My neighbor (we live in a duplex) is elderly. I offered to combine her recycling with mine. We started out with just (!) the newspaper she receives daily. Then I started retrieving the paper from the street and putting it on her porch for her - after adding the bag it is delivered in to a pile to bring back to the grocery store. Every so often I tell her about something else she can recycle, for example, glass bottles, or the boxes food like pasta comes in, and she begins to add that to the pile. When she is resistant I kid her along but try to add something like “Think of it as something you are doing for Sam, Michael and Julie” (her great-grandchildren). I think it put things into a different light for her!
This post was submitted by Pat.
My partner and I have made more sustainable living a permanent choice. We built our small (600 sq ft) house mostly out of straw, earth, trees we cut ourselves, and other, mostly on-site or local materials. We live off-grid with solar panels and a microhydro system. We have solar and wood-heated hot water. We have a composting toilet and reuse our graywater. We are in the process of growing our own food, much of it from trees. Most of our water comes from our roof or a pond. My partner commutes to work with an electric bike most days (otherwise a Prius). We have already met the UN’s climate goal of an 80% reduction in carbon emissions, yet we pretty much still live a US middle class lifestyle (except that we don’t fly for vacations). It helps that we chose a rural area with permissive building codes, but many of these things are possible in urban neighborhoods and suburbs.
We have been empowered by taking control of our ecological and social impacts. By being more self-reliant, we don’t have to work at jobs we hate that are raping the planet. In addition, our lifestyle supports our health, with lots of exercise and good food. Individual choices like ours won’t solve the problems we face by themselves, but they are a crucial part of the picture.
This post was submitted by Rain Tenaqiya.
Turn off the water in between rinsing. Each minute you spend with the water running is 2 gallons of water used. If you turn of the water while you lather up, you can at least cut your water consumption in half!
Since doing this I’ve noticed that I also spend less time getting ready in the morning. My showers are just a lot shorter.
This post was submitted by Doug.
As a writer, I use a lot of paper at work. I do my best to only print when I need to, but a lot of what I print still ends up in the recycling bin anyway. So what I started doing was keeping a stack of paper clipped together to use as a note pad, since I also take a lot of notes. The extra paper is piling up in my desk drawer, but it’s better to get as much use out of it as possible before I throw it into recycling. I’m working on getting other people in my office to do the same rather than tossing out still-usable paper, buying expensive notebooks, and overusing Post-Its.
This post was submitted by Liz.
In order to make the most of Hawaii’s year round climate,we use walkway solar lights for dinner table illumination each evening and we shut off all interior lights and TV and have dinner together each day. We started a backyard victory garden for our daily salads and home lunch sandwich greens. Instead of two cars, We now use only one car and Honolulu’s Municipal TheBus for transportation. I even have a solar charger for my iPhone.
This post was submitted by Ronald.
I ride my bicycle everywhere I can. If it’s too far or I have to get there in a hurry I ride a motor scooter. While I’m out doing that I look for glass bottles on the side of the road and pick them up before they get smashed and then I recycle them. I also pick up other recyclables if possible. I have chased down plastic bags to keep them from getting in the ocean where they might kill a sea turtle.
This post was submitted by Susan Fladager.
Before leaving for the day, after I shutdown my PC I unplug my both monitor and PCs power cable. Just all of us know that even when they are turned off they suck electricity.
I do the same for my Modem, wireless router and microwave at my home before going to sleep.
One last thing, please shutdown ur PC and unplug it. 5 Min next morning you can take God’s name when your PC starts.
This post was submitted by Ankit.
Use your cell-phone like a land-line. Don’t answer your phone when you are spending time with your friends or family unless it is an emergency or your were expecting the call. In fact, don’t carry your phone with you throughout the day if you’re not anticipating a crisis of some kind. Turn your phone off at night. Make designated times for phone conversation with people you care about. Stop sending text messages. De-activate this function from your phone, both outgoing in incoming. It takes an incredible amount of energy and electricity to power your cell phone - and all the information it exchanges. Control the way you use technology! This goes for email too - try checking your email once a week, or once a day, if once a week is impossible. Then, set aside one chunk of time to respond to emails, instead of multiple times throughout the day. This will allow for more time for other (more physical) activities. Also, your eyes will appreciate it! And again, you will save power from not using your computer and the internet so often.
Thanks!
This post was submitted by charlotte sullivan.
My daughter and I compared notes and found that her community will accept things for recycling that mine will not. Between her visits I collect such things (e.g.’colored’ junk mail, envelopes with plastic inserts for addresses, shredded paper, lightweight cardboard boxes such as cereal and pasta boxes) and she willingly takes them home and adds them to her recycling.
This post was submitted by Marion.
Every morning my wife and I take a shower together to save on our water consumption and electric bill. It is a great opportunity to share with each other what is happening for the day before we start our morning routine. Plus, you cannot help but start your day off on a high note when every morning you get to see your spouse in the buff.
This post was submitted by Chris.