Now!
Really!
Do it . . .
It'll just take a second . . . come on already!
See? Aren't you glad you did?
Eco-Runner is a great concept, wouldn't you say? Makes you want to lace-up your running shoes, grab a plastic bag you've been saving to re-use and head out to make your community a bit greener, right?!!
Some readers may recall how I posted some time ago about making efforts to be more in tune with the impact I'm having on the environment. Since pledging to be a better citizen, I've tried my best to keep on the steady course to live a more "green" life. Here's a quick recap of what actions I'm (and by "I'm", I mean "my family is") taking:
- cloth diapers for my 15 month old (we're consistently at about 75% cloth, 25% disposable, though that's an average) Image credit: Bummis- cloth napkins at dinner (100% - AND my parents have followed suit - AND my mother-in-law sent us a set of 8 so we're golden now without me having to do laundry as frequently!)
- washcloths for counter cleaning instead of paper towels (100% - 1 roll of paper towels used to last us about a week, now they last closer to 3 and I'm considering ditching them, if I can convince my husband that it is a reasonable idea!)
- we compost all of our fruit/veggie food scraps (there's a little compost jar by our sink to make it easy - and my husband IS good about dumping it regularly into our bin in the back yard)
- reusable grocery bags (90% - I'm still working on getting my husband to remember the ones I've placed in his car for the "on your way home" grocery stops)
- I cancelled 6 catalogs through Catalog Choice (and will continue to cancel them as they arrive in our mailbox . . .and, sadly, they will - even though these are from companies we've NEVER ordered through or only order through for the holidays!) Image credit: www.carnegiecarnegie.com/magazines.jpg- my husband is biking to the bus stop to take the bus to work . . . currently 5 days a week, but since he gets motion sick (translation - a headache that lasts a few hours - ugh!), I think it might be okay if he does it a bit less frequently. When making these choices, you DO have to consider if the trade-off is worthwhile . . . and a husband with a headache for the entire night does not seem worthwhile. We'll see how it goes in the long-term, as he's just nearing one month of it. The gas saved for the nearly 40 mile round-trip commute is quite a chunk of moolah . . . not to mention the reduction in his carbon footprint. Decisions, decisions.
MSNBC just posted a simple list of consumer tips for making a difference in helping the planet. You may be surprised at how much you are already doing - and how simple it could be to do just a bit more!
I could keep going . . . but I won't bore you with the minute things we're doing or that we can do, since I think the above choices are making a fairly decent dent and there are hundreds of sites DEDICATED to the topic!
And now I'll get back to the Eco-Runner - this guy lives and breathes the notion that who he is and what he does MAKES A DIFFERENCE (and he's right)! By starting in his own backyard and spiraling out globally, he is spreading the joy of running and the idea that a passion for running can go even further by combining it with cleaning up our environment as we run. Simple, effective, inspirational! And, another reason this philosophy caught my mom's eye to pass along to me - Eco-Runner has a curriculum for Kids ! Too cool!
Now, that's what I call a breath of fresh air!
8 comments:
I've been making some consistent efforts as well, but you give me some good ideas about what more I can do. And I'm especially glad to see someone using cloth diapers. I don't have kids, but I have often commented that if we have kids, I want to do cloth, and my husband thinks it's ludicrous. I don't think he'll think it's so crazy when he sees the cost difference though.
Oooooo thanks for the link to Catalog Choice. I'm going to have to take a look at it! Sweet!
We too try and cut back on paper products and such, but you give some great ideas. I love the cloth diapers. We are working on potty training so hopefully diapers won't be an issue anymore!
Im clicking over to catalog choice as well..
Eco Runner has a great idea doesn't he? Wish I was a bit less lazy about that stuff. Keep meaning to go on a trash-removal run but haven't gotten around to it yet. But kudo's to those who have.
Our most recent life changing effort was to start recycling as much as possible. That includes shredding paper/magazines/unwanted mail. All plastic. Glass. Cardboard. I know it has made an impact, we were using 2 garbage cans a week and now we're only using 1. Yay!
BTW, when my kids were little, I made cloth diapers and used mostly those. But it did have a negative effect on the environment (nothing is perfect) as evidenced by damage to our septic system caused by so much use of water/bleach/detergent. These days I would do it differently. No bleach. I use an environmentally friendly detergent. And we have a low water use washer now.
I can't believe the junk we throw out at home. Good lessons. thanks.
I would love to get some of the catalogs out of my mailbox. Thanks for the wonderful links!
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