1) Use public transportation whenever possible. Buses, trains, streetcars, light-rail transit. Your community, town or city may not have all of these modes of transit but as a citizen you can encourage and inform your city councillors and planners about the merits of public transit. Gas prices are cheap now, but this is temporary so start making these transitions.
2) Use a travel mug whenever possible. This may seem like a nominal change, but travel mugs are so important for cutting down waste. Some coffee shops will give you a discount on your hot beverage if you bring a travel mug. Disposal coffee cups create a lot of waste and are ubiquitous in our environment. People litter them because they are not recyclable. Let's avoid using them and start using travel mugs.
3) Compost! The recent compost survey that I conducted has revealed astonishing results which I will share soon. Not all municipalities have compost programs but your household can still do it. Set one up in your backyard and let nature run its course as your food scraps will bio-degrade over time. Eventually the organic waste will become very fertile soil making your plants stronger and healthier, reducing the need for fertilizers and chemical pesticides. This cuts down on your waste significantly.
4) Plant trees in your yard and community. This may sound very simple, but given what we know about carbon sequestration and CO2 emissions, trees are the earth's lungs and are indispensable for our well-being. Trees cool your home, reducing the energy used for cooling. Trees improve mental health. Trees increase property values. Trees reduce urban runoff and capture dust particles from the air. Trees reduce noise pollution.
5) Use ceiling fans versus air conditioning. Ceiling fans are more economical and more efficient. They circulate the cool air around your house much more fluidly. A few ceiling or regular fans strategically placed in your home can reduce the amount of time you spend with the air conditioning on. Air conditioning is inefficient, puts a lot pressure on the electricity grid and is simply a profligate and unnecessary piece of technology.
Key message: start making these easy changes to improve the health of our environment and the well-being of our society.
And 6) don't forget bringing your own water bottle filled with beautiful tap water! Bottled water is unneccessary, especially in Canada, where clean and safe tap water is widely available! Why drink water out of a plastic bottle that has been produced using up lots of energy and transported around for potentially thousands of kilometres and will then end up as waste or, less likely, will be recycled consuming yet more energy?
ReplyDelete