How to help save the planet
The uber-awesome Rachel put up a post on her blog recently about her campaign to add a recycling program in her building, which Pegs and I thought was incredibly cool. If we didn't already have recycling in our building, I would totally have been inspired to annoy Pegs to the point that she started one. Rachel also asked if anyone had any suggestions on how to get her idea off the ground, so Pegs and I offered some thoughts on starting the program and otherwise making a difference at home. Even if you don't have recycling, here's a list of very easy things that you can do to reduce your environmental impact (and probably save you some money):
1. Air dry your clothes as much as possible (saves energy and money!).
2. Check the caulking and weather strips on your windows to improve insulation (saves on your heating bill!).
3. Buy local (to reduce emissions in transportation) and organic produce, if possible (tastes better!).
4. Eat less beef, since cattle are extremely unfriendly to the environment (your heart will thank you!).
5. Keep your tires properly inflated to get better gas mileage (saves money at the pump!).
6. Unplug your electronics when you're not using them, since they still use electricity when they're plugged in even when turned off (makes your electronics last longer!).
7. Save hot water by showering with a friend (fun for everyone!).
8. Smoke marijuana instead of taking expensive prescription medications (dude!).
9. Shave your head to reduce shampoo usage and use your hair to weave rope (start a new trend!).
10. Grow organic vegetables using fertilizer made from your own poo (kinda gross!).
1. Air dry your clothes as much as possible (saves energy and money!).
2. Check the caulking and weather strips on your windows to improve insulation (saves on your heating bill!).
3. Buy local (to reduce emissions in transportation) and organic produce, if possible (tastes better!).
4. Eat less beef, since cattle are extremely unfriendly to the environment (your heart will thank you!).
5. Keep your tires properly inflated to get better gas mileage (saves money at the pump!).
6. Unplug your electronics when you're not using them, since they still use electricity when they're plugged in even when turned off (makes your electronics last longer!).
7. Save hot water by showering with a friend (fun for everyone!).
8. Smoke marijuana instead of taking expensive prescription medications (dude!).
9. Shave your head to reduce shampoo usage and use your hair to weave rope (start a new trend!).
10. Grow organic vegetables using fertilizer made from your own poo (kinda gross!).
4 comments:
You just copied that list of stuff from the end of Al Gore's movie. I thought he went a bit overboard when he started talking about using his own poo, but that's just me.
In all seriousness, though, I think that the first half of that list has some pretty good ideas, and yay Rachel for starting up that recycling program.
One thing that I just picked up a couple of days ago (although I havent implemented it yet, I will next time I go to the store) is to get one of those cloth bags from Whole Foods. Whenever you shop there with that bag, your name gets submitted for a raffle for a $25 coupon every week. Plus you can use this at any store. It:
a) saves on the waste of paper and plastic
b) is convenient and looks all cool and "European"
c) it ensures that you dont have any impulse buying since you only have a limited amount of space in your bag
d) it can be used for so many other things (i.e.-backpack, beachbag, impromptu pillow during lecture, etc, etc)
Hope this one little idea helps.
Excellent suggestion, Damien. I was thinking about that just the other day. Pegs and I always save any paper or plastic bags that we get while shopping for later use, and Pegs always brings her own cloth bag to the grocery store to minimize waste.
You horrible people!!! Don't you know that the farming of cotton is the worst environmental disaster of modern man?
Does anyone else have a feeling that every time you put something in the recycling bin it just goes to the dump with everything else? Since it is a money losing activity in NYC, where it is obligated by law and widespread, how can we really think that it works in other places.
I am not trying to be a jerk here; I just think we have gotten to the point that structural changes need to be put in place on a broader scale. Quite frankly, I am feeling a little helpless on the small scale.
Taxing engine size seems appropriate, so does regulating that consumer goods need to be designed with final destruction in mind. And, yes, I do feel a little hypocritical here with the 14 year old Trooper and the 7 odd ipods hanging around.
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