Sustainable Living
by Lulujones
Non-Energy Alternatives: Walking!
Are you a pig? I’m not talking about eating a lot, or being a slob - though occasionally I am, indeed a pig. What I’m referring to is: do you live your life taking the earth’s well being into consideration? Do you participate in activities and choices that will help sustain the planet, your health and your spirit? Or are the choices you make beneficial to the earth and to your health? If you’ve answered no to the above questions, then, my dear reader, you are most likely a pig. Never fear, there are things you can do to remove yourself from being in the swine category.
The focus of this month’s “ANFSCD” is dedicated to “Sustainable Living.” Sustainable Living is difficult to describe in exact terms but in general, it is the positive and constructive things you can do at work, at school, in your home and in your life in general – things, that enrich your life without harming the earth (in fact, things that will sustain the earth instead of destroying it). Whether it’s using non-toxic home and gardening products to installing energy efficient solar heating or cooling systems in your home, incorporating Sustainable Living into your daily life will not only help the environment but will also improve your life and the lives of your family, friends and future generations. This can cover a myriad of topics but I’ll try to speak in general terms, and you can proceed on your own from there.
I’m writing this to encourage you to think about your actions a little more and react accordingly. It doesn’t mean you have to drop everything, eat only organic, raw vegetables and nuts - and live and survive in the forest without any electricity or running water. Just start out with small gestures then slowly add more changes if you can. Many are easy to do and will have a large impact not only on your life but also on the planet. Here are just a few suggestions:
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Tips for Sustainable Living
- Insulation can both retain warmth indoors in the winter and keep a house cooler during summer months – and will reduce heating cooling use (lower bills!) A properly positioned tree can shade a room on hot summer days.
- Implement non-energy alternatives: walk or ride a bike, hang clothes to dry, sweep a floor rather than vacuum, hand wash delicate clothes rather than using a gentle laundry cycle.
- Buy local produce. By doing this, you will support farmers in your area and you will be consuming products that did not have to travel (trucks transporting produce contribute to air pollution).
- Carpool or just drive less. Go shopping with a friend. By teaming up, you’ll help reduce air pollution.
- Reduce Garbage by a. Buying products made with recycled content and packaged in recyclable materials; b. properly separating recyclables from other garbage; c. avoiding products that contain potentially hazardous contents; d. keeping a ceramic mug for water or coffee at work rather than using paper or plastic foam cups. Encourage others to do the same; e. Reducing organic waste by composting food scraps, and by leaving short grass clippings on lawns to decompose; f. Recycling old clothing by donating it (in season) to homeless shelters, thrift stores, and other community organizations; g. participating in bulk buying programs whereby you can purchase larger quantities with less packaging.
- Conserve Water - a. Fix leaking and dripping faucets as soon as possible. A dripping faucet can waste up to 20 gallons of water per day. A leaking toilet can waste up to 200 gallons every day; b. Install a low-flow showerhead - Showers account for 32 percent of home water use. The law now requires that all showerheads sold be low-flow models. Low-flow showerheads deliver no more than 2.5 gallons per minute compared to standard showerheads that release 4.5 gallons per minute. A family of four using low-flow showerheads can save about 20,000 gallons of water per year; c. Install an ultra-low-flush toilet or a toilet displacement device - Toilets are water hogs. About 40 percent of the water you use in your home gets flushed down the toilet. That amounts to more than 4 billion gallons of water in the U.S. each day; d. Use water wisely in everyday activities - Water is wasted more quickly than you might think. An open faucet lets about 5 gallons of water flow every 2 minutes. In the kitchen, you can save between 10 and 20 gallons of water a day by running the dishwasher only when it's full. You can save even more by washing dishes by hand in a sink or dishpan containing water, rather than running the tap continuously as you scrub. Run the clothes washer only when full as well. Taking a shorter shower (turn off the showerhead while soaping) will also save a lot of water. Sweep sidewalks and driveways instead of hosing them down -- washing a sidewalk or driveway with a hose uses about 50 gallons of water every 5 minutes.
- Use Renewable Energy - pick a company that generates at least half its power from wind, solar energy and other clean sources. Even if you don't have the option to select a supplier, you may still be able to support renewable energy through an option on your electricity bill
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