So, what did you do this week to reduce your environmental footprint and lower your carbon emissions? Anything? Just figure it’s not your problem or there’s nothing you can do about human-caused global warming? Too much to think about? Don’t want to know the truth about your bad environmental habits? Not willing to make changes that might “impede” your lifestyle? Lazy?
Well, I did a few things this week: I switched to Seventh Generation toilet paper because it’s made from 100 percent recycled content and it’s whitened without bleach. Sure, it’s a little more expensive than the bleached out varieties but I figure the planet is worth a few more of my pennies.
You think that little change doesn’t make a difference? According to the Seventh Generation Web site:
If every household in the U.S. replaced just one box of 85 sheet virgin fiber facial tissues with 100 percent recycled ones, we could save:
- 87,700 trees
- 226,500 cubic feet of landfill space, equal to 330 full garbage trucks
- 31 million gallons of water, a year’s supply for 240 families of four
- and avoid 5,300 pounds of pollution!
Also, I changed the incandescent bulb in the lamp in my office to a CFL. That one bulb makes a big difference, too.
This morning I packed up all those toxic household cleaners I’ll never use again (yes, that includes some that were practically full), including a mostly full bottle of bleach and two old cans of paint, to the local household hazardous waste drop-off. It’s only once a month for four hours but it’s worth the effort because none of those chemicals belong in our groundwater or our air. Check your town or city’s Web site for their recycling information and I’ll bet you’ll find a similar program.
Then I visited the local farmer’s market. I took along my cloth shopping bag and spent a buncha money on some awesome local produce! Kale, salad greens (I just had a salad and it was SO good), cucumbers (not waxy!), onions, organic strawberries, asparagus, and the very best thing ever – FRESH ENGLISH PEAS! The peas were shelled so I paid a lot more for them but I cannot wait to eat some this evening. If you’re still buying produce from the chain grocery store – stop it. That mass-produced produce tastes awful when compared to what your local farmers grow. Get out and support them!
Shake a leg, lazy bones. We don’t have forever to fix this mess.
s.
Filed under: conservation, green living
