Very few things actually save a tonne of CO2. Here they are. Anyone can do these, you may even be able to do all ten and so save 10 tonnes and halve your CO2 emissions. Most other actions are small fry – go for the big savings to make a real difference.
Fly one less long haul trip
Fly three less short haul trips
Get a better car — 10mpg less than your current one
Drive 3000 less miles per year
Have 75% of your food be grown in your state AND Seasonal
Reduce Meat and Dairy consumption by 75%
Give your house a Thermal Makeover
Switch your thermostat 3 degrees lower
Share your house with an additional person
Shift $3000 of spending from high carbon goods to low carbon goods and services. For example spend on durable products, second hand goods, repairs, live entertainment, education and experiences rather than physical goods like electronics, building materials and short life products
This post was submitted by Edwin Datschefski.
Some one may have already posted this hint since it is getting popular. The women in a few congregations call one another and announce a swap. We all go through our closets and homes for things that either no longer fit, or just aren’t serving us any longer. Like, you meant to use that rice cooker you got at a yard sale, but just never did, or don’t anymore. Nothing is off limits except underthings. One friend once brought canned deer stew that they wouldn’t be using that year.
Once the date and place is set we womenfolk bring our things and sort them out. Skirts in one room, knick knacks in another, coats aside from the dresses, pants in another room with tops nearby.
The marvelous thing about a swap is that you get together with your friends and start putting outfits together. The reason you never wore that skirt is because it just didn’t go with what you had; but at the swap someone will put it with the jacket they never wore for the same reason and TADA-OUTFIT. Then you just have to decide who gets to keep the peices. In extreme cases we draw lots (numbers from a hat).
What is really fun is that we will see our stuff worn by someone at a conference and just wink and say “swap”. The best outfits I ever got were at a “swap”. I also have towels, lamps, games, pictures and frames, all from swaps.
The things that no one can use are packed up and sent to charity shops, so we don’t bring the extras back into our house.
This post was submitted by Michelle Chamberlin.
My boyfriend Miguel grew up in Ecuador and his grandmother used to use lemon as a deodorant. At first I was skeptical but I didn’t want to keep using my herbal deodorant which didn’t work, and which was contained in plastic- so I tried it. And lo and behold it totally works! Even after a long sweaty run or after I introduced Miguel to my parents for the first time (I was very nervous!) I did not smell one bit! All you do is wash your armpits in the shower (in a very BRIEF shower to save water) and take a lemon wedge and glide the wet part over your armpit. You can even reuse the same wedge the next day (keep it in the fridge.) Saving money, using less plastic and smelling lemony fresh, it ROCKS!
This post was submitted by princess superstar.
For about 8 years now I’ve been using a programmable thermostat for my heating system. It has made a huge difference and I’ve learned a few things. The best part is that you don’t have to think about it all the time.
I set the temperature lower for nights and for weekdays when no one is at home. So it’s only set for a normal temperature about 1,5 hours in the morning and 4 hours at night. I also found I sleep better at a lower temperature.
It takes time for the apartment to cool down, so in the evening it is set to low about 1,5 hours before I go to sleep. During the day when no one is home the temperature can be even lower.
If we take trips, even just for a day, I set it to low. The savings have been great and I know I’m not heating unnecessarily, so it feels good. I’m betting the same results can be achieved for an A/C, but I don’t need one where I live.
This post was submitted by Cristina Sann.
Go Solar - install solar panels on your house (especially if you live somewhere like California), will pay for itself over 10 years, and then you get 10+ additional years free (with 20 years warranty)
Get rid of your TV but still watch whatever you want - Get netflix ($8/ month), and watch thousands of movies/tv shows on your computer without commercials. You will spend less time and waste less electricity by flipping through channels, only watching what you really want to, and not watching commercials. Plus it’s cheaper than a cable/satellite plan!
Start a compost - you’ll reduce your garbage by a lot, and get great healthy soil by composting your veggie scraps, egg shells, drier lint, certain papers, leaves, lawn clippings, etc.
Let the sun cut your lawn - if you have the cash, this neat little guy will get the job done with no work and no emissions ( http://gizmodo.com/364924/husqvarnas-autonomous-solar-powered-lawnmower-never-mow-again ). Another good idea is just the old push mower, which is also great exercise! Or get rid of the grass all together.
Don’t go vegan or even vegetarian - there is no need to cut out meat completely, if everyone just cut down on their meat consumption by even half, it would do a world of good. I currently only eat chicken and a little fish, but I mostly cook with only vegetables & grains.
Cook! - don’t eat out, don’t get fast food, just cook. If everyone cooked their own meals they’d be healthier, save on packaging, and know exactly what they’re putting into their bodies.
Let there be fruit - plant fruit trees (climate permitting), good for the environment in that you’re adding trees, but you’ll also save money and get great organic fruit right from your yard. (planting veggies is a great idea too) - great use for all that soil from your compost!
Get an ebook reader
Wear your clothes more than once (as long as they’re not too stinky!)
Shower with your significant other
Walk, bike & take the train as often as you can
Re-use any plastic bags you acquire to line garbage’s
Don’t wash your hair everyday (cuts down on shower time, and shampoo/conditioner - plus it’s good for your hair!)
These are just some of the changes I’ve made It really isn’t that hard to live greener - just put some thought into it. You don’t need to make extreme changes to affect the world positively. Baby steps
This post was submitted by Natalie.
I lived in Germany for several years and there learned to appreciate living small. It’s not that I deny myself, but I’ve chosen to live in a studio apartment downtown instead of having a larger space in suburbia and need to own a car. Without a car I’ve got more coin and feel more connected to my environment because I walk, bike, or take public transit to get around.
My building was built in 1927 and I’m certain it’s healthier that newer construction would be, what with it’s Tyvek-wrapped particleboard construction (fumes, anyone?).
What else do I do? I put on a sweater and long-johns before turning on the heat. I use one of those viscose Pack-Towells as a bathmat because it dries so much more quickly than a cotton one. I’ve furnished my apartment mostly with antiques, which has helped minimize resource depletion, and I only eat meat occasionally. I try to buy food that’s unprocessed, which saves even more coin because I’m skipping the so-called ‘added value’ (profit) tacked-on by manufacturers live ADM and Cargill, who, by the way, produce lots of those crunchy granola-looking foods you find at Whole Foods or your local coop. Speaking of granola, I made my own for breakfast this morning and it was both very good and very cheap. Took five minutes to make of oats, pecans, raisons, butter, honey, and flax seeds.
I recycle religiously and limit my consumption, at least in part because I resent being just a consumer to businesses and politicians. I am so much more than that.
I’ve started wondering why people think it’s normal to drive a 3000 lb. car a couple of miles to the store to pick-up some milk. I mean, why is our infrastructure almost entirely built around the automobile? I recently had a job interview in an office park, and after getting off the bus found that the sidewalk ran about 50 feet and then just ended. That’s crazy!
So, I’d recommend following tips like the one’s you find on this website. See Colin’s movie, because it’s really quite good. Ditch your car. And, you may just find - as I have - that you’ll start to see things in a whole new way. And that’s a very good thing!
This post was submitted by Phillip.
This year, by growing as much food as we can on our small city lot (including hens for eggs!), my partner and I reduced the number of trips to the grocery store, saved money, ate less meat, cooked great meals together, were darn proud of ourselves, and had fun doing it.
This post was submitted by Jen McIntyre.
We only get coffee if we have our own cup with us - no cup, no coffee. We only shop for food if we have our cloth bags. We save all the shower and bath water to flush the toilet, wash the floor, water the plants, and don’t shower daily. If we are buying cheese (from the market) we wrap it in a cloth napkin, we never need any kind of plastic. We compost food scraps, recycle all paper, tin, glass. Pick up from the street and collect number 5 plastic lids and collect other number 5 plastic from random places to take to whole foods for Preserve recycling. We pick up the menus that are delivered and send them back to the restaurant or recycle them. We try to get to all those free terrible coupons in plastic bags before the supers of the buildings on our blocks do (they just get tossed), and we recycle them, and use the plastic bags they come in for trash (the very little we have). We open carefully and re-use any envelopes that come in the mail. We shop from our local farmer’s market and are CSA members - eating locally and seasonally is much better for us and the planet. We ride our bikes everywhere, never take a cab. If we are going far, we’ll take the train. I bartend once a week and have a no-straws policy strictly in place. Most all of our clothes are hand-me-downs or second-hand/vintage, and we don’t throw any clothes in the dryer and only wash with cold water - to save energy and the life of our clothes. we use the library for books and movies. we have a strong unplug policy, always unplug phones, computers, the tv, all of it when not in use… um, i might be missing stuff but that’s where we are at and how we live. This is exciting to get to have a community sharing the No Impact Cleanse week in unison.
This post was submitted by Stig.
Make the switch to an ebook reader - this is a great idea for schools, and for personal and corporate use. Saves the amount of paper that needs to be printed for books and used for note taking, low energy, and efficient because everything is stored in one place and can be easily shared and moved. Plus it’s easier on your eyes than a screen.
For the workplace it’s a great idea for meeting rooms, you can easily share documents with the entire room. If there are any texts to be read they can also be viewed on the ebook reader instead of on paper/computer screen. Notes can be easily taken, stored and shared as well.
I am not yet using this plan, but I am getting one for myself in a few weeks. I think if everyone gets used to this new technology, especially for school - it could have drastic positive impacts!
This post was submitted by Natalie.
Washing clothes in cold water and line drying. I’ve noticed a large reduction in our gas consumption - hot water and dryer both heated by gas.
This post was submitted by Roy Russell.