Wednesday, December 30, 2009

How to Lower Your Impact in 2010


Lower the thermostat: for every degree, you save about 2 percent off your heating bill. Once your body gets accustomed to the new norm, the problem will be getting friends and family to follow suit, because you’ll have to peel off layers every time you go visit. (If you buy a down vest, you can drop the temperature even more.)

Change your diet: eating more grains and beans will lower the country’s emissions from food production by 50%. Every time I pause in front of the Stop & Shop meat shelf, I ask myself, do I really want all those hormones coursing through my body? The answer is a resounding NO. (Find a good health food store, like Orleans Whole Food on Main Street.)

Eliminate plastic from your life: Plastic is made with petroleum by-products. Join the Compact (a worldwide buy-nothing-new movement). I have screamed my heart out on this one. See last month’s post on plastic, and my Plastics Lament.

Take public transportation, whenever possible, or walk, or ride bikes. (This fall Sven and I discovered public transportation is not always an option in the off-season, but at least we tried.)

Eliminate plastic from your life. What? Did I mention that already? Check out a great blog I discovered called Fake Plastic Fish and be enlightened.

What New Year’s resolution are you formulating with regard to the environment?