card companies who can sometimes charge up to $5.00 for card that can have everything from songs to mirrors and pop-ups. Once Mother’s Day has come and gone, one could inevitably pay for a gift and then spend an additional $10 on finding that perfect sentimental card (with all the trimmings, mind you), sticking on a stamp and getting it to a post office. Save your resources and send your greetings online using a site such as Hallmark.com. E-cards can be just as, if not more entertaining and use no trees in the process.
Scanning used to involve intimidatingly large contraptions and equal time spent getting the best, quality image. Nowadays, scanners are fast, inexpensive, and usually built in to an existing all-in-one machine. Sending anything you may have previously sent via snail mail can just be placed on glass, scanned and sent virtually anywhere in the world–for free. You can’t be any more economic than that. By scanning, you are continuing to carry on business, but being environmentally responsible in the process.
Technology is the best tree-saving tool that has come along to aid in minimizing global warming. The click of a mouse can do so many things to to avoid snail mail at all costs. And if you think about it, saving trees, gas, time and money sounds like a pretty “Green” thing to do in more ways than one!
