Keeping up With the Green Joneses

Editorial

So here we are, trying to live lightly on the planet, to leave the world in almost-the-same shape as we were given it. A difficult task, especially since there are more than twice as many people on the planet as when I was born (and it wasn’t all that long ago…). And especially since, through the magic of globalization, TV and the internet, many of the folks in the world want to live the way we do (which would take 5-7 new planets to accommodate).

Then, we listen to various people telling us what to do… plastic is bad … okay, no more plastic. Paper is good … okay, we’ll choose paper over plastic. Got it. Oh, wait, when you look at the whole life cycle, they come out about even. Just a couple of kinds of plastic are bad … the other ones are okay if you promise to recycle them … and sometimes paper is bad too if it comes from old trees...aaaaargh!

Now you’ll hear how you should boycott Company A, they’re into all sorts of environmentally bad stuff. Then Company A starts cleaning up its act and it’s Company B that you really want to avoid.

How do we keep up?

Go back to the basics. As individuals, the three biggest areas in which we can have the most impact on the planet are our vehicles, our houses and our food.

Buy the smallest, most fuel-efficient vehicle that will suit your needs (and drive it as little as possible). Don’t buy something big that you only use for its bigness once or twice a year — you can rent a vehicle occasionally and the earth will thank you for it (it will also be cheaper than driving a too-large vehicle all the time).

If you can, live close to where you work. Make sure you have a well-insulated and sealed house and choose energy efficient appliances when they need to be replaced. This will be cheaper for you in the long run as well.

Buy your food as close to home as you can. The average foodstuff travels 2400 km to get to you. That’s a lot of fuel, greenhouse gases and refrigeration, among other things. Think about growing your own food, connecting to local farmers, shopping at farmers’ markets, all that good community-building activity.

And don’t sweat the small stuff. Just remember the first “R” - reduce: you don’t have to worry about what type to choose, or how to get rid of it, if you don’t buy it in the first place.

(Source: Sept. 2005 WasteWatch)

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