What I do for the environment

Since I recently posted about what I see that harms the environment, I thought I'd list off some of the things I do to help the environment. Most of these are very easy to do.

1. Recycle - For me, this is ingrained. Growing up, my family always recycled. We had so many garbage cans that guests were often very confused - recycling, regular, burnables (okay, this may not be as environmentally friendly), and a bucket for veggie and fruit scraps. If curbside pickup is available, I can't imagine why someone wouldn't recycle. It's so easy!
2. Reusable bags - I've already posted about this. I have tons of bags and use them as often as I can remember to do so.
3. Walk (or bike) to work (and to the store) - Admittedly, I only do this when the weather is nice, but I have been walking to work as much as possible. Of course, walking to work is only an option for those who live relatively close - in my case, a little over a mile.
4. Carpool - In the winter or in bad weather, I carpool with my boyfriend. I'm not sure it's a huge savings, because there is a shorter route he could take to work. I think it's better than taking two cars though.
5. Reuse - My sugar jar is a former spaghetti sauce jar. We mix our own balsamic vinaigrette and our current jar used to be a jelly jar. Most of my furniture is second- (or third- or forth-) hand. I am a scrap paper fiend, even collecting it from the unclaimed printouts at work. Reusing is easy - and cheap!
6. Compost - I have just begun composting and will write more about this in a future post.
7. Grow your own vegetables - Another topic on which I have already posted.
8. CFLs - When bulbs burns out, we switch them to compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs).
9. Thermostat - To reduce our energy use, we set the thermostat to 67 in the winter (which is difficult for a freeze baby like me) and 80 in the summer. I'd love a programmable thermostat but we are in an apartment.
10. Reusable Water Bottles - I have very rarely bought bottled water. It just seems like such a waste and completely unnecessary. Tap water is monitored. I carry around a reusable water bottle, which is especially handy at work.

If you have any suggestions of things you do, let me know! I am always looking for more things that I should be doing, particularly if they are cheap and easy. :)

Reusable Bags

You've probably noticed those reusable cloth bags starting to crop up at grocery stores in your area. I know the Giant Eagles around here have them. While I'm not sure I would recommend buying them, I do recommend collecting some reusable cloth bags and bringing them to the stores with you. So far, I've managed to collect quite a few cloth bags from various library events and conferences I have attended. They work wonderfully as grocery bags. Some stores even give you a discount or a chance to enter a contest (e.g. Trader Joe's) if you bring your own bags.

Also, if you don't have cloth bags (or if you forget your cloth bags occasionally, as I do), remember to recycle plastic bags. Giant Eagle has bins for recycling plastic bags, and I bet other grocery stores do as well. You can also reuse plastic bags yourself. They are great for vacations - dirty clothes, wet swimsuits; for cleaning out litter boxes; for carting around dirty shoes; and much more.

Some countries are starting to take the effect of plastic bags on the environment very seriously. Back in January, China announced it would be banning stores from giving out free plastic bags as well as banning the production of ultra thin plastic bags (see the BBC article for more info) starting June of 2008. The ban has since gone into effect with varied response. While I can't speak to the ramifications for businesses or for customers who choose to purchase plastic bags, it seems like a step in the right direction. There are several other countries and cities who have banned plastic bags in some form or other. For a list see this Planet Ark article.