Forward to the Zero Emissions Future
Briauna asked: Hey guys, anyone have any fun and easy tips or tricks to improve environmental impact? Substitutions in purchases or behavior? TIA!" Well... guess what, I do. Answers are highly general and abstract, but that's me and my voice:
1) Goal: Minimize both waste and energy in your choices. There's quite a few "Zen" paths of thought for each specific $ use or material item's life cycle. Questioning each choice is the start! Nailed it. Seeing the choices and that they are choices is power you get to take back for yourself, your health, local community, and nature.
2) Goal: Minimize toxins - Maximize life and Vital Health. (I like to say we are not one of the Earth's poison masters, and those species that are are specialists! As omnivores with clever livers, etc, we are detoxification specialists. But we let that think we are "safe" from chemicals!) That means avoid chlorine bleach. Never buy support be round or use any toxin that hangs around in the environment and or Bio-accumulates. That means stay healthy with clean air, water, and food so our livers retain their ability to protect us from the unavoidable - pollution. No surprises so far right? But its not just us. Toxins are worse for other creatures. And "Avoid" means "do your best", even if its "mmmm, thanks for the thought maybe next time I'll find something better or just use hot water or steam." Natural cleaners: water (+heat), salt, borax, sugar, natural acids like vinegar, oils/esters some solvents like alcohols (most solvents go through skin -- watch out!) And "Elbow Grease." If outdoors please no detergents or normal soap - "camping" or biodegradable soap only and still minimized. There are entire worlds of support for the countless tricks for household cleaning and gardening with low impact. (How to push more of that into the business/working world? Support green businesses and B-corps, or change the laws.)
3) Join and assist a movement. Systemic and systems changes are required. Many laws are unjust. Many are wasteful or even require harmful chemicals be used or just blindly support risky business. Some of my favorite recent movements or groups to look into or join: Divest from fossil fuels, No plastic straws (in the oceans), Union of Concerned Scientists, Sierra Club, League of American Bicyclists, and the best is something local and personal. #BLM #metoo
4) Unpollute your commute. Eliminate, reduce, go electric or human power, etc. In fact, looking for other daily or nearly daily activities that could use improvement is a great clue to where the largest impacts in your life are lurking. Don't fall for a greenwash or lies. Crummy air in cities causes health problems and reduced life expectancy for city dwellers - there are detailed maps where freeways and intersections of freeways stand out!
5) Grow more food and compost as much as possible. At least the easy stuff. how-to-start-a-compost-pile Its great for the worms in your garden. On the flip side, organic stuff like paper, paper towels and food left to the landfills might end up converted to methane. Some landfills trap that, and they all should, but that’s still a net not-good at this time, and transporting "trash" is a doubling of waste!
6) Relax, live, help a friend. Enjoy a moment in outside, maybe reach for the richest nature around... just a walk there and back... To Reset. Reset joy, pain, effort, and your perspective as a smarty in a live body with a wonderful place on Earth among the the sun and stars.
7) Buying any replacement for a gas powered tool or gas powered single driver car trip is a good use of money. Good for your personal ecological footprint; great as a vote with the dollar.
8) Buying stuff that helps you set up a system of reuse, recycling, or composting. At work or home. At work is a mess from what I can see. Lunch breaks are a lot of packaging and plastic and fake food and fake drinks (or bottled water) and overflowing trash cans across the nation and the world.
9) Buying Organic is more than just good for limiting your toxin exposure, but also the workers in the chain of people growing and delivering it. When done correctly, organic farming will build up the soil (carbon offset) while purifying and otherwise assisting the water cycle. Then soil creatures can thrive, and so to the bees, the birds and their predators and the rest. A food chain thriving means more "free" food -- and air and water and the rest of the ecosystems' services! Kill not, but end up with a natural balance anyway. Sustainability points to a topic called Permaculture, which boils down to letting nature do the hard work; we just cleverly help it grow more food. 10-reasons-why-its-worth-it
10) Don't buy meat, especially cow and pig - that drives demand. At least try dodge "factory farmed" meat due to its large ecological footprint and large disaster risk. (Hunters -and Scavengers- actually escape the impact of eating meat ecologically speaking -- noting that they don't hunt for cow, but should please please hunt the wild invasive Half Pig/Half Boar demolishing our meadows and forests!) Also, maybe don't buy and eat or hunt endangered species! (What alternatives are there for the places where goats cause harmful desertification?)
11) Personal behavior change is the hard one, but it’s really the only proof of learning!
Thank you, B, for the inspiring question! Reminds me that future science itself is based on good questions.
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