April 6, 2015Joy

E is for Eco-friendly Practices

Perhaps it’s my age, or my status as a parent and educator, or as a California resident that is dealing with extreme drought, but I want to figure out how I can do more to reduce my impact on the environment and be more eco-friendly.

Usstamp-save-our

I follow nearly all the guidelines that so-called environmental experts put forth:

  1. Go paperless/digital where you can
  2. Eat more fruits and vegetables that are locally sourced and less meat
  3. Use reusable bags, not plastic
  4. Donate gently used clothes and toys to charity
  5. Recycle plastics, aluminum and glass (and whatever else your local recycler will take)
  6. Consume less, borrow more
  7. Cut water waste by using a filter for drinking instead of buying bottled, installing a low-flow toilet, etc.

I know there are more ways that I could be doing my part and setting an example for the little monkey so that Earth is still around for her to inhabit – though re-watching Interstellar this weekend has reminded me that we might have already reached the tipping point and that she might have to set off for Kepler-186f.

Does this weigh on everyone’s mind as much as it does mine? What do you do to feel like you’re part of the solution?

 

For more on the A to Z Challenge, please go HERE.

Stay tuned during the month of April to see what other subjects I want to explore…I’ll return to my senses on May 1.

13 comments

  1. All good practices! I want vegetarian two years ago for environmental reasons, and found it remarkably easy—in fact, my cooking improved, because when you’re cooking vegetarian you can’t just throw things in a pan and rely on the meat to make them taste nice. So I started following recipes, and got tastier food as a result. I also never, ever use bottled water (unbelievable waste of resources), and always think about packaging in general. For instance, I’ve stopped using shower gel, because soap is perfectly good enough, and it’s packaged with cardboard rather than plastic. I don’t think there’s any hard and fast rules, though. The most important thing is to think about your life style, and find those sacrifices you are prepared to make as opposed to thinking that there are some sacrifices but you must make but can’t, and therefore giving up entirely.

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    • We only have bottled water here because we live in California and it’s pretty essential for earthquake preparedness, but yes I agree with you – total waste. I’ve tried to stop buying as much as I used to in general – just trying not to consume. If you are a vegetarian, have you tried the Thug Kitchen cookbook? I reviewed it here: http://wp.me/pK40G-Hi – So far I’ve tried two recipes (one of which I need to post on) …Very yummy! Thank you for commenting and visiting!

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      • Please feel free to send some of that rain our way – my boyfriend is from Luton, but he seems to have not brought any of the wet stuff along with him.

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    • I like all that you are doing already! We eat vegan food, which is as much for health as it is for the environment. I am a fan of solar, especially where we have plenty of sunshine. We have a small solar oven that my sons have been learning to use lately. They love it! We also have a small composter, but unfortunately the only one that we’ve found that works is one that runs on electricity. We have a couple of solar panels on the roof, enough to power our garden. I love to buy bountiful baskets each week, if I have time for the pick up. You can only do your best and add one new thing at a time. Maybe those lots of little things will add up to doing a big part to help the environment.

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      • This is true! We live in an apartment, but I have been utilizing the balcony lately to at least grow herbs. You are right, though – we can only do our best and change a little bit at a time. Thank you so much for visiting and commenting!

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