10 Green Acts

Recently while watching the National on CBC I saw a piece on how the CBC had challenged viewers across Canada to perform 'one million acts of green' http://green.cbc.ca/Default.aspx. I thought that this was a really great idea and decided to take it to the next level. Over the past week I have been trying to perform 10 green acts each day. The overall goal is to change the way that I live and the way that I think about the resources that I am using on a daily basis. In truth I think the biggest problem with regards to being environmentally economic is not a lack of will but rather not knowing where to start or what to do. The first thing that I did was to think about the resources that I use and therefore could try to conserve. What I came up with was mind numbing simple: water and electricity. On top of these two biggies there are other things like paper (being a teacher this one can add up), plastics (bags and what not) and the killer, the dreaded fossil fuels. I began to think about what I could do on a personal level to try to be more frugal with these important resources.

Here's my list:

Matt's 10 Daily Green Acts:

1. I've begun timing my showers: that's right I know it sounds crazy, but if I realized that if I could even shave 3 or 4 minutes off my daily shower time that over the course of a year, and then beyond, it would amount to massive savings in water and in the long run on all of the carbon needed to heat the water. Keep in mind that an average family in India exists on 50 liters of water a day (that's for eight people to wash, drink and do dishes and laundry). I was amazed at what I accomplished in just over a week. I timed my showers (how long the water was running) the average was about nine mintues of water use. Then I tried to cut it down as much as possible. I've come up with a pretty good, simple, water saving system. I get wet, turn of the water and soup up, then I rinse off. My personal best time is 1:58! With my average (including water heat up time) at around 2:50. This is a huge improvement from 9 minutes.
2. Plastic bags: one of the things that really drives me crazy this flagrant wasteful use of plastic bags that is happening on such a massive scale around the globe. Every time that I go out to get groceries over here in Korea for each new item that I buy a small black plastic bag is presented to me to carry my goods. I thought to myself, "even if I just carry seven or eight of these things around in my backpack then I'll never have to waste another plastic bag". I've begun doing this and made a personal vow to try my hardest not to support frivolous use of plastics bags... a campaign that is actually becoming rather wide spread around the world. Check out this link. http://video.nationalgeographic.com (do a search for 'Edward Norton: Bag the Bag').
3. Appliances: (the use of electricity): another common and overlooked problem that I am trying to make part of my daily ritual is to turn off and unplug all of the appliances in my house before I go to bed (or even when I know I'm not going to be using them for an extended period of time) . I recently found out that if you don't unplug your appliances even if they are turned on they are still using some energy. Now I go around before going to bed and unplug everything that I can. Also in the future whenever I have to by new appliances I am going to make sure that I ask which options are the most eco-friendly and use my consumer dollars to support such products.
4. Transportation: This is a big one. Especially for people who live in the countryside or in massive countries like Canada and the US, but I really believe that if people start to make a commitment to more energy efficient forms of transportation that the companies that make these products will respond in kind. Personally, I am very lucky because I live close enough to work to walk, but even when I am moving around in Seoul I always make sure to travel by public rail or at very least bus. My wife and I rarely travel by car. This is a habit that I am committed to try and keep alive, even when I move back to Canada.
5. CFL (The amazing Compact Florescent Lightbulb): If you aren't using them yet you really should be. Said to be "the bulb that can help save the planet" there is really no reason why every household, business, government office and basically every light socket on the planet should not house a CFL. The stats are pretty impressive, when compared to a conventional light bulb. Here are just a few... (i) if every household in America changed just one bulb in their house to a CFL it would be the equivalent of taking a million cars off the road over a year. And (ii) each CFL that you switch on, in place of the old heat-making carbon-sucking waste-monger conventional light bulb, would prevent 1000lbs of CO2 greenhouse emission from being released into the atmosphere. On top of this (iii) they last 10 times longer than conventional bulbs! Join the lightbulb revolution! Think green; think CFL.
6. Internet use: another big one that most people don't usually think about, I know that I didn't until recently, is how much energy we burn while using the Internet use. For every window that you keep opened with Internet Explorer or Firefox there is another computer, or more likely a series of computers buzzing and humming away to provide you with that Internet connection. It is kind of like leaving the lights on in your house when you go out or leaving the tap running when you brush your teeth; essentially it is unnecessary waste. So from now on when I am not using a website I close the window down. Be conservative with this resource just as you would with any other.
7. RECYCLE EVERYTHING: This one is a bit of a no brainer but you'd be surprised how much of what you can throw out can actually be recycled and used again. Do a little bit of research about your local recycling system and what can be recycled. If you aren't happy with what the local infrastructure is doing and want more action taken write letters to your local government representative. Given your concerns a voice. If we don't voice our opinions then they are never heard.
8. Free Environmental Donations: there are 3 websites that I visit each day, from as many computers as I can, where I can click on certain 'buttons' that make automatic donations from the sponsors of each page. This is a quick, easy, free way to help some interested corporations add some of their mega-dollar-muscle to the cause of trying to make a difference. Check these websites out, favorite them and visit them everyday. It takes about 3 minutes to do and I always feel a little bit better afterwards. http://www.therainforestsite.com/clickToGive/home.faces?siteId=4, http://www.ecologyfund.com/ecology/_ecology.html,
http://rainforest.care2.com/
9. Purchase Personal Carbon Offsets: this is a way for all of us environmental hardcores to put our money where our mouths are. If you are preaching ecological sustainability but driving a hummer the hypocrisy no longer has to drive you insane. You can go online and google 'personal carbon offsets' and entire bevy of websites will pop up that will allow you to pay to offset the carbon that you cannot avoid using for transportation and travel. I am planning to use this kind of personal offset to compensate from the CO2 used when I fly back to Canada or just when I go traveling in general. Research the options and find a site that fits you; this is a great way to offset emissions.
10. Research, Learn more and Teach: this last one is one of my favorites. It is something that I am constantly trying to do. The more that I can learn about helping the environment the more action I can take; and the more people who I teach this knowledge to, hopefully, the greater the overall effect will be. I had one student tell me last semester that he was truly touched by the passion that he felt when I was teaching about sustainability and the challenges that face humanity in the near future. It felt really great to make an impact and it is part of the reason that I have started this forum. In an attempt to reach more people.

If you have anything to add, any personal things that you do that I could start doing please comment!