Eat it? Discriminatingly so. No need to be an urban foodie who says, hey I want to participate in a kill to take away the guilt. Just stop focusing on it. Bring about a resurgence in ‘Diet for a Small Planet’. I do eat wild game on occassion, that is gifted to me by hunter warrior friends out for their annual ritual of getting the deer, pheasant, or other wild-roaming animal.
But really, climate change will only happen if the entire world food system changes. Everything cascades out from that. And northern hemisphere westerners are the big elephant in the room.
This post was submitted by Beth.
I live in a small condo, so I keep a worm bin in my basement for composting food scraps. I try to buy all my food as locally as possible (I don’t eat meat or fish). I use my bike or public transportation for most of my travel (I do have an old Honda for longer trips. It’s paid for -once it dies I’ll use Zipcar, to which I belong). I use my library card for books and DVDs. I buy almost all of my clothing (and non-clothing) second hand. I trash pick and sell or give away perfectly good furniture/appliances. I got the condo I live in to institute a recycling program.
The thing is, I’ve always bought used and been practical about money. I was laid off 7 months ago, and the transition, while not pleasant, hasn’t been unbearable.
I’d like to say I’ll turn off the TV, or not by anything, but unlike Colin, I live alone. Going to a movie or a coffee shop keeps me connected. I also have artistic hobbies, and they require supplies. I agree that people by way too much stuff, but if I never bought a thing, I’d be a prisoner of isolation and artistic frustration.
This post was submitted by Joy .
Dear Colin,
I wasn’t sure how else to reach you but I just wanted to write and say Thanks! I heard you speak at the library last night (I was the girl on your far right up front- that came in late) I just wanted to shake your hand and say:
You did such a good job! Thank U for being here
To see a place (HP) that’s always represented affluence responding to your message- that means a lot.
It was especially inspiring to hear the personal invocation.
- Thryn, a liberal arts grad pursuing a career in community horticulture
This post was submitted by Thryn Murray.
I turn off my appliances after I use them (e.g computer, printer, radio, tv, etc) by flicking the cut switch on the wall socket or extension lead. I try to use the washing machine fewer times by carefully selecting which clothes I wear and alternating between them until the machine is full. I wash my dishes by hand in a basin and rinse in another basin. I put on another jumper instead of turning up the heat. I use energy saving lamps almost everywhere. I take short showers most days and only take a longer one once every week. I walk, take the bus, take the train and try to limit my car use (only for work or heavy shopping. I bake two cakes in the oven instead of one, saving preheating it a second time. I boil only the quantity of water I need and when I have a pan on the fire, I use the lid to reduce the quantity of gas I need. I cook pasta for a minute or two only with the gas on and then turn it off and put the lid on for another 5 to 10 minutes depending on the type of pasta. It works a treat! There are so many things you can do! And I live just as comfortably now that I’ve gotten used to it.
This post was submitted by elisabeth.
I keep a basin under the tap, so when water is running for tooth brushing, washing hands or washing vegetables, I save the water; the washed vegetable’s water, since I use an all natural veggie wash, goes to the plants. The upstairs basin’s water, if it’s clear or only slightly soapy (and no toothpaste has been spit out into it!) gets used for washing hand-washable clothing, or soaking very dirty clothes. Then it gets used to…flush the toilet. Yep, it goes right in there, and we do wait til we need it to use it. If it’s already dirty we just skip the first step and use it directly for flushing. Note: we don’t put the water in the reservoir on top of the toilet, we just dump the basin’s water directly in, and it works fine. We do flush once or twice a day the regular way, but the amount is drastically reduced.
I also do not give my daughter daily baths (as many do in France)- her immune system is, I believe, much the better for it, too! She doesn’t get sick half as often as some of her classmates. I’d say we bathe her about two to three times a week, more in summer due to outdoor activites. “Bird baths” with a washcloth do very well for other days! The same goes for us. I heard Meryl Streep in an interview once; when asked how on earth did she stay looking so young, she replied that unless she’s working on a film she only washes her hair about once a week- and that helps her face stay so young!
Et voilà our little impact reducing action.
This post was submitted by Barbara Weber.
We use cloth napkins and each have a napkin ring, so use them for several days before washing. We dry most laundry outside, except in the winter, when we use a drying rack for some things inside. We don’t have a paper towel holder, but keep a roll in the cabinet for use seldom. We buy some foods in bulk, taking our own containers to the store to refill.
This post was submitted by Mary.
No car, we use common transportations;
We use to eat and buy organic;
We buy only the essential producted in France or in European countries;
We choose only vegetables an fruits by season and producted in our country;
We use to cook ourself and don’t buy speed food;
I do not eat meal, my husband and my daughter only during the week-end.
We sometimes eat fish never more than once by week and only protected fishes;
We do not buy Coca or others products from big firms;
We switch off all the electric systems each evening;
We use candles often as possible;
We try to explain our decisions and why we do what we do at others people around us;
…
This post was submitted by KIEFFER.
We have seperated our trash. We are recycling. We use the plastic storage totes, one goes next to the trash can, three in the garage. Once the one in the house is full, we take it to the garage and seperate into paper, plastic, and cans. We have reduced our need for trash cans. We used to have three cans every week, we are now down to one. It is easy to do, just takes a little more effort.
This post was submitted by Jessica.
I collect kitchen scraps (fruit and vegies) and feed them to Oscar, my worm bin. The worms eat the scraps and produce perfect compost, which I feed to my terrace garden. I grow tomatoes, eggplant, okra, beets, carrots, basil, rosemary, strawberries, and melon.
I also have a business designing green roofs. I spread the word about green roofs where ever I can. A green roof is a layered system that sustains a lush, growing layer of plants on a roof. It keeps the building cooler and helps to manage stormwater, among other benefits. A green roof can easily be teamed with solar panels to truly develop the potential of rooftop space.
This post was submitted by Inger Yancey.
In preparation for no impact week my friend helped to install a rack and storage pack onto the back of my bicycle. This allows me to eliminate my dependency on public transportation so that I can go to, the co-op, school and work, having no impact.
This post was submitted by Nick Rigger.