Collectively, small lifestyle changes can make a huge impact on the environment–and your life. Looking for happiness and health? What’s good for the environment is also, it turns out, great for you. Here’s a collection of tips from the No Impact community.
I was never a big fan of mowing so reducing the size of the lawn by making the gardens bigger was a no-brainer. Any landscape trees and shrubs that die I replace now with natives that produce fruits for birds and other animals (Paw Paw and Blueberry were my latest additions). I also try to use native, low water use flowering plants like Black-eyed Susans in the garden.
My daughter and I planted a butterfly garden this summer using native plants that attract caterpillars and butterflies. We’ve had fun with this project; watching the stages of their life from egg, larvae, chrysalis to butterfly. We’ve also worked on improving the wildlife habitat in our yard by thinking about the four wildlife needs (food, water, cover, and nesting areas). Above all else – we don’t use chemicals anymore. The quest for the perfect American lawn comes with a price (to the wallet and to the environment). And as I’ve come to find out – lawns are boring.
This post was submitted by Dave DeVault.
Earlier this summer, I decided to make a real effort to look at the power I wasted just by not turning things off. I picked up a couple remote controlled power strips and some smart power strips and set things up so only the essentials stayed powered up. I found that this simple act reduced my power consumption by 25-40% per month. I made no sacrifice to my lifestyle and am saving about $20 per month as well.
This post was submitted by Bill Peregoy.
I have a family of four and have been composting kitchen leftovers in the courtyard for five years now, reducing enormously the weight and volume of trash to be carried outside and also eliminating the need of doing that every day (in Italy we don’t have grinders in the sinks). The composter was provided for free by the local administration. Moreover I separate recyclable materials from the rest and confer them in the proper bins in the streets.
This post was submitted by Vittorio Marletto.
Within the city I cycle to work, to shops, everywhere I need (about 50 km/week). I use the car only on weekends, to reach with my family of four the house we have in the countryside. It is a smallish car, 9 years old, fuelled with LPG, and the only one we have.
This post was submitted by Vittorio Marletto.
Remember those old fashioned lawn mowers our grand parents used to use? I was surprised to see that these things are still being manufactured and sold at local hardware stores. So, I did some research and here’s what I found.
Pros:
-No Gas = zero emissions!
-A lot less noise. I can listen to my baby monitor or communicate with my wife while mowing.
-Just as easy to push as a standard push mower. Possible because reel mowers are much lighter.
-Much less maintenance than a standard mower.
Cons:
-Occasionally leaves a grass blades standing.
-Must clean yard of twigs and other debry before mowing. Generally a good idea anyways!
-Won’t mulch leaves as well as a standard mower.
Well, I decided to jump on the go-green band wagon and buy a 20″ Scotts Reel mower. I was initially surprised at how easy it was to push. It made a bit more noise than I wanted, but it is still much less than a motor running. The quality of cut is MUCH better and I’m guessing healthier for the grass. The one thing that I don’t like about the mower is how many blades of grass it leaves standing. I didn’t think it’d leave as many as it did, but it does. So, you can either live with it or mow those areas again. If I hadn’t gone back over those areas, I’d guess I’d have mowed the lawn in about 3/4 less time than I would have with my self-propelled mower. When I got done and looked back over my lawn, I was overcome with a feeling of happiness. I’m not exactly sure why. Maybe it was because I had gotten some exercise while not sucking in fumes. Or maybe it was because I was doing something good while not having do any measurable amount of extra work.
This post was submitted by Joe Kissell.