Sustainability Tips
Cook All Local
Try cooking an all local meal! In the winter this might be a winter stew with root vegetables; in the early summer this might be a salad with fresh greens, tomatoes, and peas. By knowing what's local at different times in the year, you can identify which products were trucked in from California or Mexico and have racked up the miles, even if they are not labeled.
Know Your Companies
You are supporting the ethics of a company with dollar you spend on their products. Do a little research and be informed about your favorite companies' social and environmental responsibility. If you find that their actions are not so green, write them a letter or take an active step to boycott their products. Check out www.scryve.com to find more information.
Do You Know Where Your Bike Is?
Bicycles are the most efficient forms of transportation on the planet. Bikes are a fantastic way to get exercise, they are always easy to repair, and you can always ride them guilt-free.
Bottled Water Alternative
Want an easy way to conserve energy and water? Then consider this: the energy spent in the production and transport of bottled water would be enough to power 190,000 homes. It’s better to reuse a bottle that you find at home, or, if you prefer, purchase one online (just search “reusable water bottle”).
Energy Efficient Lightbulbs
Looking for an easy way to save energy? ENERGY STAR® qualified compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) use up to 75% less energy than incandescent bulbs. In fact, if every home in America replaced just one incandescent light bulb with an ENERGY STAR qualified CFL, enough energy would be saved in one year to light more than 3 million homes.
Water Safety
Worried about the safety of tap water? Well, most tap water is just as clean and safe (or more) as bottled water. The EPA requires multiple daily tests for bacteria and makes results available to the public. On the other hand, the FDA, which regulates bottled water, only requires weekly testing and does not share its findings with the public. To find out how safe your drinking water is, go to http://www.epa.gov/safewater/dwinfo/index.html.
Environmentally-Friendly Cleaner
Worried about chemicals but still want your house to be clean? Then vinegar might be your new best friend. Distilled white vinegar is considerably cheaper than all-purpose cleaners, is environmentally-friendly and safe and has a plethora of applications. For recipes for do-it-yourself vinegar cleaners, go to http://www.vinegartips.com/cleaning/.
Buy Fair Trade
The Fair Trade symbol that you may see on coffee means that the beverage that you are about to enjoy has been grown from farms that provided fair wages and safe working conditions for their employees.
It also means that the farmers abided by internationally monitored environmental standards and guarantees that the farmer received a fair price for the crop.
By buying fair trade, you are supporting farmers across the world in their endeavors to earn an equal share for their work.
Stay Hopeful!
It's easy to burn out in the face of the gargantuan hurdles between us and a sustainable society, but if we believe we are too small to be of consequence, we will become too weak to change even ourselves. Do what you can, sustain yourself, and envision the world in which you want to live.
Start a Compost at Home
Composting is one active way to create a reciprocal relationship with the environment. Instead of sending your table scraps to the landfill, where the food decomposes in trash, you can let your your apple cores and coffee grounds mature into a rich compost, which then returns their nutrients back into the earth. To find out more about how to compost go to howtocompost.org.
Don't Let Ghost Draw Get To You
Many appliances that are plugged in suck electricity even when they are turned off. If you hook them up to a power strip, it's easy to press the off switch after using them to save energy.
Join the 350 Network
350 is a global movement started by activists, scholars, scientists, and community leaders to advocate for a sustainable future. Members have made public demonstrations for change all across the world. Be a part of the team in your area. Start by going to www.350.org.
