Lately I've been overcome with joy at my choice of lifestyle. I feel like a much more responsible citizen of this world than at least 75% of everyone else.
Tips I've come to pick up on in helping facilitate a cleaner, sustainable future:
- Buy a bike. This is non-negotiable. Bicycles are the most efficient form of transportation in terms of input-to-output ratio, and they are largely petroleum-free. But with the oncoming advent of plant-based lubricants and grease alternatives, they can soon be 100%. They will help you keep in shape. They don't rely on fossil fuels. I could go on and on about the benefits of bicycling, but that's another entry.
- Ride it! Staying fit is an important aspect of personal wellness, which helps promote smarter choices for society, the environment, and your intra/interpersonal relationships. Besides, driving a car ten blocks to wherever is totally pointless.
- If you have access to good public transportation, use it. Mass transit is much more resource-efficient than individual transit.
- If you haven't caught on to it by now, your driving habits should be minimal at best. If you can go car-free, then by all means, do it! If not, please drive intelligently. It is wasteful to accelerate faster than necessary. When I drive, I keep my RPMs under 3,000, which is less than half my car's potential. Minimize your drive time and maximize your gas mileage.
- Recycle! It's absolutely mesmerizing the amount of neighborhoods that offer recycling programs, given how infrequently their inhabitants take it seriously. Are you throwing away cardboard when it could be recycled? Paper? Plastic? Glass? If you can recycle these things, there's no reason for you not to. There are only excuses. Laziness has put us this far back, and it is one universal human trait that will be the end of us all.
- Check your thermostat. There's no need for it to be set higher than 70° during cold months or lower than 75 during hot months. If you can push yourself further, do it! Speaking of thermostats, if you can fare all right without air-conditioning, then don't invest in it. It is incredibly expensive and very detrimental to our power supplies (grid-wide power outages, anyone?).
- If nothing else, try your best to live lean. I'm not talking about diet (though, going back to personal wellness, you should be eating healthy, too). I'm talking about wastefulness. If you're not using a light, turn it off. Same goes for your computer, your TV, your radio, your fans, etc. The less you use, the less you waste. Limit your consumption only to what you need.
- Support local food markets and health food stores. The "health conscious" sector of the consumer market is growing, but it is still in its early stage. By buying organic products, not only are you making a conscious choice to contribute to a more progressive society, but you are helping spread the message to corporate giants that the old days of eating up every resource to squeeze ten bucks out of two pennies are coming to an end. There are many arguments to be made about multi-billion dollar corporations entering the health food market, but even if you are going to support giants like Silk or Boca or MorningStar (all of which are corporate subsidiaries) over lesser known, independent producers, you are helping the conscious consumer market grow, which is a good thing.
- Seek out and support politicians who are active in the environmental movement. Check their voting records. Check their agendas. The government is overrun with politicians, agencies, and other forums of power and influence who simply don't care about environmental issues for various reasons. Replacing these people with people who do is an important step toward empowering ourselves collectively to make real changes to wasteful policies and lax regulations.
That's a lot to list, I know. However, it's just the tip of the iceberg. One of the best things you can do is research energy alternatives and other methods people are using to live green, and then introduce them as much as possible into your life and the lives of those around you.
The earth is impermanent. It will one day be unsuitable for human life. Unfortunately, since the dawn of the industrial era of human civilization, that day has been accelerated exponentially. It is the responsibility and the duty of every single person living in this world—especially those of us in its most wasteful nations—to do his/her part to help reverse that trend.
Labels: Bicycles, Ethics, Political
