| Author(s): Scenic Spring
Date: 09 April 08 C18. What are ten things you
could do to minimize your impact on the Earth? These should be real, do-able
tasks, i.e., things that you could begin doing tomorrow. Make a list of your “ten
things” and share a plan for (a) how you will enact them and (b) how they will
help heal the Earth. Begin carrying out at least two of them, and, if possible,
report on any progress you make.
Ten Things I'm Doing to Minimize My Impact on the Earth 2) I will turn lights out when I’m not using them. * 3) I will choose paper instead of plastic bags. 4) I will cut down or eliminate meat products. 5) I will recycle used products. 6) I will make more food from scratch instead of purchasing boxed and processed foods. 7) I will grow my own vegetables and plant strawberries. 8) I will take showers instead of baths. 9) I will turn off the water in the sink when doing dishes until I need it. * 10) I will open a window in the car instead of using air conditioning. * bold = in progress My Plan to Help Heal the Earth 1) I plan on walking to the store or taking alternate transportation to help save gas--to help with cost and pollution in the air. I only live a mile to a mile-and-a-half from the stores; so they are within easy walking distance. Public transportation is easily available and serves many locations I frequently go to. This will minimize my need to use a personal vehicle and will help reduce air pollution and save money. 2) I have a tendency to absentmindedly leave lights on all over the house when I’m not using them since we do not directly pay the light bill. I will turn out lights when I am not using them; to preserve energy. This will help with the economy’s cost and raising prices. 3) I will, when going to stores, request paper bags instead of plastic. By doing this I will be using biodegradable material instead of plastic; which persists for year. I will be decreasing the chances of suffocation in small animals. By doing this there will be less pollution around and healthier environments for animals and plants. 4) If I cut down on meat, or eliminate it entirely, I will have better health. It would increase necessary food for people. It will decrease a lot of the dangerous gasses in the air being let off by animals who are raised for food. This would help with starvation, disease, and toxin control. 5) In the past I have recycled bottles and cans. I am going to start doing this again and I’m going to attempt to recycle all plastic, aluminum can material, and paper. This will be a good experiment for me. We have a truck that comes around; I think once a week. By doing this I will be helping the animals by not having trash that can hurt or sicken them. I would also be helping the trees so we don’t have to cut more down for paper; we just use the same ones from before. I would also be helping reduce un-biodegradable material in the landfills. 6) If I start making more food from scratch I will be using less trash. If I make a salad from all vegetables there is no trash to throw out. The simpler I cook the better off both I and the earth are. I would be using less boxes which in return is using less trees. I would be using less plastic materials there for using less un-biodegradable materials. This is again helping plants, animals, trees, and reducing landfill material. 7) By growing some of my own food I will be creating more oxygen in the air. I will be eating healthier, and giving this land natural beauty again. I will have more nutritious foods and less packaging. This will save on a lot of unnecessary trash. For fruit I won't have those plastic baskets which aren’t biodegradable and get animals caught in them. I will have less plastic bags; and chemicals won't be put into the air. These foods would be totally organic--healthy and helpful to our environment. 8) I take showers over baths for the most part, but I have days where I sit and soak in the bath. If I take only showers I will be conserving a lot of water and saving the energy used in hot water heaters. Especially during droughts it will conserve more water for animals and others who need it. 9) When doing dishes, I have a habit of putting the water spout in the rinsing side of the sink and running it. In doing this I really use a lot of water which is unnecessary and it wastes energy. I will start turning off the water in the sink until it's time to rinse a bulk load. This will conserve water and energy. The water I waste can be used for several other purposes. Once again I’m using the hot water heater just to heat up this water, but I am not using. This will stop taking water from the land that needs it. During droughts it will keep water for animals, people, and plants that can utilize it to help keep the earth with gasses it needs to survive. 10) In summer time you can't help but use a car at times. If I’m going a long distance or on a weekend where the public transportation doesn’t go; I will need to ride in a car. Summer is obviously hot so I will start using open windows for worm-mid hot days instead of air-conditioning. Hot days it becomes a heath risk not to cool off. I would use the air-conditioning a bare minimal in dire needs. This will stop unnecessary chemicals going into the ground. It creates puddles which some desperate animals may try to drink. It poisons animals, and makes them very sick. It also uses up energy in a car which creates and uses more gas, thus putting more pollution in the air then a normal day. Fresh air is better than synthetic air for you anyway.
Progress Report: I have been working on my two tasks for about a week now. I am finding the Light turning off to be a hard adjustment. I have such a habit of just leaving the room it’s a definite task. I believe highly that this is going to make a huge difference after time doing this. I clearly can see this is a huge waste of energy for me. Turning off the water in the sink has been surprisingly easy for an adjustment. I find it actually quite helpful. Believe it or not; the dishes get done quicker doing them in bulk. I am going to enjoy doing dishes this way. It definitely will save energy and water.
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