Delicious
Digg
Facebook
Flickr
Friendfeed
Last.fm
LinkedIn
MySpace
Reddit
Stumble Upon
Technorati
Twitter
Vimeo
YouTube
What I’ve Been Up To Lately
- Remember kids, Twitter Torah experiment at 2:30PM EST: Collaborative discussion on Parshat Balak. Get in on it at #balak. 20 hrs ago
- RT @spagnoloacht Video of my Creative Commons Salon presentation on the Jewish Digital Narratives platform http://blip.tv/file/2305108/ 23 hrs ago
- Yes Men pull out of Jerusalem Film Fest http://su.pr/1uJUsU 1 day ago
- More updates...
10/15/07
Ten things you can do to help the planet, every day
- Don’t use plastic or paper bags. If you’re going shopping, bring a reusable shopping bag with you.
- Refuse napkins and plastic utensils when getting take-out food. Use reusable/washable cloth napkins and utensils instead.
- Minimize your consumption of meat and dairy products. The greatest case for vegetarianism isn’t the animals’ feelings or rights, but rather the environmental toll caused by meat and dairy production.
- Don’t buy things that can’t be recycled or reused.
- Ride your bike when going short distances, rather than driving.
- Avoid using your computer printer. Read it on-screen. If you need to take a document with you, get a phone or PDA with email support and mail it to yourself.
- Switch to LED or even compact fluorescent bulbs, and turn off the lights when you’re not using them. Also, unplug devices that you aren’t using.
- Get an oil change and a tune-up. If your car is running like shit, chances are it’s spewing more shit into the air than it normally should.
- Don’t let the the tap run. When washing dishes, use a sponge and bowl full of soapy water to soap up your dishes while the tap is off. Then rinse your dishes.
- Don’t be a lazy bastard. Most of the waste generated today is a result of people being too lazy to do things like cook for themselves, or clean up after themselves, or to carry things with them, like their own plate and fork. The more you rely on convenience, the more destruction you bring upon the earth and its inhabitants. Get up off your ass and do for yourself. You just might save the world.
A few more suggestions:
Take showers instead of full baths (on average, 70 litres of water as opposed to 700 litres of water).
Don’t throw cigarette ends into the toilet; cigarette ends contaminate water with carcinogenic substances. (Even better, quit smoking altogether. Psychology suggests that cigarettes only substitute your mommy’s breastfeeding you anyway…)
Use public transport instead of cabs. Wearing high heels is no excuse. Flat shoes fit in most handbags.
Turn off the heat before opening the windows. During winter season, air out your rooms for half an hour every day; the warm air can flow more evenly that way, and it saves energy resources. Also, dress up to the season; put on a sweater if you’re chilly.
If you need batteries, use rechargeable ones. NiMH ones can be recharged more than 1,000 times.
Get a toilet flush that permits you to use varying amounts of water depending on the actual need.
Avoid aerosol where possible; usually you can find alternatives that work with pump-systems.
Check if there are seperate recycling places for paper, glass, and hazardous waste such as batteries and broken electronics.
Opt for bio-degradable cleaning detergents.
One more suggestion:
don’t use foil wrap on the house-warming gift for Dan
check out treehugger.com for many more— also, when you turn on that shower and sit waiting for the water to heat up– how about catching that water in a bucket— then a source of usable water– for dishes, handwashing or any of your brightest ideas…
hey dan did I miss your takes on zeitgeist movie?
happy housewarming… may it be with the most renewable resource available…
missinyou…
One question and one comment. The question: Regarding #3 above, do we really want to discourage people from developing sensitivity to an animal’s suffering by arguing there is a ‘better’ case to be made by focusing on wasted resources. My guess is the two arguments compliment one another, and that someone who becomes sensitive to animal rights will also become committed to the environment.
The comment: The Forward has a nice introductory piece on Judaism and the Environment, which I brought down here (http://joyousjudaism.wordpress.com/2007/10/16/39/) under the title “Al Gore & the Zohar.”
pse&g offers a free energy saving kit. it contains special taps for all yr faucets that use less water, lots of helpful literature, and those window sealing strips. you can also sign up for this program through pse&g to pay a small monthly fee so that all your power comes from renewable energy sources. (we pay an extra $3 a month for it.) some other states offer similiar programs, i believe con ed does as well.
i found a great product line recently- seventh generation paper products. organic, chemical and dye free t.p and paper towels!
for the ladies, how about applicator free tampons? or the diva cup? they create less waste and are definitely cheaper. and for the very brave at heart parents out there, cloth diapers are a great option.
sign up for paperless bills/ online bill pay…i’ve got it down to 2 paper bills a month, and those 2 don’t have a paperless option.
oh, and let’s not forget the obvious…RECYCLE!
yr having a housewarming? happy happy.
Please bear in mind that some reusable items, such as nappies, need more water in the cleaning process than in production. (One of my bro’s in environmental research; he’s a great source.)
I already got you a foil wrapped box of foil for your housewarming gift.
Maybe I should I just throw it out?
[...] Orthodox Anarchist: Ten Things You Can Do to Save the Planet, Every Day [...]
I got Dan a case of old McDonald’s non bio-degradable styrafoam quarter pounder containers, and a sack of those plastic rings they use to hold soda cans together. Perhaps we can build a little boat out of all your foil and float my packages down the jersey shore?
Daniel, I’ll apologize profusely for imposing a house-warming party onto you…
[...] Orthodox Anarchist: Ten Things You Can Do to Save the Planet, Every Day [...]