Personal
Try putting all your eggs in this bag
Bring your own bags to shop. A non-disposable bag can be a lot sturdier and better for the environment.Invest in stronger reusable bags for the grocery and you can help keep plastic bags, which are not biodegradable, from making their way into our oceans and waterways.
A sturdy, reusable bag needs only be used 11 times to have a lower environmental impact than using 11 disposable plastic bags. And reusable bags pay for themselves every time they DON'T break and spill your groceries out all over the street. Using bags that you can trust instead of flimsy, wasteful plastic disposables may keep you from having to shop twice.
Reusable bags.
A little less disposability. A little better usability.
How hard is this? Easy
Think global, eat local
Shopping at local farmer’s markets rather than grocery stores for food reduces the amount of pesticides and fungicides that wind up in our water supply.A lot of produce travels 1,000 miles or more before reaching your local grocery. Food that comes from close-by sources takes a lot less fuel to get it to you. And less fuel translates to smaller emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) by fossil-fuel-burning ships, trucks, and trains.
And shopping locally benefits your area by keeping money and jobs in your own local communities. In the long run, shopping from local vendors increases the value of your own neighborhood and can benefit you directly if you own your own home.
Buying food that's in-season as well can keep the variety alive in your own meals, keeping you from falling back on the same staples all the time. You can find many great cookbooks for making great meals with in-season foods.
Eat locally.
A little less traveling in trucks and trains. A little better fresh veggies and grains.
How hard is this? Easy
Is your name Occupant?
Cancel catalogs and papers that you don't read.Recycling just the Sunday paper would save over half a million trees every week. Americans receive almost 4 million tons of junk mail every year. Most of it winds up in landfills.
If you factor the time it takes to read, categorize or throw out junk mail along with the energy used to produce it, transport it and deliver it, it may seem like a better idea to just call and cancel rather than just toss. Your mail carrier will thank you.
Stopping junk mail.
A little less trash. A little better privacy.
How hard is this? Moderate
