Do you take steps to reduce pollution, save energy, etc? If so, what do you do?

Question

It seems to me that a lot of people SAY they're concious of the environment, and yet they litter, or leave lights on, or drive SUV's, or smoke, or leave the water running when they brush their teeth, or use bugspray and sunscreen from aersol cans, or all of the above. And, some people don't even recycle!

I know I do these things too, and I'm not trying to accuse anyone; I'm just wondering, does anyone feel the same way?

It just seems like we say we are taking steps to improve the Earth, but we're not really willing to put in the effort.

Answer 1

I dont own any car.

Answer 2

I recycle and have changed all the light bulbs out with the new energy efficient florescent bulbs at my new house..  And as soon as they start making the LED Bulbs to replace them I will up grade to those also..

Answer 3

No,I don't do any of the things you mentioned. I don't have a habit of being a good consumer either.There are billions of dollars of food went to waste in Australia every year.We also put out unwanted household items on the verge twice a year for the council to collect.To reduce landfill , I am part of the group called freecycle where one offers any unwanted old items to the group .If I need any items , I will also visit the streets that put out their unwanted household items for council collection and help myself to them. So far , I have acquired a BBQ weber ,hosepipes and hundreds of plant pots .

I grow my own food and catch my own food from the sea. I counted over 40 varieties of vegies in my garden.All my kitchen and garden waste go to my compost and worm farm. In return I don't buy fertilizer which has been a big problem as people over fertilize and pollute our waterways.

If we all go back to the old ways and be self-sufficient and consume locally or home grown produce , this will reduce the need for massive air transport in our society of false economy . If we all spend an hour a day in building a vegie garden and recycle kitchen and garden waste as organic fertiliser , we would not just be a lot greener , but also healthier , fitter and wealthier because you won't be wasting your money in buying unhealthy preservatives ridden packaged pre-prepared food from the supermarket which has a high environmental tax in production , transport and disposal.

Answer 4

Yes I do and bravo for your question!

Answer 5

Well I can't say that I'm a big recycler.By that I mean I'm not anal about it but I do recycle.

I did change every light bulb in our house to the new compact flouresents and I can tell you about the savings!!!

I would love to have a hybred vehicle but they are either to small for my needs or they just don't get the kind of fuel econmy that I believe they should.There have only been a couple that I would even consider and their ratings were basically the same as a car with a gas engine only Kind of defeats the purpose eh?

And as soon as I get my basement cleaned out I'm definetly going to do something with solar power.I have a large area of flat roof on my house thats perfect for solar panels

Answer 6

I recycle my house hold items, turn off lights and cut down on water waste.As far a leave go i take then to the woods behind my old house and spread them out, that's where they belong but i do put some on my garden for rich composted soil

Answer 7

I also try. I am slowly trying to quit smonling. I only litter organic items such as green pepper cores. I recycle glass, aluminim, plastic. I have ongoing compost bins and gardens. I try not to buy food in cans. I drive a truck but use it to haul leaves, mulch and other items. and cannot afford another vehicle at this time. I support the yard waste recycling center.  And my biggest contrubution I think is recycling polyester into braided rugs.

Answer 8

I can see what you mean.  Pollution is a terrible problem right now but it doesn't stop the majority of people from hurrying off to work or to the corner store in their vehicle.  Actually, while I was conducting a poll the other day regarding the pollution caused by motor vehicles, one woman replied, "So what?  The world's going to end someday."  I was shocked to hear that!  I've biked around my entire life, using public transportation only when I absolutely need to.  I don't mind walking 40 minutes to get to my corner store (or place of work), as it's worth every moment.  Not only is it wonderful exercise, but it keeps me in touch with the world around me.  I wouldn't trade walking the town trails for a two minute drive in a car any day.  I buy organic vegetarian foods to support non-pesticide animal friendly farms (sprays and abnormal amounts of livestock contribute greatly to pollution/global warming).  I also recycle everything that I can, as well as buy recycled materials (shopping bags, pet litter, clothes, etc.), take baths instead of showers, and limit my use of electricity.  I also don't use aerosol sprays, both for a concern for my personal health and for that of the environment.  For anyone looking for a healthy alternative to commercial bug sprays, try rubbing beautyberry leaves on your skin and clothes.  They're a wonderfully natural bug repellent, and safe for your skin and lungs.

I think everyone can learn from a positive example.  I've already greatly influenced the people around me with my good intentions, and it's been a fun, exciting change for them.  This change will most likely take time, but people are adapting to it everyday.

Add:

For anyone who relies on motor vehicles to get by, please check this website out for an environmentally friendly alternative to a motor engine:

http://www.tcnj.edu/~oconnor8/IMM_140/GM...

The cars emit steam only.

Answer 9

Yes we are doing it.

I mow the lawn with my horse

I only eat plants and animals that died of natural causes.

Never cook eat food raw or warmed in sun.

I drive a donkey cart to store

Wash clothes in creek by hand

dry the on rocks.

I only turn electric on for 1 hour a day.

take bath in creek or shower in rain.

Remodeling a cave to live in 50 degrees car battery for light.'

most of our clothes are hand woven out of hemp.

shoes for kids are made from leather road kill sandals and tires for bottom of shoes.

repaired old shopping cart for kids to collect empty soda cans.

Beds are old newspaper & tree Moss with hemp covering. furniture is made from logs and tree stumps.

Floor carpet is woven out of brightly colored plastic bags woven in circle.

My job is picking seed pine cones for forestry dept

This cooling has already killed hundreds of thousands of people. If it continues and no strong action is taken, it will cause world famine, world chaos and world war, and this could all come about before the year 2000. -- Lowell Ponte "The Cooling", 1976

If present trends continue, the world will be about four degrees colder for the global mean temperature in 1990, but eleven degrees colder by the year 2000...This is about twice what it would take to put us in an ice age. -- Kenneth E.F. Watt on air pollution and global cooling, Earth Day (1970)

What we've got to do in energy conservation is try to ride the global warming issue. Even if the theory of global warming is wrong, to have approached global warming as if it is real means energy conservation, so we will be doing the right thing anyway in terms of economic policy and environmental policy. -- Timothy Wirth, former U.S. Senator (D-Colorado)

If radical environmentalists were to invent a disease to bring human populations back to sanity, it would probably be something like AIDS -- Earth First! Newsletter

Human happiness, and certainly human fecundity, is not as important as a wild and healthy planets...Some of us can only hope for the right virus to come along. -- David Graber, biologist, National Park Service

The collective needs of non-human species must take precedence over the needs and desires of humans. -- Dr. Reed F. Noss, The Wildlands Project

Answer 10

I myself am still appalled that some people don't recycle.  In my home it's a part of the regular routine.  We recycle all cardboard, plastics, glass, tin foil, tin cans, pop cans, newspaper, magazines, etc. For other things, like batteries and engine oil, we go to the recycle center.

I live in Oregon and we are lucky enough to have recycle pick-up that comes right after and just like the garbage service in front of our home on the street.  

I'm shocked when I go to other states and see people throw tin can and pop cans into their trash can after they are finished with it. Evidently not all states have the recycle pick-up and I think it should be a nationwide service.  Maybe then more people would feel inclined to recycle.

Answer 11

I wear a coat at home so I don't turn the heat on much.   I turn on the hot water half an hour before I take a shower so its not wasting electricity heating water that I won't use.   I have a rain barrel out back under a drip that I use to add a couple gallons of water to the toilet tank so I only use a half gallon of water or so each flush.   I pick up wood scraps from construction sites that I use in my wood stove.

Answer 12

3R!

Reduce!

Reuse!

Recycle!

Answer 13

I try watch what I do everyday to help the environment.  I do this by turning off the lights, shutting off the water, etc. Did anyone register their blog for blog action day in October for the environment? I did...

Check out this blog: There are great Eco-friendly articles listed here

Answer 14

I use CFL bulbs throughout the house -  more than a dozen in all.

I buy Energy Star appliances and electronics when ever possible

My car gets 37 MPH and I work from home so driving is kept at a minimum. I keep the car well tuned to minimize exhaust

I recycle trash, paper and plastic bags

I FreeCycle unwanted items rather than throw them away

All small, easy to do things that I hope make a difference

Answer 15

I am not a global warming zealot, I don't hate corporations, I don't drive a prius but I think that conservation (ie reducing resources used through recycling better land management etc) just make sense to everyone becuase it saves you money over the long run and doesn't require extra effort just re-directed effort.

In my county you can recycle almost all paper, plastic, glass and metal products so our volume of recycling is always larger than our volume of regular trash. The county picks it up.

I use the compact flourescent bulbs and have had very good luck as to lifespan (I have never had to replace any of them in the past 4 years while I have replaced the incandescents that came installed in my house and in products). I haven't tracked the energy usage changes due to these.

Try to turn off lights and try to use fixtures that have fewer bulbs (like a table lamp) instead of multiple bulb fixtures.

I don't drive an suv due to the gas and purchase cost.

I do recommend this to everyone:

I always use synthetic motor oil (specifically mobil 1) when I get my oil changed. Synthetic motor oil comes from the castor plant and actually lubricates better than conventional (dinosaur based) oil. All forms of prefessional racing use synthetic over conventional and many sports cars and luxury cars (ie corvettes, dodge vipers, ferrari, porsche, nascar) use synthetic. The synthetic motor oil costs twice as much but it last many times longer. You can go between 9,000 and 15,000 miles between changes with synthetic.

I use additional insulation around my windows and doors in winter and make sure that doors, joints and windows are sealing well using caulk and expanding foam as needed.

I use upgraded air filters in my car and my furnace.

We just started using vinegar to clean.

Answer 16

1 had only 1 kid then had my tubes tied - yes the NUMBER 1 contributor to  a problem is based on how many kids a person has (thus how many more burdens are placed on the planet)

2 have a large garden, potatoes, carrots, lettuce, tomatoes, apples, plums (if the deer would quit eating the plum trees) etc..

3 had own free range hens for eggs (as with own garden - this reduces shipping of food from one place to a store to my house)

4 switched most to energy efficient light bulbs

5 turn heat down at night or when we are away

6 use re-usable bags when shopping...

7 shop WAY less than most people (I hate having junk I dont need)

8 do NOT use pesticides

9 pull weeds by hand!

10 turn lights off when not in use...

again the most important thing I have done is STOPPED having kids after 1 kid.. nobody with 3-4 or more kids can honestly say they care about the environment because if they did they wouldnt have had so many dang kids...human population is the #1 problem and is the root of all others...