(no subject)

[vicarz]

Today's diesel sweeties was a real winner. If I may: I used to worry about my weight, then I found out that muscle is heavier than fat...and metal is heavier than both! \m/ \m/ Am I a metal stoner-bot or industrial?
(the one about denial totally applies to me right now)

I was thinking about what I do to help the world, and discovered it's actually more than I try to reduce my damage more than I try to help:

Things I do that benefit me not at all:
Recycle mixed paper & cardboard (I used to take these all the way to the recycle center, but now they changed our recycling so they pick them up here - saving me tons o' time)
recycle cans, glass, plastic #1 & 2
conserve water (I don't pay a water bill except through the condo, but I try not to waste water anyway)
throw kleenex into the toilet rather than the trash can (ew!)
conserve electricity at work (seriously, I walk around turning things off that would otherwise be left on for days at a time: printers, copiers, tvs, lights...the ones not set for low-use modes, or that would be left in low-use modes for days on end)
recycle other people's crap (I actually go into other people's trash to recycle large amounts of crap they are willing to throw into landfills)
encourage, but don't nag or force, co-workers to recycle (I give people little recycle bins for their desks but don't nag them about it)
compliment and nag my friends about their habits (with the intent of not bugging them but actually inspiring change - many of my "good" habits are ones I picked up from observing or speaking with friends)
Purchase organic products (food and otherwise)
Purchase goods made from recycled products (post-consumer where possible, not re-bleached or chemically raped where possible)
Purchase locally grown items (Jen got me into that after reading omnivore's dilemma)
Recycle things I get stuck with in other places - it's a whole new item when you carry cans, bottles, and other crap in your backpack or car until you recycle it, far more a pain than the easy to recycle things you use in the home/work
Donate $ to environmental groups
Vote for environmentally responsible candidates (where possible)

Things I do that benefit me as well:
Use fuel efficient car, and in it try not to take stupid trips, combine small trips when possible, drive reasonable and try not to accelerate or other things that burn more fuel than needed
Save electricity in the home (keep ac/heat use low as comfortable, turn off computer when not in use for more than 1-2 hours, turn off lights / tv when not in use for 5 mins, keep chargers etc out of plugs, insulate to prevent drafts, close curtains to keep out sun / open to let in sun)
Was veg for over ten years, now I try not to eat meat too much even though I like it (environment was one of the reasons)
Try to use things until they are seriously diminished rather than just buying things I don't need on whims.


See, I'm not really doing much to help the environment. Most of my things seem to fall into the category of "damage reduction." I'm not composting, cleaning up the bay, saving ecosystems, tearing down invasive vine species, buying land to preserve it, planting trees, or really doing stuff in a grand scale that actually does good. Is a double-negative a good-enough environmental lifestyle?

Question - possibly a meme if I use the stupid chain letter terms of "tag 7 other losers..." what do you do to help the environment? Might be too long for comments if you are detailed, but it's worth thinking about.

Comments

[dhairya.livejournal.com]

I pretty much do what you do, in addition to biking/walking everywhere I can locally, and biking into work several times a week (thereby redicing my fossil fuel consumption), which I will pick back up do after I recover.
You really helped me fine-tune some of the conservation issues in my own home.
At least you're doing something. We can only be responsible for the three-foot radius we occupy.

[vicar.livejournal.com]

Well you inspired my local stuff, and when I started to change what I had done out of momentum it made me re-evaluate if I could do more.

I can pee in more than a 3' radius!

[telie13.livejournal.com]

Actually I do almost everything that you do J - cept the vegetarian thing. I was veg for 3 years, but I deeply loathe beans, tofu and peanut butter so it was not a good match. I buy ethical organic humanely raised blah blah blah tho. I use eco-soaps, detergents, cleaners too.

I draw the line at those deodorant crystals tho.

It is all about damage control, and damage control helps!

[vicar.livejournal.com]

Oh that hippie-shit salt "deoderant" is probably why hippies smell. I think even snopes disproved hippie-armpit-salt, I know ask cecil did.

Forgot to mention the enviro-less-horrible detergents in the many washing machines, and where I can I use less-horrible chemicals to clean.

just how we differ

[(Anonymous)]

Throwing kleenex in the toilet is interesting. I assume you also try to minimize flushing? I habitually flush every time but I only put human waste in the toilet. Why not use a hanky? (Not that I do -- I think of it because my sister does.)

I don't purchase organic/local goods unless I actually like them better. Because I'm not convinced that it's actually the right thing to do -- there are good arguments on both sides and there doesn't seem to be enough data yet. Nor do I encourage/compliment/nag or carry recyclables around with me. I don't think I've given money to environmental groups in a while. I'm not a veg, although my veg consumption increases every year.

I do compost, as much as possible -- including bringing things (mostly coffee grounds and filters) home from work. Planted two trees this year. Just picked up some of those compact fluorescent bulbs everybody's talking about. Sometimes use brown water in the garden. I generally only shower every other day.

Possibly using the diva cup instead of disposable "feminine hygiene" supplies counts, although I don't really know how the biodegradable thing plays out. Maybe one tiny silicone cup every ten years is actually much worse than a mountain of cotton. And it does make me use slightly more water; I have not yet reached what I consider the insane level of using the rinse water on my plants because ... ew.

Re: just how we differ

[vicar.livejournal.com]

The nex in the toilet is so that the paper doesn't wind up in a landfill - it's processed into sludge which I think is used as awful fertilizer vs. just burried in dirt. Hanky = too gross and too much hassle for me.

I think the anti-organic arguments are pretty weak. It's hard to imagine that farms that use bugs as insecticide are worse than those that use DDT (exaggerations!)

I shower 1-3 times per day and will not stop, though I take short coldish showers when possible.

I rarely use a diva cup.