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Living Sustainably For A Better Future
By Bests | April 22, 2008
In the back of our minds most of us realise by now that living for the present, burning up fossil fuels and living wastefully, has got the Earth and it’s inhabitants into serious trouble. It doesn’t take a Nobel-prize winning scientist to realise carbon emissions cause global climate change. Nevertheless, 48 such scientists have signed an accusation that President Bush and his administration are, by ignoring scientific consensus on issues such as global climate change, threatening the Earth’s future.
While politicians have the power to affect major legislative change, those of us out of the spotlight can also have a large affect on our planet’s future. Reading, thinking about, and discussing issues of global warming/climate change should be on everyone’s agenda, since it now affects or will affect all of us. Bringing the reasons for sustainability to the forefront of your mind will start to make you think of ways to live without causing the Earth more harm.
1,001 reasons to change can be found in books. As soon as I had finished “We are the Weathermakers” by Tim Flannery, I started researching alternative energy options. I found the Electricity provider we were with had a Green power option, and on enquiry were offering a 3% discount for a 24-month contract with their GreenSpirit 100% renewable energy option. Perhaps you have seen such options in your mail but dismissed them, since sometimes it does cost more. I believe that switching to Green power is the single most important thing a householder can do, second only to giving up your car entirely. Replacing around 6 tonnes of carbon emissions - our annual household consumption - was not difficult or expensive. Check that the Energy company’s sources are at least 30% renewable (from wind, solar, hydro or biomass), preferably more.
We humans generally wait to be told what to do before conserving, e.g. take four minute showers as we are at Level 4 water restrictions, buy more efficient cars, use energy efficient light bulbs, recycle, etc. But there is a lot more a thinking person can do. As I go to my local supermarket I see armloads of plastic bags going out, unnecessary when the fabric bags can be reused again and again. I see cars circling around and around finding the closest park, when walking 100 metres or more is obviously better for you and wastes less fuel.
Another less obvious thing is buying or creating food that is closer to your door, with less wastage. Many resources including litres of water go into producing a 500 ml bottle of water for you to buy; bring your own from home in a reusable sports bottle. Choose local farm fresh produce, not marginal stuff shipped in from miles away. Or grow your own. Bulk buy non-perishables to save on packaging. All these things also save money!
As Al Gore says, sometimes people go straight from denial (of global warming) to throwing up their hands – thinking it is beyond their control. You can do more. You should do more. And your children will thank you if the Earth is stable by 2050.
Jennifer Lancaster runs Power of Words. She has written a book “How to Kick Bad Spending Habits” and is writing “Sack Your Financial Planner”. She is committed to living sustainably and helping others with their writing and publishing. Email: jennifer@pow.net.au , or see http://www.pow.net.au
Tags: environment, global warming, responsibility, sustainability
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