Sustainability Made Simple Series: Part 3A
Posted by Michelle Moquin on 9th October 2009
How is everyone doing? Hasn’t CAS given us some great ideas on how simple sustainability can be? Well, this is the last of the series, but since it is quite long, I’m going to break in down in two parts: 3A and 3B. I hope that you have learned as much as I have, and have managed to implement some of them into your daily life.
Here we go with part 3 of the series. It is called At Home: Choices made around the home have a huge impact on the natural world. You can quickly lower your impact by adopting some of the changes below. Once again, there are several categories and each of them has three steps, progressing from the simplest to the most complex.
Part 3A:
Waste
- Purchase products with less packaging.*
- Recycle bottles, cans, plastic, paper, and old electronics. Compost food waste.
- If your local government has no curbside recycling and composting program, lobby them to develop one.
*Hint: if you’re buying fresh, you won’t need to worry about too much packaging. Most parts of California have great recycling and composting programs. If you live in a state or city that doesn’t, here’s where the saying, ‘politics is a daily job’ comes in :)
Energy
- Enroll in a green power or similar environmental program from your utility provider.
- Lobby your elected representatives to support legislation that limits greenhouse gas emissions.
- Have solar panel or wind power installed.
Lighting
- Turn off all unnecessary lights.
- Switch all your bulbs to compact fluorescent (CFLs). Make sure to dispose if CFLs properly because they contain mercury and should not go into landfills.
- Install motion sensor lights that automatically switch off.
To me, all three of the above are so easy and totally doable.
Home Heating and Cooling
- Keep your thermostat at 78 degrees F in the summer and 68 F in the winter.
- Turn down heat or air conditioning when you are sleeping or not at home.
- Install a programmable thermostat to ensure your home’s temperature is optimal for your comfort and for the environment.
There you have it again. What do ya think? Doable yes? Now…go out and do what you can. Thanks :)
Zen Lill: Thanks for clarifying, however, I wasn’t necessarily speaking to you or Al; just the making a general point that the general vibe is different now, than it was before the election. The optimistic attitude…the hope….it has faded a bit.
I think so many people are expecting so much. I think we’re desperate for change. People need to realize that we can make change happen, as long as we keep the politics of the day before us – as Sharon said….and in my mind, “Do something”.
This country is pretty messed up to for things to change quickly. We need to realize that it took time to get the country in the state that it is, and it will take time to clean it up. It certainly seems to be a lot easier to mess things up, than to fix them.
Anna & Peter: Sometimes things happen that look bad on the onset, but if all was revealed, one might sigh and say, ‘We should be thanking our lucky stars.” This is one of those times. Hafa Adai.
Ah….Vera: Now you really don’t expect me to tell you now do you? :)
Evelyn: I need to leave too early this morning to read your post, but it looks very interesting and I’ll read it later on today. Thanks for sharing.
6:41 AM: I am posting early as I have a seminar to attend to. I just briefed the comments this morning – wow too many to handle this early. But I did catch that our president won the Nobel Peace Prize – Googled it quickly for a fast read- thanks for the heads up readers! You are always so on top of the current! I am so delighted by the news – it has made my day! Have a good one!
Gotta run….
Gratefully your blog host,
michelle
Aka BABE: Your Bad Ass Bitch Editor
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