Top 10 Baby Steps towards a smaller footprint... pt2
6. Use reusable shopping bags and use them everywhere not just grocery stores! Removing plastic and even paper bags from landfill is a worthy activity. 60,000 plastic bags are used in the US every 5 seconds! And only one in 200 is recycled. Help make that stop! A cool option is: http://www.envirosax.com. Hip-looking and folds up small but hold a lot. Keep them in your purse, briefcase, glove box, backpack...everywhere.
7. Watch the packaging. Tons of landfill waste comes from the packaging our goods arrive in. Try to select products that come in less packaging or at least have the packaging marked for recycling. Also look for items that contain recycled content. That's just yet another way to keep things out of landfill.
8. Buy local. There's a lot of debate about this issue. Local farmers may not be organic; local manufacturers may not have environmentally sound practices. But in the long run, the less a product travels to get to you, the better off we are environmentally.
9. Better yet don't buy it at all. Cast a critical eye towards anything you buy. Do you need it? Do you have one already? Do you have a space to store it or display it? Does buying something mean something else heads for landfill? What's the lifespan of what you are about to buy? Is it reusable or recyclable? Look at your magazines and other paper-based reading material...can you reduce? Share? Get it online? Go to a library? One of the mantras of ecological conservation is 'Reduce, Reuse, Recycle'. Make that concept a part of your shopping habits and you'll save money, place more value on the things you already and reduce your impact on the waste stream.
10. Streamline transportation. Walk, ride a bike, carpool or use public transportation whenever possible. Keep your car tuned up and tires properly inflated. Don't store heavy items in your vehicle, which reduces it's gas mileage. Combine errands into trips that minimize backtracking. Alter your commute to avoid standstill traffic or telecommute when possible.
Next...more extensive and expensive things you can do to have a far larger impact.
This is an example of envirosax's bags. Below that is a link to some hard data!
http://hes.lbl.gov/hes/profitable.html
Persuade
My boyfriend is fairly conservative while I am fairly progressive. Often what we debate is not so much WHAT should be done, as HOW it should be done. It seems the progressive mindset is to tell people to do things, rather than to persuade them to. So, people buck against the perceieved authoritarianism rather than understanding how certain changes will help them out in the long run. Making things make sense and be attractive is the biggest hurdle the green movement faces. If people think things are more expensive and lesser quality (think CFLightbulbs)they are more likely to disregard them.
This goes back to my point above about counter-intuitiveness and knee jerk reactions. What seems like the right thing to do often is not, and what is actually the cheaper solution initially appears more expensive. To use a furniture example - an Eames side chair may be 4 times as expensive as an Ikea side chair; but the expected long term returns from an Eames chair make it a far better value. (my little DCM from 1946 has far exceeded in use and value whatever the original owner paid for it)
So, the question becomes: What methods do you use to persuade people? Is information alone enough, or do people need other internal/external motivators?
I'm totally onboard with this topic
I haven't used a plastic grocery bag since 1995 and have a well worn set of organic cotton bags that I am happy to report are still going strong in this their 13th year of bi-monthly use.
No kids of my own, but a 4, 9 and 13 year-old nieces and nephews whom I'm very concerned relative to the planet we leave them. Got to dash, but would love to contribute and see this thread grow along with perhaps, people's awareness. We personally do a as much as we can here.
i don't visit here that...
i don't visit here that often.
but you do have an audience. you are well spoken and your efforts are appreciated.
since you announced your new job i have always meant to ask where you frequent other
than here. other sites or forums etc. i probably frequent the same ones.
but, they are already well informed. barking the same bark to each other.
my 12 year old neighbor feeds our worm farm when we are away. she knew all about them.
and she knows about composting. but we are still the only ones on the block with one!
our garbage is tiny.
children are taught awareness but seem to loose it if parents can't be bothered.
what the heck happened? i've been using cotton bags since '79 when i lived in New Orleans up the
street from one of the original Whole Foods. back when they were more bulk and less corporate
and less packaging.
your list should have been adopted 20 years ago and be second nature by now.
it's not that hard! plastics and gack useless purchases!
i'm an artist and not a writer, but you are heard and do have support.
it is 2 out of ten. when i take in salad and tomatoes and carrots from my one acre organic garden
to work, 2 out of ten are thrilled. the other educated 8 would rather eat the pretty packaged crap
from Whole Foods. UGH!
Geez, wow...
blush blush...Rockland those are some very nice compliments you threw my way...thanks! One of the things I am most happy with in my own search to be sanely environmentally conscious is my support of local farmers. Funny it's the one this I have ALWAYS done and never realized the value I was adding by doing it. Lately I've been getting involved with CSA's, which is a nice option. I'm looking forward to having a garden again someday...where I am not is not a good spot for one...too many trees.
keep at it and don't...
keep at it and don't underestimate your audience. we are here and care just as much.
i should be as verbal but often talk of safe materials, as simple as cleaning products, seems to often end a thread.. it does help. every little bit.
my first posting last year on some site was the use of spray mount. and i saw kids toys in the
background of a photo. toxic glue airborne.
i was ignored but i'll keep at it.
some good news. thousands of eames shell chairs are not going into landfills.!
folks are fightin' over em'.
i buy a nice simple soap...
i buy a nice simple soap from a crate. it no longer exists. now the need to compete and put a simple
cardboard wrapper around it with edible ink and wrap a hemp bow around it and and charge a dollar
more and add crushed nut or herb for beauty is infuriating. unacceptable behavior.
i did give the bags you posted for christmas gifts but forgot to research where they were made.
dozens of choices out there. and oddly important how they look, especially in new york city. still not
enough. household garbage transfered from home to streetside should not be bagged ever. but
now is common.(plastic again) a bin could be rinsed out, five seconds of time and should be part of existence.
i'll stop the rant....just common sense really.
wear well made shoes and clothing that lasts. classic style that is timeless. hook up all the treadmills,
thousands of them in nyc, to the power grid. berkinstocks dont't work anymore. you look like a freak
cheap hippy after a buck and will not get attention or respect. make the sensible changes easy and
attainable to the masses...
10 ways
This is not a book. Although it looks like it, it's a manifesto and a brochure for design firm thomas.matthews. Saw this on the Article blog and was intrigued by the title and then pleased with the very tangible ways their design work had actually combined good design with sustainability. The 10 ways are; 1. re-thinking, 2. re-using, 3. using friendly materials, 4. saving energy, 5. sharing new ideas, 6. designing to last, 7. staying local, buying ethical, 8. supporting what we believe, 9. inspiring, having fun, and 10. saving money.
from Mocoloco
You can download it here.
http://thomasmatthews.com/tm_sustainability_booklet_lo.pdf
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