A Sustainable World is Possible

GREENING YOUR LIFE

Sustainability starts with your desire to change, focus and intention, then action.

It takes the extra effort to say no to consumer-oriented, "disposable" products, and buying another unneeded item or getting in your vehicle without other passengers. Moving towards personal ecology/sustainable living starts with one individual-YOU! Share the message, be accountable, walk the talk! Following are actions that you can begin today.

RESPECT

- Ask yourself right now, "How can I practice and demonstrate more respect and consciousness for my own health, other people, and the planet?"

RETHINK

- Avoid styrofoam! It requires at least five hundred years to biodegrade.

- When cleaning, there are natural and cheap alternatives. Use club soda for stains, oranges to eliminate odors, baking soda for cleaning (4 teaspoons per quart ofwater), Borax (crystalline salt) and water for a disinfectant, vinegar and water for window cleaner, lemon juice and olive oil for wood polish, white vinegar and baking soda followed by boiling water for clogged drains.

- Use latex paint instead of potentially toxic oil-based paint. Follow instructions on the can to dispose of extra paint. (If you use latex paint, you can leave the can open to let the paint dry out, after which it will just pop out of the can-then you can recycle the can as well!)

- Never pour paint down the drain or into the soil outside, as it will create toxins in groundwater.

- Look for "no chlorine" on the package. Chlorine's byproduct dioxin is toxic, carcinogenic, and causes major health problems. Avoid laundry bleach with chlorine. It's also in toilet paper, paper, teabags, coffee filters, and tampons.

- Hand wash your "dry clean only" clothing and hang laundry to dry.

- Use biodegradable waxed paper in place of foil or plastic wrap.

- Using alternative packaging (shredded paper, scrunched newspaper) for shipping.

- Don't use chemical pesticides, herbicides, or fertilizers. There are natural and cheaper alternatives! You can compost to make great fertilizer, or use manure. Soapy dishwater is a good pesticide for houseplants. Chalk dust or chili powder will get rid of ants. Baking soda and powdered sugar, boric acid, or bay leaves will all deter cockroaches. Use cedar chips, lavender, rosemary, or mint instead of mothballs. Brewer's yeast in pet food gets rid of fleas.

REDUCE and REUSE

- Bring your own mug to the coffee shop. Coffee shops often offer a discount to customers who bring their own coffee cups. Share this practice with others while you are waiting in line.

- Use cloth shopping bags.

- Reduce automobile use.

- Use cloth instead of paper towels for cleaning and cloth diapers for your baby. Disposable ones take a long time to decompose (500 years!) and contribute to contamination of a "sanitary" landfill. The viruses that grow can contaminate the groundwater.

- Use a handkerchief and use your own cloth napkins in the restroom.

- Store your leftovers in reusable glass jars or yogurt containers.

- Reuse wrapping paper, ribbons, and bows, or design your own wrapping paper. Use newspaper, comics or old phone book pages as wrapping paper.

- Reuse paper by using both sides for writing notes to yourself.

- Compost lawn clippings and use the nutrient-rich compost soil for the garden and yard.

RECYCLE

- Do not throw used batteries into the garbage. Collect them and bring them to a recycling center instead, or ask your local trash pickup if they will take them away for you. The mercury they contain contaminates groundwater, one of our major sources of drinking water.

- Start the habit NOW of recycling all glass, plastic, and aluminum cans. Make the extra effort to hold on to all recyclable items until you find a recycling bin or take them home to your own.

- Recycle all paper: Newspapers, junk mail, cardboard boxes, receipts, wrapping paper, magazines, envelopes, paper bags, and toilet paper rolls.

- Recycle unwanted computers and computer equipment to avoid dangerous toxins going into landfills. You can drop them off at Goodwill Industries.

TAKE ACTION

- Stop junk mail. You can find addresses and phone numbers on the advertisements themselves, or go to www.stopjunkmail.org to get involved with a national campaign.

- Differentiate between wants and needs. Think about your motives for buying a product before purchasing it. Hold off for a few days or weeks to see if you still really want it, or if the want was just an impulse. Don't spend your hard-earned money impulsively! Save your money for the things you really want.

- Research questionable companies and find the history of brand names. Are there alternative ways to make the product with an environmental conscience?

- Learn labels. Look for words like "organic" and "growth hormones" on labels. Manufacturers can be very clever and will disguise undesirable words.

- Buy recycled and 100% post consumer recycled materials.

- Support your local farmers! Buy unprocessed, local, organic food.

- Take litter walks. Bring a bag and protective gloves and pick up garbage.

- Organize community clean-up weekends.

- Support career transition programs that are trying to use environmentally sound practices.

- Speak up by starting a petition or a campaign. Re-create community!

- Walk, carpool, ride a bike, or take public transit. (Start up a conversation with fellow commuters.)

- Have a garage sale and donate your old things instead of throwing them away. Get the whole neighborhood involved!

- Redefine your style; explore thrift stores. Hold neighborhood clothing swaps.

- Shop at locally owned businesses. They are more likely to know how products are made and pollute less. International shipping pollutes!

- Educate community businesses on how they can become more sustainable.

- Arrange recycling services at your place of work, church, school. Educate others. Paper is a major source of waste at the office.

- Start a compost bin (for fertilizer) in your backyard. If you don't have a backyard, talk to your neighbors about creating a community garden.

- Inquire with your municipal recycling program to include compost collection.