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 Turning back the tide of ecological destruction may seem a daunting task, especially when viewed from the perspective of one individual up against multinational corporate greed.
An apt analogy might be the Bible’s David versus Goliath, where it took a skillful, but also lucky shot to bring down a much larger opponent. A more heartening comparison, however, would be the diminutive Lilliputians restraining Lemuel Gulliver with tiny strands—just a lot of them—in Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver's Travels. In the same way, millions of threads of environmental consciousness in individuals can overwhelm the concerted efforts of even the largest of our irresponsible corporate citizens.
That’s not to say we can’t also encourage our political representatives to load their slingshots with environmental legislation. But in the mean time, here are ten easy eco steps you can take now to help move civilization along the path toward environmental responsibility:
- No ATM receipts – Every year enough ATM receipts are produced to circle the earth 15 times. Why cause such waste, when you can check your balance on screen and write down that number and your withdrawal amount. No need to destroy trees and add to the ATM tumbleweeds blowing around bank machines.
- Paperless bills – More and more companies, including utilities and phone companies, now offer paperless billing via the Internet. In most cases, they do not have the motive of being better stewards of the earth. Instead, they do it because it saves them money on paper, printing, and postage. But we should join them for environmental reasons. Paperless billing uses much less paper and energy.
- Shopping BYOB (Bring Your Own Bag) – Cloth shopping bags are cheap, strong, washable, and environmentally friendly. Plus they give you a ready answer (“Neither”) when the supermarket cashier asks, “Paper or plastic?”
- Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL) – Not only will you save money ($30 or more over a bulb’s life), but you’ll fill up less landfills (CFLs last 10 times longer than incandescents), use 66% less energy and give off 70% less heat—heat that air conditioners need to work harder to eliminate. If each American family replaced just one incandescent with a CFL bulb, it would reduce the same quantity of greenhouse gases as removing 7.5 million cars from our roads.
- Cloth not paper – Cloth napkins work as well as paper ones. Plus they look nicer, save paper, and save energy. Sponges work better than paper towels—without as much waste and pollution. Why not carry a handkerchief, instead of a bag of tissues?
- Thermostats and sweaters – In winter, lower your thermostat to 68 degrees or less during the day (and wear a sweater) and 55 degrees or less during the night (and add an extra bed blanket—and a sleep cap if you are among the “follicly challenged.” Wear less or use a fan instead of air-conditioning on all but the hottest summer days. When you must use the A/C, raise the temperature to 78 degrees or more. To avoid having to make these adjustments manually, buy a programmable thermostat.” Lowering your thermostat by 2 degrees in winter and raising it 2 degrees in summer saves around 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide annually.
- Take a “Stay-cation” – Reduce your carbon footprint by staying home for vacation. Explore the city you live in. It will allow you to take advantage of the cultural amenities you may not have had time to enjoy during your work weeks. If you do travel, stay as close to home as possible and use public transportation to get to your destination.
- Telecommuting – Working from home is fun, economical, and environmentally friendly. More and more businesses have come to accept this practice now that studies have shown it results in both happier and more productive employees.
- Carpools – If you don’t live near public transportation, car pool to work—or better yet, carpool to the nearest public transportation. It’s a great way to save money, give the earth a break and be more sociable. Also, it can help you get to work faster in jurisdictions that offer carpool lanes.
- Bottle your own water – Bottled water uses containers that have to be produced, shipped, and disposed of—resulting in wasted energy and pollution. If you want clean water, run tap water through a filter and fill your own reusable, metal bottle.
If each of us makes these small strides toward eco-responsibility, we’ll go a long way toward subduing global pollution. All it takes is making a habit of environmentally conscious actions like those above. Once they are second nature, we can add more earth-friendly habits to our repertoires.
[If you have any easy eco tips, please comment below. - Ed.]
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