11th Hour

Well I made the huge mistake of watching the 11th hour which gave me a bonafide ulcer on the state of the environment. I knew things were bad but that made it sound really really bad.

I’m hoping people can give me some ideas on little ways to make less of a footprint. Below are some of mine. Please let me know if you have any better ones or additional things you do on a daily basis. If we all make one small difference it’s better than nothing at all, right?


1) I’ve been eating less meat. Obviously this is a personal choice. My digestive track seems to appreciate it though.

2) I will be more discerning with fish products. Great link for educated fish buying:

http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/seafoodwatch.aspx

Additionally this is updated monthly:

http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/cr_seafoodwatch/sfw_health.aspx

3) I use reusable grocery bags. Plastic bags in the USA alone use over 37 million barrels of oil to make! I have several and they are very big and strong – I keep one in my car so I don’t have that excuse of “oops, left it at home.” Also if in tight spot, ask for paper bags and then use them for recycling paper!

4) I think I’ve become addicted to recycling. In boston we are very lucky as the towns give you free recycling bins and picks up your recycling curbside. Hopefully everyone else has similar options. If not, write to your town hall!

5) I only use cold water for your laundry. Such a small thing, really. And your clothes don’t care. Plus there are lots of detergents now made specifically for cold cycles.

6) I buy recycled toilet paper. It’s TP – what’s the diff? 7th generation makes a decent type. If everyone in USA alone replaced one pack with recycled we’d save 1.3 billion gallons of water.

7) Bought a prius. If you happen to be in the market for a car, just keep hybrid options open. I know it’s not the only factor but don’t rule them out! They save a lot of money on gas.

8) I subscribe to a “green” blog that gives me additional ideas.



Do you do any of those already? If not, any one of those sound like a small change you could make? Throw yours at me!