WHAT AM I DOING?
Ian Whyte
— Contributions welcome —
Hopefully members, and others, will contribute personal stories to this section on what they are doing, or have done, to lessen the impact of the human juggernaut on the Earth.
I’ll lead off with what I’m currently doing.
At the personal level I subscribe to Bullfrog Power which sells, through the existing distribution network, windmill generated electricity. There is a small premium paid for this carbon free and hopefully minimally ecologically damaging electricity (https://www.bullfrogpower.com/).
Refusing to make waste in the first place is the most important of the “Rs”. I always get coffee in my own travel cup rather than take a paper one and a plastic lid. If I don’t have my cup, no coffee for me! Ditto for grocery bags. Empty wine bottles represent a large waste. I avoid them by using wine in boxes. A 16 litre box replaces some 23 bottles (http://www.coliowinery.com/). Books can be reused. Drop them off at school resale events, find a neighbour, start an exchange, anything rather than dispose of them.
I remember, from the Earth’s point of view, nothing disposable is ever good. Everything in my garbage or recycling bin is a negative; I try to avoid these items in the first place. I imagine that bad karma attaches itself to me every time I am responsible for a waste. Suddenly the world appears differently, and I find myself adjusting, albeit slowly, towards a waste free life. The important point here is my determination to follow through and adjust my life. After a couple of inconveniences, new plans are made and new habits formed.
I am also involved at the community level. For instance, I work with the Ottawa Field-Naturalists’ Club to reduce turtle road kill. I work with The Canadian Ecosystems Alliance to protect endangered species. I work with the Ecocentric Alliance and others to develop and popularize ecocentric philosophy. And with CACOR to inform ourselves and spread the Limits to Growth ideas.
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