Ways to help the environment

[herpguy]

I have made this thread for two reasons; it will help me on a homework assignment, and more importantly to get you to help the environment more.

 

In this thread all you have to do is list ways to easily help the environment. I'll start:

 

1.) Recycle- By recycling, factories will use only 30% of the energy needed to make new goods from scratch.

 

2.) Use your car less- Try walking or riding a bike to get to places with short distances. It will not only help the environment by burning less fossil fuels, but will save you money on gas and give you some exercise.

 

3.) Start a community garden- Get your friends and family involved in a community garden. It will save you money on your fruits and veggies while helping the environment at the same time by using less fuel to transport the fruits and vegitables long distances.

 

 

Please add to this list. Thanks.

[ecoli]

You forgot the most important one

 

--- REUSE

Reusing materials like glass bottles, plastic bags and pretty much everything else is a lot more energy efficent then recycling (remember, that takes energy.) I am proud to say, that I haven't thrown out a plastic bag in years. I reuse them for carrying my lunch, and all sorts of things.

 

Also, we should switch to biodegradeble materials where you can. Use paper instead of plastic bags, biofuels, wood burning stoves, etc... use renewable resources whenever possible.

[daneeka]

4) Education - An informed society will tend to be more accepting of new ideas.

 

5) Community Participation - One of the best forms of education is experiential education - learning by doing - so initiating things like community recycling projects, ecological restoration projects etc. are good for raising awareness. But getting people to participate is another thing alltoghether.

[herpguy]

Another simple one: Compost

 

Anything that cannot be recycled, or if you can't think of a way to reuse it, can probably decompose. Place extra food, dirty knapkins, etc. in a pile with some dirt in it. Wait a few months, and you'll have some good-quality soil for your community garden.

[ecoli]

You might want to keep the food compost and the dirty napkin compost separate. Napkins would take longer to break down, I believe. (I'm sure YT could correct me on the matter of compost)

[herpguy]

Also, let your house be 2 degrees hotter when it's above your comfort zone, and two degrees lower when it's below your comfort zone.

 

STOP JUNK MAIL: Take your name of the mailing list to save trees.

[insane_alien]

turn off the lights when you leave a room. keep the doors shut to prevent heat loss(if you live in a cold country)

[Prime-Evil]

I think there is another option which is often overlooked, which is to do nothing. Now I don't mean stay at home and do nothing, but I mean if you have a garden or a piece of land, or if you are out walking in the woods, leaving things alone and seeing what happens is sometimes the very best option. I like this kind of gardening and woodlot management not because it takes less effort, but because I am more likely to discover things. It also tends to lead to more biodiversity and the soil and biomass tend to develop better if left alone. Of course it is always possible to increase biomass and biomass productivity by bringing stuff in from somewhere else, but it has to come from somewhere else? So doing nothing is the first option, or perhaps more appropriatelt, the zeroeth option.

 

The next option would be to do what you gotta do, but do it most naturally. What is most natural is most likely to be minimal impact and make the best use of the biproducts. For example, if you gotta go, you gotta go. The question is what you should do with your feces and urine. The answer often depends on where you are at the time. I think urine should be used as fertilizer. Feces is probably best dry composted, and then buried under a tree. Mixing human waste with fresh drinking water is probably one of the most foolish things you can do, unless you have no options. Other things that you just gotta do, like food and water, should similarly be chosen for minimal impact by working more closely within some natural cycle, rather than against it. Same with clothing, shelter, and transportation.

 

The next options involve what you do with your spare time after you have taken care of the essentials. In this respect I would suggest the more time you spend studying nature, directly or indirectly, either by reading books or simply by going for a walk in the woods, the more likely it will be that in the long run you will have a good and fulfilling life while doing the least harm.

 

Cheers.