What Can I Do to Make a Difference?
We have been getting lots of “what can I do where I live” type questions. So after conducting a straw poll of the the Rabbits, here is a list of what we suggest that you can do to help the environment (short of moving to Dancing Rabbit).
#1 Reduce your automobile use.
- Try living without a car. If you live within a metropolitan area with a good mass transit system, use it as your main means of transportation then rent a car or join a car co-op or car share to fill in where MT doesn’t work.
- Even if you have a car, use public transportation as much as possible and join/start a co-op and car share.
- If most of your driving is in town, own a small high mileage inexpensive vehicle and rent a larger vehicle for the occasional long trip.
- Walk and bicycle as much as is safe and healthy for you.
- Buy enough groceries for a week or a month instead of driving to the store every day.
- Combine errands into one long trip rather than a lot of short ones.
- Take charter bus trips to popular destinations rather than driving your personal vehicle.
- Keep your vehicle properly tuned and use long running synthetic oils and a cleanable oil filter.
#2 Reduce your fossil fuel consumption
- Replace incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent.
- Plant bushes and trees to shade your house during summer to ease the load on the AC.
- Keep the thermostat set to 78 during the summer and 65 during the winter.
- Install low wattage ceiling fans.
- Install a flash-type, instant on, water heater.
- Install the smallest, energy conserving refrigerator that you can.
- Turn off lights and unplug transformers (wall warts) when not in use.
- Use battery powered (with rechargeable batteries) clocks, timers, etc instead of the plug in type. Or better yet, use mechanical, gravity or wind-up clocks and timers.
- Turn off the TV.
- Insulate your home better.
- Use a pressure cooker.
- Use a “haybox” in your kitchen.
- Put insulated curtains, or just insulation, over the windows in the heat or cold.
- Cooperatively use appliances with neighbors (lawnmower, washing machine, etc.)
- Don’t use electricity for heat (e.g. stoves, hair dryers, home heating etc.)
- Line dry your clothes.
- Turn off your computer when you aren’t using it and/or get a laptop
- Install low flow faucets and shower heads.
- Install shut off valves on shower heads.
- Take the train instead of the plane.
#3 Become aware of your food choices
- Get as much of your food as you can from local, in-season sources.
- Choose organic food over food grown with chemical fertilizers and pesticides whenever possible.
- Eat less meat and other animal products.
- Use less preprocessed food. Buy in bulk and cook from scratch.
- Participate in a food-buying club or join a food co-op that gives you access to bulk foods.
- Start a food-buying club. Find twenty or thirty people who want to buy food in bulk. Form a buying club and order from one of the large national bulk distributors such as UNFI.
- Join an organic CSA (community supported agriculture) in your area.
- If you have a yard, plant edible landscaping. (Turn your lawn into a vegetable garden.)
- Start an organic community garden.
#4 Start using renewable sources of energy
- If your climate permits it install a solar domestic hot water system and a grid inter-tie solar power system.
- If you live in a windy area and have the ability to put up a tower, install a small wind generator.
- Buy/build a solar cooker to use whenever the weather permits.
- Buy electricity from green energy companies (in states that allow it).
- Purchase “Green Tags” in places that don’t sell green energy.
#5 Prevent deforestation
- Use recycled lumber for building, remodeling, or home-improvement projects.
- If starting a new construction project, look into strawbale, rammed earth, cob, or other lumber non-intensive building techniques as a possible building option in your area.
- Make your own lumber by hiring a sawmill to convert trees on your building site into lumber.
#6 Reduce the amount of waste you produce
- Buy bulk foods instead of prepackaged.
- Take bags with you when you shop.
- Buy less. Repair more.
- Buy stuff used – clothes, car, computer, etc.