Make mine green!

” Only after the last tree has been cut off,
And the last river poisoned,
Will we realize that we can’t eat money.”

A few proposals for an environmentally sustainable living:

Reduce, Reuse and Recycle – in that order:
Replace multiple plastic bags by one cloth/jute bag, disposable (plastic & paper) cups by a mug, and paper tissues by a handkerchief. Employ a reusable water bottle.

Food habits:

Cut down on meat – a mammoth consumer of water, land and energy: Killing an animal yields few meals once; Raising it takes months/years of daily meals! It helps fight other menacing issues like the food crisis & heart diseases/cancer, too.  [A 5-minute clip]

Electricity:

• Screen savers save nothing and burn energy. Instead, switch off the monitor every time you step away (for more than few minutes). Similarly, turn off/hibernate the whole computer for longer breaks.
• Take into account power consumption while picking a fridge, washing machine, etc.
• Curtail the AC usage; Raise its temperature – in the home/car (Better: Curtail the car usage!).
• Prefer stairs to elevators whenever possible (e.g., while coming down).

Water:

• Always use the water tap with minimally needed flow. Don’t let it run wastefully while brushing, shaving, soaping hands/vessels.
• Get leaking taps/toilets/pipes fixed immediately.
• The toilet flush is a colossal consumer of water – up to 16 liters per push. Get a low-flush (e.g., dual) toilet that lets you regulate the water outflow.
• Clean your vehicles, floor, etc. with a wet cloth, NOT by pouring water.
• Choose a bucket bath instead of a shower bath.

Transportation:

• Prefer mass transport (buses, trains)/bicycles/pooling, over individual autos/vehicles. Cars contribute more to congestion and climate change, than one’s coolness/status [A witty cartoon]!
• Choose vehicles based on mileage more than looks/comfort.
• Long walks/cycle rides are as pleasurable as long drives.

Trees:

• Print sparingly. Set the printer default to two-sided. Utilize the blank sides of one-sided print-outs for rough work.
• Help plant/protect trees [Cliched, but crucial].

Shopping:

• Buy local food & goods (except energy-efficient items), rather than imported stuff from malls, to avert hefty transport-tied emissions.
• Prefer minimal/reusable packaging.

Fire crackers:

Give them up. Apart from eliminating poisonous emissions, help prevent small kids from working in extremely unhealthy and unsafe surroundings [Poster].

“It’s not the earth that needs saving. It’s us!”

Killing an animal yields few meals once;