CHEYENNE -- Andy Aldrich wasn’t always environmentally conscious.

He didn’t recycle much. He also drove everywhere he could.

But four years ago the

46-year-old decided to change his lifestyle.

And he isn’t the only one. Today more Baby Boomers and retirees are doing their part to become Earth-friendly.

“By being a passive participant in the culture, I realized I was an active destructor on the environment,” Aldrich said.

Part of the reason for the switch is environmental. Another is security. Consuming foreign oil continues to put the United States at risk.

Swapping his vehicle for a bicycle also is a cost-saver. Aldrich no longer spends money on gasoline, maintenance or insurance.

And riding two miles a day to and from work has improved his health and allowed him to meet new people as he makes his two-wheeled commutes.

Dick Krahenbuhl, 71, said he bicycles thousands of miles every year to get exercise, to be outside and to park his car in the garage.

He also prefers to take his bike whether he has to go to the bank or to a committee meeting for the Greater Cheyenne Greenway. He added that a bicycle trailer even gives him the capacity to carry groceries.

Harry Kildow carries reusable canvas bags to the grocery store and buys items packaged in recyclable containers. The 64-year-old also built his backyard deck with planks made of recycled plastic.

“We’re burning up our environment real fast,” he said. “What can we do to help?”

Kildow turned the space next to his garage into a makeshift recycling center with large, labeled bins. Swapping the larger version for small kitchen-sized tubs reduces his trips to city recycling bins. The last time he hauled in the glass collection was a year ago.

“I’m trying to keep everything I can out of that landfill,” Kildow added.

He said people should think of other ways to reduce, reuse and recycle such as turning old tires into playground equipment. Kildow said recycling is a small way people can help the environment.

“Some things have to go to in the landfill,” he said. “We know that. But some things don’t. We’ve got to do the right thing. The (city-owned) Belvoir (Ranch) should be used for recreation, not another landfill.”

But these activities also benefit communities outside Cheyenne.

Aldrich said another catalyst for changing his life was a visit to Haiti with a church group.

“It’s a lush tropical rainforest becoming a desert with people starving to death,” he said.

He added that it’s one thing to be aware of the worldwide impacts of global warming and another to change your everyday habits.

“My way of life was causing hardship and suffering to the Earth,” Aldrich said.

He added that he figured he drove about 1 million miles before his 45th birthday. Now in addition to bicycling everywhere, he recycles and searches for local food sources.

Aldrich also takes part in the local ecogroup Sustain Cheyenne and donates his cash savings to improve the lives of the people he met in Haiti.

“I have more money and better health,” he said of his newfound activism. “There is not an area of my life that is not better.”