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Steps To a Better Future
Here are some suggestions to follow or try out in order to strive for a greener and cleaner and a better future for us and future generations. Let us know if you have more ideas.
1. When purchasing major appliances for your home, choose those that are rated "high efficiency", such as front-load clothes washer and modern refrigerator models that use considerably less electricity to operate.
2. Buy and eat food products that you can be sure are grown and/or prepared in your local area or region--i.e. local fruits, vegetables, meats, eggs, and wines, meals made from fresh ingredients (which are somewhat more likely to be local), and organically-produced foods. These should somewhat reduce the energy demand for transportation and support in-season, sustainable agriculture in our local enconomies
3. If you don't already have one, purchase a bicycle; whenever safe and possible to do so, use it to run errands in your community rather than driving.
4. Reach a compromise with those living in your home to tolerate setting your heat thermostat 2 - 3 degrees cooler than you already do during the Winter months. Show more resolve to dress in several comfortable layers of clothing so you'll feel warm enough at such temperatures. This reduces demand on our power plants and, of course, reduces your energy bill. But, the energy producers won't like it! Or get a programmable one ($20+) and have the temperature lower when you're asleep or away from the house.
5. When possible, avoid purchasing food products that have been produced and/or shipped from overseas or from more than 500 miles away. In most cases, the further a product is transported, the greater the cost to our air and water resources. Read labels in the store to attempt to determine origin of the product.
6. Use mass transit (i.e. public bus, van, train, or plane) when it is an available option, to travel around in your region. For example, ride the Metrolink whenever you have to travel to and from St. Louis.
7. Educate yourself about the origin of as many home products as you are able (read labels while shopping, seek info on-line), to avoid purchasing items made from rain forest trees (teak, mahogany, brazilwood). Insist on purchasing products made in continent on which we live (pine, oak, ash commonly used, and typically harvested in a more responsible, sensitive manner). This will help, in a small way, to reduce the demand on harvesting rain forest trees.
8. Use passive heating and cooling appropriate to the season. By utilizing blinds, shades and curtains, with windows and sun-lights, to block out sunlight during the warm season and to allow in sunlight during the coldest times of the year, you reduce your energy bill and the demand for the dirtiest forms of electricity generation (i.e. from coal-fired power plants).
9. Employ a propane grill to cook your foods outdoors during the warmest times of the year to reduce the energy demand on your home's cooling system (which will always have to run more to compensate for the heat from your stove-top, oven, or microwave).
10. Purchase bulk or large-quantity food packages to reduce the amount of plastic, carboard, and paper needed for packaged foods. It is fairly easy to store bulk quantities of foods in glass, stoneware, or plastic containers w/ tight-fitting lids. This will somewhat reduce your contribution to the local landfill and reduce the demand for newly-produced packaging.
11. Commit to purchasing a high fuel-efficiency automobile for your long-distance transportation needs, rather than a utility vehicle, pick-up, or van. These use far less fossil fuels (petroleum-based) over their life-time and demonstrate support for higher fuel-efficiency standards in the automotive industry. Consumer demand for these more efficient vehicles pushes the industry to produce vehicles with even higher efficiency over time.
12. Consolidate your travel and use the "RULE OF THREE". When driving your vehicle, plan ahead, to accomplish at least three different tasks or errands in the same trip, as often as possible.
13. Use a humidifier during the cooler months (either a stand-alone unit or one coupled with your furnace) when indoor air tends to stay drier. This allows indoor air to "feel" warmer and guards your respiratory health. In the opposite way, your air conditioning unit removes the humidity from indoor air, during the warmest, most humid times of the year, rendering the indoor environment more confortable than outdoors.
14. Whenever possible, avoid patronizing businesses that sell predominantly consumer goods produced (and therefore shipped) from overseas. Using the internet you can, with patience, find some goods produced in the U.S. Try to locate and purchase, at least, some items produced locally or in your region. Indirectly, this could help more Americans hold steady jobs, as well.
15. Plant and maintain shrub or flower beds on your property. These provide food for native insects and birds, beautify your outdoor view, and reduce the lawn surface area that you must mow (thus also conserving energy and reducing pollution).
16. Donate clothing for second-hand use by those less fortunate, and cut clothing no longer suitable for wear into large squares/rectangles for use as cleaning rags. High % cotton fabric absords more than resource-wasting paper towels and can be washed and re-used many times. Lowering your use of paper disposable/products decreases the need for growing/cutting trees solely for that purpose, as long as we each do our part. Grab a washable fabric rag to clean up that spill rather than paper towels!
17. Use compact flourescent (CFL) light bulbs in and outside your home, replacing the older, less efficient incandescent bulbs when they burn out. Be aware, however, that CFLs usually contain a small amount of mercury and should ideally be disposed of at or by an E.P.A.-approved waste handler.
18. Reuse as many home products as you reasonably and safely can. The adage "reduce (your consumption of consumer goods), re-use (whenever possible), and recycle" (everything you possibly can) is still a very sound way to conserve natural resources.
19. If you are one of those fortunate, wise poeple who makes time to grow flowers and/or a vegetable garden, make sure to make use of mulch around the base of your plants, adding more every 2-3 months, to reduce your need for an ever-dwindling resource: fresh water. Believe it or not, the world's fresh water is decreasing and must serve an ever-increasing human population. People living in arid locations, such as Texas and the desert Southwest are already keenly aware of this.
20. Write a brief email or letter to your legislator and/or Senator and Representative, asking them to co-sponsor legislation that subsidizes and otherwise encourages the development of wind farms, large-scale solar installations, alternative fuels, and geothermal energy generation projects. These will, almost surely, each have an important place in our future, but we need both the citizenry and government, at all levels, to whole-heartedly support them.
21. Also, here is a list of good plants for folks to plant to attract and support the viability of native bees and honeybees. Native sunflowers (i.e. rough-haired sunflower, tall sunflower), flat-topped goldenrod, mountain mints, monardas (such as bergamot), oregano, native asters (especially the blue and white ones), milkweeds, cone flowers, guara, blanket flower, elderberry, wild roses, sedums.
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