Sunday, March 9, 2008

Ideas for improving personal sustainability

Kelly-Anne and I are trying to reduce our own carbon footprint and improve the sustainability of our own lives in an incremental fashion. Here's what we're planning to do:

  1. Create a decent sized garden in the back patio and plant vegetables
  2. Plant a couple of fruit trees in the garden
  3. Fix water leaks (toilet!)
  4. Get a community garden plot
  5. Have a home energy audit conducted
  6. Replace all windows with energy-efficient windows
  7. Turn off water in shower when shampooing/soaping
  8. Get rid of big fridge, replace with smaller, more efficient fridge with no freezer (already have a dedicated freezer, no need to duplicate)
  9. Hide away most dishes, only have a few on hand to encourage hand-washing. Keep dishes tucked away only for parties/special occasions
  10. Turn off TV power bar at night to reduce "vampire power" drain
  11. Change fish tank to 10 am - 10 pm cycle
  12. Get up to work by means other than the car (bus, walking, cycle etc.)
  13. Switch car to leisure insurance
  14. Fill car once per month
  15. Buy heavily from Farmers Market
  16. Buy local and direct from local farms (buy a cow, etc.)
  17. Can produce in summer, in season
  18. Transition to 100% BC-diet (we like our salmon too much to go 100-mile)
  19. Look at ways to go off the grid where possible (solar? Hmm...)
  20. Switch to Green Hydro
  21. Invest in green, ethical companies
  22. Start YUPPIES discussion group once per month
We'll be working on this list slowly over the next year to see what we can do at home to make a difference incrementally, and change our own lifestyle.

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