Originally posted in the newsletter of the Institute for Sustainable Culture, January 01, 2002
Ecosystems everywhere are under the siege of a careless or apathetic human population. It need not be that way. Each one of us can make simple changes in how we live towards a more sustainable relationship with our environment. The key to reducing the assault on the earth's fragile ecosystems is to decrease our demand for resources. Clean air and water, forests and other wild landscapes are not infinite. By driving less, making less trash, eating lower on the food chain, and being responsible earth citizens in other ways, we become less burdensome to the environment.
On the other hand, by nurturing the environment we actually become positive forces for creation. I would like to share some simple, concrete tips my family and I have discovered to live lightly on the earth. I sincerely hope others will join us in this endeavor. We would also love to hear some of your favorite ways to do the same!
Turning garbage into black gold
Do you ever let the garbage company take away your yard waste and other compostables? Then you're losing a really valuable earth-enhancing resource. There really isn't much work involved in turning grass clippings, tree prunings, weeds, kitchen scraps, and other vegetation "waste" into rich fertilizer. Worm boxes are one great way to do this. Another way is composting. Both are fun ways to get back in touch with one of nature's most amazing processes.
The secret to an aesthetically pleasing compost process is to cut up waste into small pieces, observe hygienic practices, and achieve a proper balance of materials.
Small pieces, which one makes by cutting the materials with a knife or pruner, make for large surface area and very rapid decomposition. A pruner and some elbow grease will turn a pile of branches from trash into raw materials for your compost and are an essential tool for any garden with trees or shrubs. For really big jobs, you may need a chipper.
Compostables consist of two types of material: carbon-rich matter (like branches, stems, peels, bits of wood, bark dust, or sawdust) gives compost its light, fluffy body, and nitrogen or protein-rich matter (manures, food scraps, leafy materials like lawn clippings) provides raw materials for making enzymes. In order to have optimum health in your compost or worm box, it is important to have much more carbon than nitrogen. This allows oxygen to penetrate and nourish the living, breathing organisms that reside there. Too much nitrogen makes for a heavy, smelly, slowly decomposing mass. Good compost hygiene means covering fresh nitrogen-rich material, which can release odors if exposed to open air, with carbon-rich material, which often exudes a fresh, wonderful smell. If in doubt, add more carbon!
Making friends with trees
Many of the world's rich humans have taken up especially tree-unfriendly habits. I am speaking of the widespread use of disposable paper products in the wealthy countries: paper towels and bags, napkins, tissues, paper plates and dishes, even diapers! All of these have venerable versions made of cloth or other re-usable material. With a little creativity, we can all imagine easy ways to reduce or eliminate these from our lives. Take a sturdy earth-bag or even a back-pack when you shop. Enjoy the feeling of real dishes when you eat or drink! Buy in bulk when possible. A typical paper or plastic bag can be used a dozen times or more. Handkerchiefs need to come back into fashion. When you must make a photocopy or print-out, use both sides or use the second side of a sheet in the recycle bin. How often do we have the opportunity to cut our paper consumption by half? Better yet, work diligently towards the ideal of paperless communication where trees are replaced with electronic mail!
Personal care products present another opportunity to save trees. Elegant re-usable feminine napkins are available at many ecology-conscious stores. If you're especially thrifty, cut an old towel into six by twelve inch rectangles and fold into six layers for use. They have excellent absorbency and are quite easy to wash. Here's another challenge: instead of toilet paper, consider cleaning yourself with soap and water and pat dry with a towel. You'll find it definitely much cleaner.
By following these simple tips, our family of five has reduced our garbage to half a grocery bag every two months. And because it contains no rotting food, our house is a much cleaner place.
Water Conversation
One of my hobbies is to see how little water it takes to run our household. We've managed to cut our city water consumption by more than 95% by using rainwater creatively during the rainy season. Our last water meter reading registered so little use it didn't even show up on the meter! Not everyone will be willing to install a rainwater catchment system, of course. Nevertheless, all of us can make substantial reductions in our water consumption (and reduce energy needed to heat hot water, too) by making some thoughtful changes in our habits.
Dishwashing If you wash dishes by hand, consider this technique: scrape off any leftovers and briefly rinse with just a dribble of water. Then turn off the water and soap dishes with a sponge or scouring pad. Finally, quickly rinse with a slow stream of water. Use cold water where possible. (In our house, we have shut off all hot water faucets except the shower.)
Bathing When running the hot water faucet until it is warm, catch the initial flow for watering plants or other uses. Avoid deep baths. Use a conservation shower head: a 5 minute shower will use only a few gallons. Repeat the technique for washing dishes: get wet, turn the water off, soap, then rinse. It works great on bodies, too! Obviously, it makes no sense to run water during shaving or toothbrushing.
Garden Irrigation Mulching (with compost or other chopped garden waste) and drip irrigation will keep your plants healthy with much less water. Consider saving rainwater. An enormous amount falls on every roof or other impermeable surface in Oregon. If you do, be sure to keep mosquitoes out of standing water with, for example, netting.
Laundry. Use cold water whenever possible. When you purchase a machine, get a front loader. They substantially reduce water, detergent, energy consumption, and are much gentler on clothes. Because of higher spin speeds, clothes emerge much drier. Then the job can be finished on a clothes line, either indoors or out.
Toilets. The new efficient flush toilets use a fraction of the water of the older models. If you're really serious, though, you'll consider a composting variety. The idea has really caught on in Scandinavia, where some villages are phasing out the old-fashioned flush variety! Since implementing our own composting strategy and the other techniques, we have reduced our family's water consumption to less than 75 gallons per day for two adults and three children. And we don't feel the least bit inconvenienced by it.
Miscellaneous
Clothing mending Many of us grew up in a families that took for granted the repair of clothing to extend its life many times. Here's a simple example of that ideal: I have found that tube sock (mainly threadbare heel areas) and long underwear (mainly threadbare knee and elbow areas) life can be enhanced for years with a simple but admittedly non-traditional repair. Darning is out as it is way too laborious! I have been using a sewing machine as it is much faster and gives a good result. One simply turns a worn sock or garment in side out, then gathers up the edges around the worn area and zips them together with a couple of quick sews. The trick is to sew perpendicularly to the length of the sock or sleeve so as not to make it narrower. (Otherwise your foot or extremity won't fit!) Using this technique I have really great socks and long underwear that are years old. Faded, yes, but otherwise very serviceable! Of course, eventually, there develop enough worn areas that even this won't work and you end up with a rag. Then recycle it into a rag rug!