What do you personally do to help the Earth/environment?

[mousefan73]

I commute via train that takes about 30 minutes longer than driving. but has also other benefits for me.. working, napping, streaming, chilling, less stress.

 

[easyas123]

We have donated two parts of our farm to be used as a quail conservation area, as well as built a 1/4 mile long living fence around another part of the farm. We've created some other habitat areas as well. Also planted about 200+ trees over the past few years. Generally we take the approach to fix it until it can't be fixed again or reused.
We come at the concept of helping the environment with a very local to us and the Chesapeake Bay kind of way, not in a huge, global type of way since we live on a tributary of the bay.

 

[hmsTigger]

Plant Trees
Maintain Meadows
Grow Vegetables

 

[kanerf]

All of my lights are now LEDs. I put in a high efficiency boiler. I drive a plug-in hybrid vehicle and take public transit much of the time.

 

[Suger Mag]

Oooh can I virtue signal next? If learning from and trying to do better than the people who came before us is virtue signaling then count me virtuous and signaled

I would love to do more, but some things are currently beyond my finances like a solar addition to our energy supplies. We use oil and live in the northeast so heating is necessary, but we try to keep the thermostats low and wear layers in the winter. When I upgrade an appliance, energy efficiency is appealing and does play a role in the decision making of what to buy. Same with building or home improvements.

I recycle, participate in community clean ups of our natural resources like Source to Sea. I also support local groups who try to keep our natural resources clan and protected, for example I am active in the volunteer community especially when it comes to fundraising for local land trusts that conserve wooded and agricultural land from development.

My goal when things calm down a bit is to become a licensed wildlife rehabilitator.

 

[jo-jo]

I do a lot my carbon footprint is less than average for Americans. My house is small only have what I need. I don’t need a big house. I keep things longer than the average American. Furniture, clothes, basically everything. I try not to waste food. The average American wastes 219 pounds of food a year. If you only waste half that amount you will cut carbon emissions of 561 pounds a year. The average American carbon footprint is 16 tons a year. Globally it’s 4 tons.
I don’t eat a lot of red meat. If you eat half of what the average American uses you will save 687 pounds of carbon emissions a year.
I don’t have a camper.
I don’t have a boat.

I haven't the slightest idea how to figure ones carbon footprint.

 

[Disneefun]

I haven't the slightest idea how to figure ones carbon footprint.

There are more than a few online calculators that ask you questions about your lifestyle, habits, etc. How accurate they are, I have no idea, but they can be good for ballparking your footprint if you're interested.

 

[_19disnA]

Maybe just me, but seems like there are WAY bigger opportunities to save the planet then by recycling those tiny Taco Bell sauce packets. How much aluminum will be saved vs the cost to transport/process and recycle them? I honestly thought it was some kind of social media joke until I found it on the Taco Bell website......................

 

[TippyThomas]

I don't think I've ever really done anything on purpose. I just follow the rules and do my best.

 

[Disneefun]

Here we go. My top 11. There are many more things we do, but here are the big ones.

1. Over the years, we've made a lot of improvements to our home for energy and water efficiency. Insulation, lighting, appliances, roofing, window screening, shower heads, etc. And we live in a much smaller house than the average, or what we could have afforded. We bought what we needed and nothing more. We keep the heat/ac lower or higher as appropriate. Solar would be nice, but we have too many trees. (See below.) In the choice between trees or solar, we've chosen trees.

2. Reduce, reuse, recycle and REFUSE. If I don't need it, I don't take it or buy it. That includes things like plastic silverware or condiments for takeout, bags for one item, products that come in ridiculous packaging, etc. I refuse as much as possible, or vote with my wallet against ridiculous practices. I also do the "hard" task of making sure waste goes to the proper place, like taking e-waste to the proper facility, paint and motor oil to the right places, etc. It isn't always convenient because our local government hasn't made it easy to dispose of certain things, but I do it.

3. Growing some of our own fruits and veggies and composting for fertilizer. I buy local when I can for things like eggs and veggies. We have great local farmers here and an awesome farmer's market, so I go there to cut down on shipping and chemical waste.

4. Driving as little as possible and combining trips when I do go out. I'd love to go electric and will on the next car, but for now we're focused on wearing out what we have. With how little we drive, it will take a while.

5. Gave up long haul travel and cruising. Part of this was not for environmental reasons, but I know it helps and I feel good about the choice. I got to the point where it was just so exhausting and annoying to fly, etc. that it really wasn't worth it to me. Yes, there are lots of things in the world that I'd still like to see, but I realized that there is a lifetime's worth of things to see and do within a 6-8 hour drive of my house. We're fortunate to live relatively close to mountains and beaches, lots of historical areas, several big cities with attractions and museums of their own, etc. I don't miss "big" travel. If I do want to go further from home, we live near a train station and really enjoy slow train travel.

6. Buy used or borrowing whenever possible, and keep as much of my stuff out of landfills by selling, trading, and repurposing as much as possible.

7. This isn't out of a sense of environmental justice or anything, but on the day after trash collection, I've taken to grabbing a bag and my pick up claw and taking them with me on my daily walk to pick up all the trash that blows off the trash truck. I usually come home with a full kitchen garbage bag. It's disheartening to see how many of my neighbors just leave that stuff and then mow it. Or leave it until it blows away. They see it, but somehow decide it's not their problem. I'm thinking, "Fine, you didn't put it there, but how much trouble is it to pick it up out of your yard and put it in the trash?" I just don't like to look at it, and I don't like to think of the wildlife caught in a bottle or bag, or eating it. I'm hoping to lead by example, but so far I'm still the only one bothering. I guess it's my personal windmill to tilt at.

8. When we built this house, we left as many trees as we could and have since planted more. We take good care of our little forest and leave as much natural as we can. Very little grass, it's mostly natural area, so no watering or fertilizing. What we do mow, we use an electric mower and battery weed whacker. We don't spray for bugs or anything and we just let them be. We've cultivated a wildlife habitat by providing water and food sources for bugs and animals including native plants. It doesn't help the world at large, necessarily, but we're happy to help the local wildlife.

9. Eat very little meat. For both health and environmental reasons.

10. Use as few chemicals as possible. Natural cleaning products, no fertilizer or weed killer, no bug spray unless I have no choice (I do treat for termites, wasps if they build in dangerous areas, etc.).

11. I volunteer, donate, and vote for policies and and causes whenever I have the chance.

Bonus round: All of my dogs have been "used," rescued from shelters.

 

[John VN]

Temp today is heading to mid 90's, house thermostat has been at 83F since 9AM and overnight it's set at 79F or 80F. Recycle, bicycle to stores.

 

[jade1]

We installed Solar on the house in Orlando. Seems to be quite helpful.

Curious, can anybody explain "Carbon Offsets/Credits"?

I hear folks say they fly private, and offset that footprint that way.

 

[Turn the Page]

I wash laundry on cold. We don't have A/C and keep the thermostat on 66 during the winter. We recycle of course. Almost all of our meat is from a local farm, we buy a pig and quarter cow every year and I make a lot of meatless meals also. I refuse to buy bottled water though DH still does and it drives me bananas. We have copious amounts of refillable bottles at home. No need to buy bottled water.

But most of all, our combined 3 children represent the sum reproductive total of 4 adults. So we are reducing the population!!!!

 

[BlueStarryHat]

I never said it was dishonest. Virtue signaling has nothing to do with honesty.

You're right, apologies for that. However...all people here (including myself) were doing was giving examples of the small things they personally do to help. Things to do that are in reach by most people. We used to buy a case of water a week. Stopping that kept over 1,200 bottles out of the landfill last year. it's a small thing, but I have to believe it helps.

 

[Turn the Page]

I read a lot and have switched to borrowing books from the library rather than buying them. Also, those are often ebooks when I can get them.

I don't buy a lot of clothes and wear them until they can't be worn anymore. Same for shoes.

 

[tvguy]

1) Put solar panels on our house 8 years ago. From April through October we produce more electricity than we use.

2) Religiously sort garbage to maximize recycling. HOWEVER, I am well aware that far too much sorted recyclable material ends up in the landfill because using virgin materials is still cheaper.

3) Traded in an SUV that averaged about 19 mpg for a Hybrid sedan that averages 48 mpg but has gotten as much as 58 mpg.

4) Only water our lawn on allowed watering days, and make sure to keep runoff to a minimum.

 

[JaxDad]

In my personal life, I do many of the things others have listed. In my professional life, I spent over 20 years designing small- to large-scale ecosystem restoration projects, primarily in South Florida. I’m very proud to have seen many of them complete construction and start showing results. I’ve been working more on facility designs the last 7-8 years, but those also offer opportunities to include green initiatives. When I retire in the next year or two, I plan to go back to ecosystem restoration work as a volunteer with a nonprofit organization.

 

[NannyBeBe]

I do not do much deliberately. I recycle some items and do not litter. I would probably do more but get turned off by the environmentalists who carry things to the extreme.

 

[VFL]

We recycle a decent amount. I have also recently switched to the bar shampoo and conditioners. Nothing extreme but every little bit counts.

 

[jo-jo]

Not dishonest, but definitely the perspective on these things have shifted. Our grandparents, and maybe even our parents did them without feeling like they were "saving the planet".

More so grandparents, used things forever. None of this, I'm tired of this style of whatever, lets get a new one. Saved jars and such for storage. How many of us have laughed at the collection of coolwhip and butter containers in their houses.