How can I live more sustainably?
Want to be more sustainable in your home, but feel as though you do not have the
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money, time, or resources to do so? Making sustainable decisions does not require a lot of added stress: often times it just means breaking the habit of the old way of doing things. Read on to discover things you can start doing easily right now that save you money and help the environment! Living in a sustainable way can mean several things. The Brundtland Commision defines Sustainable development to be “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” CELL supports this definition and also believes that sustainability can be achieved through community. To CELL, living sustainably means building strong communities that:
- value and love one another
- respect and nurture the environment and
- build systems designed from/with what nature has to teach us.
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We live in a global society, and CELL believes in cultivating relationships with those from all over the world, and reaching out beyond one’s self, to achieve community. Communities can be built on a small scale and make sustainable decisions about the food that its members eat, the transportation they use, the homes they live in, the energy they consume, the clothing they wear, and the products they purchase. As communities are built intentionally, with nature as architect, they grow together to form a global, more sustainable community that reaches to include all life with which we share this planet. Below are some ideas on how you can live more sustainably.
Food:
Eat locally: Support farmer’s markets, grow your own vegetables, and visit co-ops. Eat Organic: Eating produce that did not require pesticides to be grown means
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fewer chemicals in your body as well as in the environment. Buy free-range meat and consume dairy products that come from animals that have been treated humanely. Eat lower on the food chain: Try to reduce the amount of beef you consume. Cows consume 6 kg of plant protein for every kg of beef they produce. A study at Cornell estimated that each year an estimated 41 million tons of plant protein is fed to U.S. livestock to produce 7 million tons of animal protein for human consumption (cornell.edu). Tofu; tempeh; beans, corn, and rice; milk and grain; yogurt; and many breakfast cereals are all great ways to get protein in your diet without consuming as much. Still really like hamburgers? Try eating a bison burger or grass-fed beef as it uses less energy to produce than corn fed beef. (http://www.peanc.org – simple steps to eating sustainably)
Transportation:
Public Transport: Live in a city? Use the bus, the subway, or the train. Using public transportation greatly reduces the carbon emissions you produce and reduces your
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carbon footprint. Live in a suburb? Coordinate carpooling and try to fill your car with other passengers when driving to and from work or school every day. Live in a rural community? Try putting a basket on the back of your bike and biking to the grocery store. Not only will you get great exercise, this is a zero-emissions form of transportation. If you have more time and your destination is not too far, try walking. This is a great way to get out and be a part of your community. Still need to drive? Have you considered a hybrid? Many have been on the market for a little while and it is easier to find used models if you do not like the price of a new one.
Home Energy:
Know where your home’s energy comes from. Are you fully connected to the power
Energy Efficient Buildings at Solheimar in Iceland
grid? Try putting up a solar hot water panel on your roof to supplement hot waterheater or consider installing photovoltaic (PV) panels to help generate electricity. Many PV cells will pay for themselves in less than 10 years. Are you in a windy location? A one kilowatt wind turbine can pay for itself in less than ten years depending on your energy bill. Check out the following website for more information on how to build your own renewable energy system for your home: http://www.earth4energy.com/windelectricity.html.
Saving Water:
Did You Know… The average toilet model uses three to seven gallons of water per flush?
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What You Can Do: Although old folk wisdom suggests that placing a brick in your toilet’s water tank is a great way to conserve water, this is not entirely true. Bricks disintegrate in toilet water over time and can cause damage to plumbing. Instead of using a brick, use a bottle of water! Line the bottom of a glass bottle with pebbles or sand, fill it with water, and place it in your toilet’s water tank, taking care not to disturb the toilet’s working parts. This will displace enough water to save a half-gallon to a gallon of water per flush, which adds up to about 10 gallons of water a day in a typical home!
Insulation:
Making your house energy efficient can be done no matter what type of energy your household consumes. Insulating your home properly means fully insolating the
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indoor climate of your home from the outdoor climate, and when done well, insulation can retain the cold in hot climates and trap the heat in chilly climates thus reducing your energy bill and helping your home to be more environmentally friendly. CORBOND® is a spray-in-place polyurethane foam insulation, which has the highest performance R-Factor achievable for an insulation product on today’s market (corbond.com).
Appliances:
Look for energy star appliances. The U.S Environmental Protection Agency and the
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U.S. Department of Energy have teamed up to bring you energy star appliances. “ENERGY STAR qualified appliances incorporate advanced technologies that use 10-50% less energy and water than standard models. The money you save on your utility bills can more than make up for the cost of a more expensive but more efficient ENERGY STAR model” (www.energystar.gov). These appliances can also save you over 75 dollars per year in energy costs. Phantom energy load: Many appliances such as televisions, microwaves, stoves, and stereos have a “phantom load” meaning that they draw energy even when they are turned off. Either installing a light switch to physically shut off these appliances’ power or unplugging them from their outlets are two good ways to save energy in your home.
Recycled building materials:
As Americans, we live in a society that values new homes and new products.
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Building new over and over again is, however, not sustainable, so look for recycled products when building a home. There are an increasing number of new and exciting recycled products entering the market each year. What is most important with Green building is to adapt your home to the region you live in. Design a home using local building materials, build it to be energy efficient, and insulate it well. Check out this website for tips on how to re-use materials that can be acquired inexpensively and start saving money and the environment: http://www.green homebuilding.com/recyclematerials.htm Try using recycled lumber as well: http://www.toolbase.org/Home-Building-Topics/Green-Building/recycled-composite-lumber For more innovative ways to build sustainably, visit: http://www.toolbase.org/ToolbaseResources/level3.aspx?BucketID=2&CategoryID=17 Recycled Flooring: Like wood floors? check out this site: http://www.toolbase.org/Home-Building-Topics/Green-Building/recycled-wood-flooring There are also many types of recycled carpets out there as well: http://www.toolbase.org/Home-Building-Topics/Green-Building/recycled-content-carpet
Composting:
Worm-bins: This is an excellent style of composting if you live in a city or other area where composting outside is not an option. The worms eat your garbage and produce droppings, which provide a great fertilizer for plants. http://whatcom.wsu.edu/ag/compost/Easywormbin.htm
Personal Products:
Toiletries: Look out for “Green washing!” Know what is in your products. Tom’s of Maine has made a commitment to using only natural ingredients in the products they produce. From toothpaste to deodorant to soap, Tom’s of Maine has provided an extensive list of the ingredients they use: http://www.tomsofmaine.com/products/ ingredients.aspx, as well as the things they choose to leave out of their products: http://www.tomsofmaine.com/products/ingredients-not-in-our-products.aspx. For green washing, try any of these products: Dr. Bronner’s, Burt’s Bees, Natural
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Organic Shampoo, Mrs. Meyer’s, and Seventh Generation. Cleaners: Use natural cleaners! According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, as a result of household cleaning product usage, the air inside the typical American home is an average of 2-5 times more polluted than the air outside. Natural cleaners are good for you and your home and by using them, you do not pollute your ecosystem, which could contaminate water quality, hurt wildlife etc. Make your own soaps! Here is a recipe for an All-Purpose Cleaner: ½ cup vinegar ¼ cup baking soda (baking soda will clean and deodorize all kitchen and bathroom surfaces) ½ gallon water Mix vinegar and baking soda into water. Store and keep. Use for removal of water deposit stains on
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shower stall panels, bathroom chrome fixtures, windows, bathroom mirrors, etc. You can safely, effectively, and easily clean nearly every room in your home using these three simple kitchen ingredients: VINEGAR Vinegar is a great all-purpose cleaner as well as a disinfectant and deodorizer; its pungent odor disappears as it dries. Although vinegar is safe to use on most surfaces, it should never be used on marble and should not be applied to tile grout unless properly diluted. For a versatile cleaning solution, mix equal parts water and vinegar in a spray bottle; this mixture can be used in the kitchen on appliances, countertops, and floors, and in the bathroom on the toilet, sink, and bathtub. To soften fabric, try adding half a cup of vinegar to the rinse cycle when you do your laundry. LEMON Lemon is another excellent natural cleaning aid. When cut in half and sprinkled with baking soda, a lemon becomes a scourging tool that can be used to scrub dishes, surfaces, and stains. When mixed with vinegar, lemon juice forms an all-purpose cleaning paste; when used by itself, it dissolves soap scum and water deposits and also shines brass and copper. BAKING SODA Gentle on the environment yet as effective as an abrasive commercial cleanser, baking soda can be used to scrub virtually any surface. It is also a natural deodorizer.
Clothing:
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Second Hand Stores: It is not necessary to always buy new clothes. Shopping at vintage shops, such as Goodwill and others, is a fun way to pick and choose clothes that have already been worn, but can easily be used again. Recycle: Finished with your running shoes or other clothes? Send them to people who need them! Visit: www.nikereuseashoe.com and www.freecycle.com to re-use/recycle items.
Shopping Decisions:
Choose organic or fair trade: why? Not only does buying fair trade ensure you get quality products, it means that the people involved in making that product were treated ethically. For more information on Fair Trade and quality products visit: http://www.transfairusa.org/content/about/overview.php. When you buy organic, you are ensuring that harmful chemicals were not used on the plants you purchase. This means these harmful items do not end up in your body or the environment. For more information on the organic industry visit: http://www.ota.com /index.html
Above are a few ideas for you to consider in living more sustainably. Remember, living lightly not only helps to sustain the environment, it can also be fun. Share some of these ideas with your family and friends and ask them to brainstorm other creative ideas with you about how you can live in a more sustainable way. CELL welcomes any ideas that you would like to share. Write to us, and we will consider printing your ideas on our website and/or in our Newsletter!
