We wait and combine trips, and only go town when we really need to.
We buy in bulk, and keep a lot of food in the deep freeze.
In our case we can run a deep freeze for a long time for what one trip to town cost us.
We have switched our cattle operation to grass fed and are working to minimize the hauling of big bales of hay by moving the cows to the hay, not the hay to the cows (energy intensive).
Each step is a huge one for husband because he was raised with traditional farming methods. We are fencing cattle away from ponds and woods to prevent erosion and destruction of wildlife habitat.
We are building wildlife habitats, and are working with Missouri Ag. Dept. on a program to restore habitat and prevent soil erosion.
This post was submitted by Sharon .
I walk or cycle to destinations within 10km. For weekly shopping, we take a shopping cart on the train. For longer trips, we take public transport where possible, or car pool otherwise. Got rid of the car some time ago. The side benefits are I save $1300/year on registration and insurance, plus even more on fuel and maintenance. I work my transport needs with my physical exercise program, and save time at the gym.
I’m slowly embarking on a program of replacing servers (business and hobby related) and other machines which run for long hours with more efficient embedded PCs, which can reduce energy consumption by 70-90%.
Meetings for committees and Boards of interest groups I am a part of are being increasingly conducted online, which reduces the need to travel. In some cases, this is the only practical option anyway.
Dress to suit the weather. In winter, this means using less heating and putting on more clothes, and even covering up with a blanket. In summer, exactly the opposite. As we are naturists, clothing often reduces to zero in the hotter months (when at home and there’s no visitors), which in turn reduces the amount of laundry. We had no problems handling the Jan-Feb 2009 heatwave, where outside temperatures exceeded 45C (113F) and indoor temperatures approached 40C (104F), with nothing more than a fan and tap water to help the body’s natural cooling system. There are two A/Cs here (came with the house), one has never been used, and the other only once or twice, a long time ago. Other bonuses are bare feet avoids fungal infections such as tinea, and skin rashes (particularly in the groin) tend to disappear, as the whole body gets a chance to air.
Drink tap water. It’s good for you, it’s cheap and it’s the best for the planet.
This post was submitted by Tony.
I am car-free (involuntarily in the beginning) since my car was stolen in September. While waiting to decide what I wanted to do in the way of a replacement, I started walking and biking and taking mass transit everywhere, which is unusual in Los Angeles because it’s such a car-oriented city.
It hasn’t been difficult, since I live a short walk from three major bus lines, and my office is within biking/walking distance should I be in the mood to do that. I have only needed a friend to drive me on errands once, to pick up a few months’ supply of cat litter at a big box store and get a few other heavy/bulky items for home and the office.
I ride my bike to the Sunday farmer’s market, walk to one of 3 groceries that are near home or work, and manage to get my shopping done without a major fuss. And the BIG up-side is, I have lost 15 lb in the process. I also sleep much better at night.
I feel completely in charge of my situation – if I absolutely had to have a car, I suppose I could rent one. But pretending like I live in Paris is working out pretty well for now.
This post was submitted by G. Robison.
According to many experts the number one thing we can do to reduce greenhouse gases is to cut down on (or cut out) our dependence on animal products. It is extremely inefficient to put our food thru animals simply because it’s become a habit we don’t want to change. The truth is that animal products are very UNhealthy (as opposed to the general belief caused by decades of advertising by large and powerful industries), very cruel to the animals and destructive to our environment. One pound of beef, for example, requires up to 20 pounds of plant protein and thousands of gallons of water to produce.
This post was submitted by Susan Estrella.
We keep our own chickens in the garden. They give us eggs, eat leftovers from the kithen and produce fertilizer. Three in one!
This post was submitted by Heidi Spiten.
Hi, great project! I love all these one-year conciousness-raising project.
I know, however, many people who, like me, have never owned a car, a TV, been vegetarian for decades, produce pretty nearly Zero Waste, bicycle or walk, garden to grow food.
Maybe not all these things all together, although in my case, they are done together.
Comment: Facebook, Twitter, blog, aren’t these things dependent on electronics, which are hardly non-impactful (see book ‘STUFF’ by a West Coast guy, from the ’90s, chapter on manufacturing of computers) and waste-free. As I am in touch with you this very minute, I am aware of this contradiction. Computers do have an impact, and a big one, on the Earth.
Marie
This post was submitted by Marie Roulleau.
Hanging all clothes on clothes line and in garage when raining
washing with the “quick” cycle, which is plenty good and uses only 8 gallons
bike to ALL errands within 1 mile from home (includes grocery)
use own bags only buy clothes 2nd hand grow some veges buy local eggs
Craigslist “free” ad for unwanted stuff NO AC–fans and trees instead
“When it’s yellow let it mellow” NO MEAT CASH ONLY–no plastic
lots of other little things, too
This post was submitted by kelley.
This winter I am growing lettuce and other greens in my south facing windows and under flourescent lights. This takes less energy than the growing and transportation of the ones in the store, there is no plastic wrapping, all it cost me was $5 for the seeds, they are organically grown, I can choose new and interesting varieties to try that they wouldn’t have at the store and my kids love to check and see how “their” plants are doing (they each chose something to plant). Most of all, I love growing things to feed my family. It makes me smile to see the green sprouts pushing through the dirt, and to be able to harvest a few leaves from each plant and put a truely fresh salad on the table.
This post was submitted by Megan Moss.
We grow veggies in the growning season, eat organic food, and try to buy locally as much as we can, use a clothesline in season, use ceiling fans on the few days it’s just too hot, use the library instead of buying books, (and usually walk to it) use reusable bags for shopping and wash them often, have pesticide and herbicide free garden and lawn, use rain barrel to water flowers and non edible plants.
But my question is this? I’m quite ill, and even though we bought a hybrid, still need to drive quite far to specialist. Too ill to use public transportation. Feel guilty about this, but what alternative is there for sick people like me?
This post was submitted by Dianne.
There’s lots of talk these days about eating less meat and dairy to reduce your carbon footprint. While I agree in principle, I think the focus is off. How many times have you had success making a life change when you focus on what you have to sacrifice?
I think it’s much better and easier to focus on adding in more “low carbon” foods to your diet. When you do so, the amount of meat and dairy you eat naturally goes down.
For example. instead of trying to force your family to eat lentil loaf once a week, try cutting all the meat portions in half, and serve them family style along with a whole bevy of side dishes. Start off dinner with a vegetarian soup. Have baked beans, squash, broccoli and potatoes with the chicken. Bake some whole grain muffins or biscuits. You’ll have much better luck getting the kids to try curried lentils & yams, if you just add it to the table as an additional side dish instead of telling them they have to eat this instead of their favorite meal. If you take this approach you’ll find that your family is eating much less meat in no time, and the response won’t be “how come I can’t have my ____” but rather “Wow! This is a feast!”
I started with this approach over 10 years ago, and now my diet is 90% vegan. I’ve never felt like I can’t eat something… I just have more options on the table (literally).
People often ask me if I’m a vegetarian, and I’m never quite sure what to respond. I eat meat on Thanksgiving and Christmas, and 2-3 other special meals per year. I use some milk, cheese and the occasional chicken broth in cooking, and I eat eggs or fish a few times per month.
It’s so much easier to make small changes that you can stick with and feel good about than to try to go “cold turkey” (no pun intended) and end up giving up.
This post was submitted by Rebecca.