Baby boomers lead the eco-friendly charge

Going green has become increasingly important to a large swath of the population, and that includes older adults. Many retirees have made implementing eco-friendly practices a part of everyday life, including Peggy McKibben. The Massachusetts resident has played a vital role in touting the benefits of being environmentally conscious, and inspired several other retirees to do the same, The Boston Globe reports.

McKibben is no stranger to protecting the environment. Her son Bill is one of the leading activists on the issue, and has been vocal about the importance of addressing climate change. Taking cues from her son, McKibben helped launch some initiatives at her retirement community including a two-year-old compost program and a garden rife with cherry tomato plants.

"One of the best things about the climate movement is that it’s going seriously intergenerational," he told the Globe. "When we had the first big mass arrests at the White House last year, the biggest cohort had been born in the FDR and Truman administrations."

Peggy McKibben's eco-friendly leanings are not unusual in the baby boomer generation. In fact, a recent Del Webb study uncovered exactly how active it is in helping protect the environment.  Researchers found that 87 percent of boomers considered investing in green technology, while 54 expressed an interest in buying an electric vehicle. Some experts say the findings shouldn't surprise anybody.

"Boomers traditionally have been an activist generation," said Deborah Meyer, chief marketing officer for PulteGroup, Del Webb's parent company. "They are at a stage of life now where their priorities are evolving beyond lifestyle to legacy, and we're glad that Del Webb has energy efficiency options to facilitate that."

Of course, there is much more to going green than purchasing an electric vehicle or creating a compost program. There are ways to add an eco-friendly element into nearly every aspect of everyday life, and at Sun City Festival, it is not that hard to do.

The Arizona retirement community is outfitted with a long list of eco-conscious features that make going green especially easy. For starters, each home is outfitted with a number of energy-saving features including high-efficiency air conditioning and smart thermostats. Additionally, homes were built with recycled materials and are outfitted with Energy Star appliances.