Are you environmentally friendly....???

[carole]

Just wondered what you contribute in your lifestyle to keeping your country clean and green? NZ is well known for our clean green image, but believe me i think we are letting it down miserably at times, we still have a way's to go.

I guess i re-cycle as much as possible, we have curb side collections for our paper, and glass and i always use them, i also donot use plastic bags for my grocery shopping, i have bought bags specifically recycled for this purpose and re-usable, they are great and at 99cents each well worth it, hold the shopping so much better anyhow.

Honestly when i thought about it hard, that is all i could come up with,we do have electric heating, so i guess that is helping somewhat too.

Anyhow was just curious,post your thoughts and maybe what you would like to do to help the environment in the future, thanks.

[Kalei]

Well, I know that individually I probably could be helping the environment more than I do, but here we recycle everything which helps out alot. And if I could afford a hybrid car I would definately buy one, but those things are outragiously expensive to me anyways

I think if they made those very good cars as cheap as regular cars, it would help the environment so much more.

[Giselle]

The thing is that a lot of products touted "environmentally friendly" are double edged swords. For example, check out where the parts and batteries for hybrids are made. It's an ecologist's worst nightmare. Also check out Toyota's opposition to legislation that would actually help the environment but hurt car companies' pocketbooks. "Organic" produce is often grown in a general state and shipped thousands of miles. So what's the worst of the two evils? Locally grown produce with a fairly minimal amount of pesticides or organically grown produce that has been shipped across the country? I try my best, but we as a society have to do more than make things look and sound good.

For that, we've taken to buying the bulk of our food at farmer's markets and are in the process of growing our own little veggie garden. So far, we've got tomatoes, lemons, squash, pumpkins, and bell peppers are in the process of growing. We recycle and we compost. Uneaten meats and starches are given to the dogs while superfluous vegetable matter is composted. We're vegetarian for nature's sake, and we try our best to abstain our dogs from beef. You'd be amazed by how much water and natural resources it takes to raise a single cow.

We do our best and hope our little drop completes the ever-growing bucket.

[Karen]

We purposely bought the small SUV with the best gas mileage we could find. We recycle both plastics, glassware and paper, and yard waste (I can go pick up the resulting mulch or god dirt from the city yard any time I want). We are as environmentally friendly as we can be, and didn't chop down all the trees and shrubs in our yard (which is why it now smells heavenly - lilac time - and replace it with a lawn that would need watering, like our neighbor did. By doing so, it also give habitat for birds and wildlife, and frankly, his kids tend to play more in our yard and the "empty lot" across the street (where the nieghbor's house burned down and was subsequently demolished) than they ever do their own barren yard.

We don't get enough sun for solar to be a good investment at this point, but conversely, by keeping the deciduous trees, the house stays much cooler in the summer than it would otherwise, and we rarely even bring the air conditioner downstairs, never mind plug it in and turn it on.

I don't use salt in the winter, just use Ice Melt, which is more pet- and environment-friendly.

[Pembroke_Corgi]

The thing is that a lot of products touted "environmentally friendly" are double edged swords. For example, check out where the parts and batteries for hybrids are made. It's an ecologist's worst nightmare. Also check out Toyota's opposition to legislation that would actually help the environment but hurt car companies' pocketbooks. "Organic" produce is often grown in a general state and shipped thousands of miles. So what's the worst of the two evils? Locally grown produce with a fairly minimal amount of pesticides or organically grown produce that has been shipped across the country? I try my best, but we as a society have to do more than make things look and sound good.

For that, we've taken to buying the bulk of our food at farmer's markets and are in the process of growing our own little veggie garden. So far, we've got tomatoes, lemons, squash, pumpkins, and bell peppers are in the process of growing. We recycle and we compost. Uneaten meats and starches are given to the dogs while superfluous vegetable matter is composted. We're vegetarian for nature's sake, and we try our best to abstain our dogs from beef. You'd be amazed by how much water and natural resources it takes to raise a single cow.

We do our best and hope our little drop completes the ever-growing bucket.

You're right- many ideas that people have about what is eco-friendly often stem from advertising. For example, buying hybrid cars. Another thing to consider when choosing a car that people don't think about is the energy and pollution it takes to produce and destroy a car- smaller cars do not cause as much pollution to make or destroy, and buying a used car means that you do not need to create the demand for another car created. Your point about buying local produce is also good, and I definitely agree with going vegetarian for helping the earth.

As for me, I try to practice good habits for a sustainable lifestyle- but I want to do more. I buy used when I can- recycling is a good thing! It also (as a pleasant side effect) saves money. I also donate any unwanted items I have to Goodwill or somewhere similar so I don't have to just throw out. I rent, so I can't make too many modifications to my house, but I "winter proof" the house as best I can to cut back on energy- and try to keep the thermostat at a reasonable temperature. We also don't use air conditioning, and I definitely try to be conscious about my water consumption. I don't water the lawn for the sake of vanity- that is actually a huge pet peeve of mine- people watering their lawns and ending up with half of the water on the sidewalk. My husband and I are both vegetarians, we drive small vehicles with decent gas mileage, and try to combine trips. Every little bit helps, I guess.

[Glacier]

We recycle as much as possible; all cans, drink containers, newspaper, magazines, plastics. We compost all the food waste. I buy local products when it's possible. We have switched all the light bulbs in the house to those compact flourscent ones. Don't need to use the lights much in the summer around here and definately don't need AC! I try to buy things with as little packaging as possible. I buy in bulk when I can. I'm a big fan of Tupperware and try to avoid using plastic wraps. I drive as little as possible. I prefer to travel by dog team!