Thursday 13

Changing habits
Green 13
In honor of the new year, here are 13 little things I'll be doing in 2009 to reduce my impact on the environment. I got most of these ideas from the Nature Conservancy's Everyday Environmentalist pages, where you can find other ideas or contribute your own.

1. Composting. Microsoft inspired this one. They started a composting program this year (creating a whole new market for compostable disposable dishes) and helped me discover how really good it feels to not throw food in the trash. This will reduce our use of the garbage disposal, which evidently puts something of a burden on the sewage treatment system.

Related to this, I'll be looking into some BioBags so I don't have to clean the kitchen compost container 'cause ewww.

The big problem with this whole plan is that we don't use fertilizer. Ever. Maybe one of our neighbors will want our compost...

2. Using cloth napkins. My friend Stephanie has been doing this forever. She has a lovely little collection of cloth napkins that can be grabbed, used, and then tossed in a little basket for later inclusion in a regular load of laundry. They are ever so much nicer than paper!

Tip: It's more fun if the napkins don't match! And if you are a sewing type like Kat, you can make your own from "salvaged cloth" (aka rags) by running a quick seam, which even I know how to do.

We'll also continue our use of those choose-a-size paper towels. They cost slightly more sometimes, but we're consuming half as much as we used to.

3. Learning about and buying wood and paper products that are FSC certified. Mindfulness is a big deal for unschoolers. Well, we're not very mindful when it comes to the products we buy. Since a day in the woods is my idea of a dream date, I'm going to start improving our mindfulness by making regular visits to the Forest Stewardship Council Web site. They are there to help us avoid giving our money to companies around the world that engage in illegal and/or immoral logging practices.

4. Going paperless. I'm doing some of this already, but I'm going to work on eliminating even more of the paper bills and statements that we receive.

5. Turning off the computer. We leave our computer on all day and night. I have rationalized this behavior for years with the argument that rebooting is hard on the hard disk. But that might be less true than it once was (hard disks automatically "park" nowadays, reducing wear and tear), and anyway, the real reason comes down to convenience: I hate waiting for the computer to boot up. There are greener ways to avoid that.

Or leaving it on. This page suggests leaving your computer on but joining a distributed computing network that takes advantage of the power usage and emissions already going on. This doesn't interest me much, but I include it here for your edification.

6. Using reusable shopping bags. Last April, I began an anti-quest. It hasn't been going very well, but I hereby renew my determination to stop bringing plastic bags into our house.

In Ireland, you have to pay for your plastic bags if you want them. Interestingly enough, we were much better about remembering to take our shopping bags with us while we were there.

7. Walking. We are quintessential Americans: we hop in the car to go two blocks. But one of the reported benefits of being urban dwellers is that the things we need are within walking distance. It's time to start taking advantage of that. Within a four-block radius, we have a grocery store, an auto parts store, a drugstore, MJ's tattoo/piercing parlor, an espresso stand, a sporting goods store, a fruit and vegetable market, and a handful of restaurants. Just a bit farther afield, we have gift shops, furniture stores, a state liquor store, and even more restaurants, including our favorite margarita Mexican place.

8. Turning down the heat. Frank just installed a new programmable thermostat that lets us schedule a chilly time (instead of relying on my remembering to manually turn the heat down before retiring). It also measures the temperature in our house differently than the old one did, so when we set the heat at 67, we are actually keeping the house at 67 instead of what was probably more like 72 before. (Yes, sweaters and blankets are suddenly very popular around here.)

9. Commuting less. Subject to manager approval, I'm going to work at home two days a week. Fun for me, fun for the family, good for the budget, good for the car, good for the environment.

In case you are wondering, this will save me approximately 140 miles, $12, and four hours per week. That's 7280 miles, $624, and 208 hours per year.

10. Eating less meat. Don't get too excited, Qacei and Idzie—I'm a looong way from going veggie—but I can be perfectly content with a lot less meat. And the reasons for doing so just keep piling on.

11. Drinking Fair Trade, shade-grown coffee. I'm a coffee drinker now, so I get to think about these things. My one-bag-a-year habit is probably not going to save the planet, but every little bit helps. I think I'll try this place first.

12. Drinking from the tap. I'm doing this already, but I'm running out of ideas, so I'll give myself extra credit for it. I really love the convenience of those individual water bottles, but they are veddy bad for the environment. We simply do not buy them any more.

13. Redistributing goods. Thrift stores, Half Price Books, Craigslist, Freecycle. Hmm... Could I go the whole year without buying new stuff? It's an interesting question, and after Christmas is a good (easier) time to contemplate it.

Happy New Year!