Ten Ways to Help the Environment

Over the past few years most of us have been bombarded with rhetoric and propaganda about the importance of being conscious about our impact on the environment. In particular, many of us have been advised to think about applying the three R's (Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle) to the greatest extent possible in our daily lives.

Unfortunately, most of these pleas and exhortations seem to fall on deaf ears. We still see huge gas guzzlers on the street and empty coffee cups in the gutters. People don't seem to be getting the message and taking it to heart.

Today, I realized that part of this problem might be that many of the advisories promoting environmental consciousness don't come with corresponding suggestions about how to put the related principles into effect. Explicit suggestions about how members of the public can go about reducing, reusing, and recycling need to be made available.

In an attempt to fill this ozone hole sized void I have come up with a few simple approaches and practices that (if adhered to) will significantly contribute to the reduction of green house emissions and levels of other pollutants, while simultaneously significantly reducing one's average household consumption.


1. Take cold showers

Not only are cold showers more energy efficient than warm showers, they have a tendency to make the showerer want to do things as quickly as possible. My suspicion is that shower related water use could be cut in half by simply implementing this one change to one's showering regime.

R's Used: Reduce


2. Use old newspapers as wallpaper

Some people like to change their wallpaper on a yearly, or at least semi-frequent, basis. Not only is this wasteful but it is also expensive and time consuming.

If one insists on making such changes to their décor the least they can do is use previously used paper to cover their walls. For a grey appearance standard newspapers will do the trick. If more colour is desired the decorator can use either fliers or colour comic section.

An additional benefit of this suggestion is that as the layers of paper begin mount over the years they will begin to also act as insulation, thus reducing heating and cooling costs.

R's Used: Reuse, Recycle


3. Burn garbage to heat your dwelling

Many people buy wood or oil to burn to heat their dwellings. Not only is this wasteful and detrimental the environment, it also is quite expensive.

People should take advantage of the fuel sources that already exist in their home before they move to external sources. Newspapers are an obvious first choice, but garbage generally can be used. This technique is a particularly environmentally friendly way of getting rid of those pesky plastics that aren't recyclable.

R's Used: Reuse, Reduce, and Recycle.


4. Eat directly from pots and pans

While many suggest that it is polite to eat from plates and bowls, this is clearly wasteful and hurtful to the environment.

Every effort should be made to eat something directly from the vessel (e.g. pot, pan, or bowl) in which it was prepared. Not only does this save on water during the washing process, it also saves on time (the environment's best friend and ally).

R's Used: Reduce, Reuse


5. Wear less clothing

Clothing these days is quite bulky and frequently made from nasty synthetic fibers. Not surprisingly, neither the bulk nor the synthetic content is doing the environment any favours.

People should make an effort to wear fewer pieces of clothing (maybe you could skip wearing underwear 3 days a week) as well as clothing that uses less fabric (meaning briefs rather than boxers). A close to full application of this principle would mean that women would wear bikinis while mean would wear those nice, tight, small swimming shorts. The only downside of this principle is that heating costs would go up in the winter (but surely there would be a net gain in the environment's favour).

R's Used: Reduce


6. Download or stream movies instead renting physical copies

Many of us have been advised that downloading or streaming movies is bad. This is not the case. Downloading or streaming movies (and there are many legal sources) prevents the need for the creation of those ghastly discs and cases, most of which just end up broken.

An additional benefit of this principle is that it means fewer trips to rental locations will be necessary. This will mean less wear and tear on both footwear and cars.

R's Used: Reduce


7. Consume hard liquor instead of beer or wine

While many of us, myself included, prefer beer and wine to hard liquor, these options are clearly not the environmental choice. Not only do beer and wine frequently have more associated wood based packaging, they provide less impact by volume. This means less hard liquor has to be packaged and shipped to get a larger number of people drunk. Clearly this is the option that should be promoted given the fragile state of the environment.

R's Used: Reduce


8. Vacations should only be take to dreamland

While many of use like to take vacations to new locations this is not a sustainable practice. Jets, cars, and trains all produce damaging emissions, none of which can be justified with the leisure argument.

A viable alternative to the traditional vacation is to take an extended trip to 'Dreamland.' Not only is this trip more financially viable, it also completely reduces any of the additional green house gas emissions associated with a trip to parts foreign. Clearly this is the type of trip that those concerned about the environment will be taking in the years to come.

R's Used: Reduce.


9. Use glow in the dark paint on walls and ceilings

Instead of trying to remember to turn off the lights when you leave the room why not just do away with electric lights altogether? While this might seem to be quite a sacrifice at first, it really isn't all that big a deal. The lost light can be replaced by painting the ceiling and walls with glow-in-the-dark paint. This will mean that each affected room will be constantly glowing and that you don't need to think about turning anything off or on when you enter or leave.

R's Used: Reduce


10. Cook meat only until it is rare

While many of use really like to consume a well cooked meal from time to time, very few of us think about the energy expenditure that is associated with the process. Having an electric element or propane burner on for hours on end is actually quite burdensome.

When cooking meat only cook it until it is rare, anything else is unnecessary and wasteful. A well done steak isn't a culinary or taste choice but a giant middle finger pointing directly at Mother Earth.

While vegetables can't be rare or well done, they can be served raw or just cooked enough that they are warm. Either of these options is preferable to the nutritionally and environmentally unsustainable practice of over cooking vegetables.

R's Used: Reduce.