Thread: Happy Earth Day. What do you do to reduce consumption and waste?

Here are some of the things that my wife and I do:

- Use a straight razor. No disposable blades.
- Use shaving soap. Lasts much longer than cans of foam which doesn’t even compare to quality. Comes in wood bowl which is refillable. No throw away cans.
- Use hankies. No use once and toss tissues. No packing materials.
- Use Crystone (alum) deodorant which is all natural and no metals. Lasts at least 10 times longer.
- Use dental powder instead of paste. Again all natural and lasts about 10 times longer.
- Use rags instead of paper towels. No use once and toss towels. No packing materials.
- Use canvas bags when shopping. Not only groceries. We carry them in our car and use them at all the stores we go to. No wasted plastic bags.
- Don’t eat fast food. We try to stay away from any food places that serve their food in disposable packaging.
- When we eat out and get leftovers, we ask for foil instead of foam. Sometimes we take our reusable containers with us if we know we will have leftovers.
- Try to buy more local produce for better quality and less shipping. Try to buy only fruits and vegetables that are in season. Luckily in Florida our season is much longer.
- We buy organic foods when available. (Could be scam, but I would like to see less fertilizer and pesticides used)
- Ask butchers to pack meat in butcher wrap instead of foam.
- Can some foods using pressure cooker.
- Stay away from pre-packaged foods and try to eat mostly all natural foods.
- Use good quality water bottles and refill them. No use once and toss bottles.
- Got rid of one of our cars. I bike ride to many local places when feasible. We try to run many errands at one time instead of going out more often.
- Reduce our purchases, especially plastics. We try to reuse things that we no longer need or give them to other people.
- Use non-clay liter for our cat that comes in a recycled cardboard box.
- Because we live on a boat, we have solar panels and a wind generator which helps offset our energy consumption.


These are just some of the small things that we do. We know that we still rely on modern connivances for much of our livelihood, but we are attempting to reduce this

Wow, we don't do nearly that much:

Use the canvas shopping bags.
Straight razor, etc.
Drink all of my water from a Nalgene
Make my tea from straight leaves (no bags to toss) and drink it in a mug instead of a paper cup
Drive a Prius

When we get out of the city and own a bonafide house I'd like to try:

A garden powered by compost
Solar power of some sort

Solar power is really something I'd like to get into because I'm a tech guy and a software engineer by trade. Getting me to give up my electronics is probably not a winnable battle, so I'd like to at least offset the electricity consumption a bit.

A couple more I just remembered:

- Don't use straws. When offered at restaurants, I refuse them. Another use once and toss product.
- Use recyclable batteries.
- Use a percolator for coffee. No disposable filters.

* I turn out the lights and electronics when I'm not using them, though the computer has to stay on for business purposes.
* Keep the AC or heater on only what it needs to be- I'm a big fan of stripping down when it's too hot or bundling up when it's too cold.
* I don't litter.
* I used to recycle, but then I found out that most of it goes to the landfill anyway, so it was just a waste of my time (here at least).
* Refuse straws as well, but not for the environment

I don't do a whole lot for the environment, but more for my wallet:
- Use CF light everywhere in the house
- Carpool into work
- Use cloth bags when we remember (a lot of stores here give you a small credit)
- Don't use a gas lawn mower, and refurbished the electric one that was left at the house instead of buying new
- Straight razor shave / soaps, etc.
- Recycle when possible (not just when convenient)
- Subscribe to a CSA share (community supported agriculture - you buy a "share" in a local organic farm, and each week you get fresh picked produce from the farm).

That's about it - more than I though, and again, not really for the environment but for the cost savings.

Until large corporations, and countries like India and China clean up their act (not just the people, but their coal burning plants and their zero environmental regulations that allow multinational corporations dump toxic waste into the air, water, and land), then doing "my part" isn't going to make one iota of difference.

Just my un-asked $0.02.

Mark

in general, I try to limit my use of disposable products as much as I can, and minimize my usage of petroleum and electricity.

That Said(tm), I am really doing this to save money, not because I care much for the environment. I work in the defense industry, and based on what I see every day, I could live to be a thousand years old and never damage the environment the way this facility does in one day :-P

I kind of go the other way,I gassed up the Viper and went out and did a bunch of 0-60 3.5 second runs.I am an avid consumer,and dont care about my carbon footprint size(what a selfish F*** I am)Best Regards Gary

Originally Posted by Traveller

I kind of go the other way,I gassed up the Viper and went out and did a bunch of 0-60 3.5 second runs.I am an avid consumer,and dont care about my carbon footprint size(what a selfish F*** I am)Best Regards Gary

I called in a favour I was owed by a friend in the US Department of Motor Vehicles. Gary's Viper is being impounded as we speak....

James.

James,"From my cold dead fingers"Best Regards Gary

Originally Posted by Traveller

James,"From my cold dead fingers"Best Regards Gary

LOL!

James.