Be an Environmental Walker, Not Just an Environmental Talker

While there is considerable debate about the specifics, few disagree that we all need to be better stewards of the world in which we live.  Hardly a day can go by when we don’t hear about which candidate to vote for, which initiative to pass, or which organization we should support.  But progress often seems slow, even elusive.

But there is good news!  As individuals, there is plenty that we can do on a daily basis to make a huge and positive impact on the environment.  While we may want our governments to act, we do not need an act of congress in order to make real and positive change.  We don’t have to wait for the politicians to act, we can act, in fact, we must act.

The purpose of this website is to provide a forum for sharing practical steps that others have taken, steps that more of us can take, to make a difference. 

Below are postings from real people about what they are doing.  Use this information to make positive changes in your corner of the world.  Use this information as an inspiration to come up with new ideas that you can share with others.

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To add your story, email it to greenpart@ascentadvising.com.  Please indicate if you want to be named or if you want your posting to be anonymous (we encourage you to be named, ideally including an email address in case people have questions). 

1. Here’s a fun one:  we put up a clothes line earlier this year.  Use of the dryer is 1/3 of what it was prior to putting the line up.  I hadn’t used one since I was a kid over 20 years ago.  They work just as well today as they do then!  We also compost all food scraps, recycle, and do all bill paying electronically.  More recently, we ordered 80 compact fluorescent light bulbs to reduce energy consumption in our home.

-- Mark Godley

2. We have always believed that recycling is important, but that reusing is even better because of less transportation and reprocessing.  We have been able to use 100% reused, not just recycled boxes in the shipping of our products.  Some of the boxes come from our incoming shipments, and the rest come from neighboring companies that are discarding boxes.

-- Sea to Summit USA

3. We recently signed up to buy our produce from a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farm locally.  The food is organic (no chemicals!), it is fresh, and it travels only a dozen miles compared to an average of over 1000 for supermarket food.  Here is a resource link: http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/pubs/csa/csa.shtml

-- DNB

[Note: Here is a huge list of great ideas.  Pat Smith of On Target Public Relations coordinated the list with her two friends, Laura and Rob.  It is a long list, but well worth the read!]

Here are a number of things I do. Some are common tips; others like digital subscriptions and PDF software have made a significant dent in paper and office supply consumption – as well as saving dollars.  I’ve practiced a number of these and gleaned tips from two experts as noted. – Pat Smith

4. Turn the lights off when not in the room.
5. Task lighting with lamps is more efficient than ceiling lights.
6. “Dressing windows in layers” like we do. Assess your windows and coverings since most home heat is lost through windows. (Rob)
7. When remodeling my home, I purchased as many salvage materials that I could.  These include windows that have a high e-rating; they were only 5 years old and were designed into the new back of the house.  I replaced toilets so that they are low-water use and my front-loading wash machine reduced water consumption by 40 percent. 
8. Using cold water instead of hot or warm on a regular basis saves a lot of energy. Tide just introduced a new detergent.
9. Reduce your hot water heater temperature. (Rob)
10. Don’t run your faucet in the kitchen or bathroom. When washing dishes or rinsing for the dishwasher, use a pan of water instead of steady running water.  This saves significant amounts of fresh drinking water!  Similarly, turn off the faucet while brushing your teeth.
11. Spend less time in the shower; limit time for showers to save water and energy.
12. If you’re leaving the house for the weekend or a long period of time, you can reduce the heat significantly to 50.  It still keeps the pipes warm and the plants will do fine.  You just don’t need to keep the house that warm without you in it.  If you have pets, you can still go to the low 60s and be sure there is an old blanket or thick pet bed to keep them toasty.
13. All dishwasher loads are full.  The inside of it is metal instead of white; its more energy efficient that way.  It takes longer to dry but uses less energy.
14. Instead of a night-light turned on over my sink, I use a rechargeable solar light pod stuck on my kitchen window, (the LightShip made by SolLight of Hood River, Oregon) www.sollight.com
15. I reuse boxes and mailing envelopes.
16. Buy as much in bulk as possible.  I buy the largest quantities to avoid lots of small packaged items which go into the trash or have to be recycled. Think of how you can reduce your recycled wastes as well as trash wastes.  Example? A large gallon pump bottle of Dr. Bronner’s Soap.  Largest packages of dishwasher detergent and shampoo. Go to your food co-op and buy grains in bulk; use your saved glass jars and recycle them as flour, pasta and grain jars.
17. Use recycled jars as drink glasses/tumbler. I keep the empty “jelly jars” (Bonne Maman) and uses them as drinking glasses – they look just like working glasses. I purchase honey or other items in canning jar shapes and use them as bulk food containers. (Laura and Pat)
18. Buy antiques or use Craig’s List to buy used furniture and items.  Instead of installing permanent cabinets/countertops in the kitchen and bath, consider antique or used furniture instead.  You can put sinks and all its plumbing in furniture, as well.   It’s recycling! (Laura)
19. Digital subscriptions.  I used to have PILES of newspapers!  I get virtual papers:  The New York Times, Colorado Springs Gazette, The Economist, Denver Post, and Rocky Mountain News. I also get free daily subscriptions by email. I get the Sunday New York Times on paper because it’s easier to share over morning coffee.
20. Instead of buying gift wrap, I use the comics from the newspaper for wrapping paper, or paper grocery bags (inside out) and write fun things on the packages.  There are also fun decorative stamps.  Use foreign language newspapers for an exotic look! (Laura and Pat)
21. Compost your vegetables and then grown your own—and grow your own herbs.
22. Keep your freezer full. All of the frozen items inside keep the space cold so the compressor doesn’t have to work as much and uses less energy.  If you don’t have a full freezer, use gallon jugs filled with water if it’s not full of food. (Rob)
23. As a single person who loves to cook, I save time, money and energy by cooking a full meal and then eating the leftovers for lunch or dinner the next day, or freeze leftovers (that’s my favorite fast food!).
24. When thawing food, set it out the night before so you don’t need as much microwave or stovetop energy.
25. I take my name off of mailing lists to reduce junk mail and thereby reduce recycling waste.

Catalog Choice is a free service. Use it to reduce your mailbox clutter, helping save natural resources.

26. This is pretty easy, but using a digital camera radically reduces cyanide and many toxic chemicals in the environment by reducing photo paper and processing. Most of the photos we take are easy to share online; think of the number you print, put in an album and frame. If you still use film, use slides instead to reduce processing wastes.
27. For staples and long shelf-life grocery purchases, I’ll go to Costco or the regular grocery store to stock up.  For fill-in grocery times, I’ll go to my nearest store (only a two blocks away in my neighborhood) for milk, eggs and coffee.  I walk, support a local business, and reduce driving.
28. I’ve reduced my thermostat to 67 during the day and down to 60 or 62 at night.  Flannel sheets and a down comforter make a huge difference. And I wear warmer clothes.  My friends know the house is cooler and wear sweaters when they visit.
29. When playing on the weekends, carpool with your friends as much as possible to the theatre and trailhead.
30. A good friend decided to lease a ULEV car for a couple of years until auto technology improves and he can buy a new energy car.  Diesel cars can be environmentally friendly when run on biodiesel.  The Volkswagon Jetta gets 47 miles/gallon. (Laura and Pat)
31. Obtain PDF software.  Deliver documents digitally instead of photocopying and using FedEx or mailing. Saves paper, carbon transport energy, and lots of time and money!
32. Use digital filing systems instead of printing.  It reduces office storage space, paper and lots of office supplies.
33. Recycle your toner cartridges. Most local Office Depots are affiliated with a non-profit who benefits from these recycling programs.  Shipping is free; be sure you ship as many at the same time because it’s more efficient.
34. Use glass food storage.  If you regularly use a microwave, these are healthier for reheating food and can be used with fish and meat.  They are also good in the freezer.
35. If you use plastic food storage, use heavier-duty zip locks which can be washed and reused. Buy one of those wood spike racks to dry out the bags.  It doesn’t look as junky and will remind you to reuse your bags!
36. Keep several canvas shopping bags in your car and in your kitchen.  Minimize your use of grocery bags – who needs to be “over-bagged” with junky plastic? Request paper bags when you shop so that you can reuse them for gift wrapping or shipping paper.
37. If you do use plastic grocery bags, use them as garbage can liners. Save money and resources by not buying extra plastic garbage bags, or if you do buy them, minimize your consumption of plastic grocery bags by using canvas bags.
38. If you have a fireplace, be sure to close the flue in the winter.  You lose a lot of heat in the chimney.
39. If you want to use your fireplace as an alternative, consider a stove which uses pellets.  An exterior stove design is more efficient than a fireplace, and pellets are made from recycled materials and are very energy efficient when burned.
40. Ceiling fans are critical in the summer and winter.  They’ll keep you cool in the summer and warmer in the winter and are a healthier cooling system than closed air conditioning (believe it or not, interior air is far more polluted than exterior air, even in the winter).  But be sure to switch directions so that in the winter the warm air is moved back down. (Rob)
41. Buy clothes from a consignment store, or buy sustainable/organic/fair trade clothing.  Consider “Vegan” shoes that are made of non-leather products (including pleather – an emerging fabric), keeping hexavalent chromium (a class A carcinogen) out of the environment.  If you must have leather, look of organic leather products that are just becoming available. (Laura)
42. Have clothing swaps with your friends to keep your wardrobe fresh. (Laura and Pat)
43. Use carpet is made from recycled materials and fully recyclable.  In high traffic areas, use carpet squares.  When an area gets stained or worn, you only have to replace one or two squares, not the entire rug. (Laura)
44. Take advantage of the solar rebates now available through the federal government, Xcel Energy in Colorado, or check with your local utility/energy provider.  You will get back nearly 50% of your investment with a payback period unheard of several years ago. (Laura)
45. Use recycled paper, unbleached coffee filters and muffin cups. (Laura)
46. Ladies:  Use unbleached tampons or reusable “sea sponge” tampons available through Jadeandpearl.com.

When building our latest home, we used a lot of great methods; here are just a few:

47. Antique wood doors and wood trim – recycled and beautiful as interior design elements from an architectural salvage warehouse.  (Laura)
48. Recycled bricks for decorative interior and exterior trim (Laura)
49. Located laundry and water heater upstairs near bedrooms.  The hot water travels a shorter distance (so you need less energy to keep water hot when traveling through pipes from the basement to the upstairs). (Laura)

 

Patricia B. (Pat) Smith

OnTarget Public Relations

pat@ontargetpr.net

 

Laura Farris

Environmental Sustainability Consultant

Mayor, Nederland, Colorado

HomeOnEarth@msn.com

 

Rob Krett, Colorado Property Inspections

www.copropertyinspections.com

rob@copropertyinspections.com

 

And a great list from Barry Robertson:

50. I have replaced every single lightbulb in my house (except those on dimmer switches) with compact fluorescent bulbs (including spot bulbs which are now available)

51.  I have a Swedish-made Asko washing machine which uses about a quarter of the water, a quarter of the detergent and half the electricity of a conventional top-loader washing machine. And I only wash when I have a full load.

52.  I use non-petroleum based washing powder in my washing machine (and non-petroleum based dishwashing liquid to wash dishes by hand). All my – sparingly used - household cleansers are from Seventh Generation or Ecover, and I subscribe to the Seventh Generation email newsletter http://www.seventhgeneration.com/making_difference/newsletter.php

53.  I don’t own a clothes dryer; I air-dry my clothes which saves 3.1 Kw/H

54.  I don’t use the standard dishwasher which came with my town home; it consumes over 20 gallons per wash. When I renovate the kitchen, I’ll buy a Miele dishwasher (again) which uses less than 5 gallons

55.  I pay all my bills online, saving money and the diesel fuel used to carry pieces of paper around.

56.  I subscribe to Xcel Energy’s WindSource program (guaranteeing wind-generated electricity capacity up to the amount I use).  The train-car loads of sulfur-rich brown coal burned in the electricity-generation plant make it Boulder County’s #1 polluter.

57.  I don’t use much natural gas for heating: unless I’m entertaining, I keep the thermostat turned  way down – if it’s cold, I put on an extra sweater.

58.  I carry cotton grocery bags whenever I go grocery shopping. If I don’t have a bag (or a backpack) with me, I don’t shop.

59.  I buy things (particularly foodstuffs) which are produced as locally as possible.

60.  I walk or ride my bike to work unless there are errands I need to run later in the day

61.  I don’t buy drinks in aluminum cans (an aluminum can takes 30 times as much energy to manufacture as a glass bottle). Unfortunately, re-using the glass bottles which is commonplace in Europe (a beer bottle will be used on average 30 times in Germany before the glass is recycled) is prohibited by law here.

62.  I don’t buy PE bottles of mineral water; I get my water in re-usable gallon jugs and fill a Nalgene bottle whenever I need water to go

63.  I drive an old Subaru with a stick-shift; I get 29 mpg in the city and 34-35mpg on the highway – I avoid unnecessary engine revs, accelerate gently and drive proactively to minimize braking. If I were ever in the position to buy a new car, I would ask the salesperson about the availability of a six-speed gearbox and a high-efficiency particle-filtered diesel engine (these models are frequently available in Europe and Japan but aren’t imported to the US because of lack of demand – which will only change if people demand them)

64.  If I stay in my townhome long term, or move into a house where the investment would pay for itself at resale, I will install a Rinnai tankless water heater instead of the incredibly inefficient water heater I have now (which heats water all the time whether it’s needed or not)

65.  I own a sewing machine, and patch and repair my outdoor gear (frequently using parts from discarded items of other people’s gear) – which keeps petroleum-based fabrics out of the landfill.

66.  When I buy any consumer durable goods, I look to see how well they are made, how long they last and whether they can be maintained or repaired.

67.  I buy previously-used building materials from ReSource

68.  I keep a collection of decorative bags and boxes which have been used for gifts in the past and I use them to wrap gifts.

From Linda Thomas

69. When the kids were growing up I encouraged quick showers and emphasized that people don't need a huge stream of water while showering. It's amazing how small a stream of water is needed to take an adequate shower. To help my kids figure out ways to do that I always told them, "When you first turn on the shower and are adjusting the temperature, if it's too hot turn down the hot rather than add more cold."

70. We live in a small town in eastern Washington. My husband walks to work, saving gas money and eliminating exhaust pollution. Our town has a grocery store, an auto mechanic, a medical clinic, fire department, post office, park, gas station, airport, thrift stores, churches, school, senior citizens' center, bank and a pool. Occasionally we need something we can't find in our town. Within an hour we can drive to our choice of three larger cities, but we do so as seldom as possible in order to use gas wisely. When we do go out of town, we make good use of our gas by taking care of a long list of errands.

71. We use a flashlight with a solar panel rather than standard batteries.

72. We refuse to be swayed by "fads" and "styles" and "appearances" and "keeping up with the Joneses."

73. Our cars might be older models but they run fine and they are not gas-guzzlers. Being good stewards of one's financial resources is as important as being good stewards of the earth's resources. Not only are we free from car payments, but our insurance rates are lower.

74. And despite today's throw-away mentality that permeates our society, my husband and I feel no pressure to "update" our kitchen by tearing out perfectly good (though dated) cupboards and installing granite countertops and stainless steel appliances and tile floors. I am shocked to watch programs on HGTV and hear people say, "that just has to be updated" when in reality nothing is wrong with the kitchen or bath except that it's not the newest and latest in upscale styles.

75. Habitat for Humanity has a store in Spokane that sells used but still useable materials. Not only are the sellers and buyers recycling materials, but I believe the proceeds go to Habitat for Humanity, a good cause.

John Bouttell Todmorden, West Yorkshire, UK

76. I do very little shopping in supermarkets and try to avoid buying prepackaged goods. When shopping for greengrocery - in my local market - I take my own small paper bags for the fruit & veg and re-use them until they're worn out, then they go for recycling. I'm lucky in that I live near an Alternative Technology Centre which has a unit which makes things out of any sort of plastic, so any bags, bottles, yoghurt cartons, even plastic labels, etc, etc, go there.
    
    The Green Radish, thegreenradish@gmail.com

77. If you have a garage built into your house park your car in it during the winter. The residual heat from your engine will dissipate into your house saving energy. Try parking two cars in a garage on a cold day and go back in 30 minutes later; it will be nice and toasty. If you doubt that the heat makes a difference to your living area, open both garage doors and note what happens to your temperature upstairs. Engines are inefficient when they warm up, so take the heat back when they warm down.

78. Recycling is really a stop gap and is probably dangerously counter-productive in the sense that it makes people feel they are solving a problem. Ideally use only stuff that will compost or that will not have to be re-made, i.e. will last a long time.

79. Don't underestimate the physiological aspect of the "last a long time" concept:

-        You can avoid looking “dated”. I write with a 15 year old fountain pen that will look cool for a few more decades and is maintainable indefinitely. Harley's and Land Rovers don't look old, they look better and you can get parts for any model.

-        I wear a mechanical watch. For some reason I take more care of it and it will likely run for 100 years or so with about $100 of low eco impact maintenance every few years. It's EMP resistant, so even if I end up living in a nuclear wasteland, I will be able to tell the time!

-        Hard tail bicycles don't go out of date. A good quality 40 year old frame will make a fine single speed cruiser; having one speed will enhance your conditioning greatly. Eliminate the freewheel and you will be able to wear one of those "if you have to ask you wouldn't understand" tee-shirts.

80. Wear jeans and leather. Maybe the leather is bad, but not if it was your grandfather's/mother's or converted from a WWII trench coat.

81. I have a theory that in the very long term everything that can compost will. Anything that can't won't. I worry less about how and just buy stuff made of natural materials where possible. It may be that the Atlantians were super sustainable and that is why we can't find their trash.

82. A word of hope - the reason that trash cans were called dust bins and ash cans is that in the old days ash and dust was all people disposed of. Everything else was re-used, donated, burnt or fed to the pigs. I know burning is a problem now, but we can still revert and probably will naturally over time.

83. It starts with the next generation. The absolute biggest difference you can make is to make your kids, nieces, nephews, & neighbors' kids value the planet--and value passing on values. Their collective and on-going footprint is exponentially bigger than yours. Unfortunately the pressure on kids from our society to consume is enormous.

84. Packaging is bad, but we encourage manufacturers to use it to sell to us. We need to apply back pressure. In Switzerland, where trash disposal is expensive, people ditch the packaging in the mall trash cans or in the car park. That creates back pressure through the supply chain to reduce packaging and to get more creative on messaging.

85. Wear more clothes in the house at wintertime.

86. Stop the shower while you soap.

87. This planet has a limited life span, so no matter what we do so we will need to leave eventually. The environmental cost of space exploration is probably worth it. Maybe we are alone, in which case the tragedy of our loss would be the saddest thing imaginable, though there would be no one left to imagine it. Don't think too deeply about that one.