Since the smoking in bars post kind of got off topic talking about other environmental issues, I thought I'd start this post.

What do you personally do to help the environment?

I have started buying 100% biodegradable clothes hangers made from corn.
We recycle as much as we can. We plan on doing more.
I use reusable shopping bags when I shop and when I don’t, I recycle the bags I get.
We buy the most energy efficient appliances we can find.
I rarely use the dryer and almost always use cold water.
When the weather is nice, I park the car and walk as much as I can when shopping.
I use fluorescent lights when ever I can.
I repurpose and reuse many items before finally throwing them away or recycling.
We try to use washable rags instead of paper towels when we can.
We donate reusable items to charities and thrift stores.
Turn the light and TV off when not in a room.
We feed the birds.
Put up bird houses and a bat house.
We recycle our engine oil and old tires.
We don’t let the water run while we brush our teeth.

Been thinking about solar power as an addition to what we already have, but it is very expensive.
Planning on a compost pile and a garden.

GEE mstubble,

I only recycle and that's because the city says I have to.
I also use flourescent lighting.
I only watch TV on the weekends.
I reuse shopping bags as garbage bags.

Hmmm... tough question because it's so broad a topic. But, as you mentioned, lots of little things:

- Recycle, reduce, reuse: Not just cans and bags and stuff, but also furniture, appliances, electronics, etc. We use cloth napkins instead of paper.

- Buy locally as much as possible: Less fuel needed to transport goods, plus I support local economy.

- The basic around-the-house stuff: Turn off lights, water, etc. Energy-saving appliances.

- Being vegan: This is probably my biggest single contribution to the environment, since meat production/acquisition creates a lot of environmental harm.

- Low driving mileage: I telecommute for work, plan errands and arrange social events so I drive as little as possible. At most, I put 30 miles per week on my car. Usually it's more like 10 or 20.

- Switching to e-stuff: Online bill paying, online fax service, etc. All cuts down on paper use, plus postal fuel.

- Buying eco-friendly: Recycled paper, hemp handbags, bamboo furniture, etc.

Of course, it's impossible to be 100% eco-friendly and still live in the modern world. I just try to be as conscious as possible of the "footprint" I'm leaving on the earth.

Wow, lots of good ideas here and motivates me to get more on the ball about the environment. I have become lazy and wasteful over the years.

When I was raising my boys, I stayed home and was much more involved and organzied with my home and enviromental issues. Used to do the real diapers thing; no pampers for number 1 and 2. Started working with number 3, so I broke down and used Pampers. I was involved in a neighborhood co-op and bought alot of veggies, grains, and cheese in bulk to save on packaging. No one I knew had two cars. Hung my clothes out in the back yard and bought environmentally approved laundry soaps. Hardly ever eat out...actually baked my own bread. Man, what happened to me?? Everyone I knew had a copy of "More with less" cookbook and used it! "Live simply so that others may simply live" was the motto. We did try too. Recyled everything. Shared maternity, baby and kids clothes. Kept passing them around.
Bought almost everything at second hand stores and yard sales. Never had the money to buy stuff like plastic wrap, napkins, aluminun foil etc. Stored everything in Tupperware like containers. Used cloth napkins. I used to bathe the kids at the same time so not to use up too much water. I still have a hard time filling a tub with water for me and draining it all. Feel guilty. I had a friend that used to syphon the water from her tub out the window with a hose right onto her garden. She used organic everything, so it was fine for the garden. This was all back in the early 70s so all this was hip. Everyone I knew was like this.

Now, I do alot of the same stuff that PF states. But, there is so much more that I could do if I had more energy and was more organized.

Smoke my cigarettes in my private hermetically-sealed enclosure.

Recycle: glass,paper,aluminum,plastic
Only drive when I have to: 1 a week for groceries,etc.(if there was public trans out here I would definitely use it)
Buy 90% of things second hand( love thrift stores and flea markets)
Try to buy from locals-but theres not many over here(very disappointing)
Maintain a wildlife sanctuary on my property
Same as everyone else:basic house stuff,reuse stuff till can't be used any more,use rags to clean with
I've bought a gardening book with non-toxic gardening recipes for bug sprays,fertilizers,etc





OT:A good source for natural and recycled and hemp clothes and bags is : www.gypsyrose.com

I smoke.
I drive a big, polluting truck.
I Burn a woodstove.

I'll think of some more.

Burning wood does help. The CO2 would be released anyway. Wood heat saves oil/coal being burned.

Hemp clothes??? When did they start making clothes out of marijuana?

They make tons of stuff out of hemp these days.

As Heather said, they make all kinds of things out of hemp, not just clothes and bags either. The Body Shop sells all kind of hemp products: lip balm, body lotion, shampoo, conditioner, etc.

Also, hemp is not marijuana, at least not the kind you smoke. Although they are members of the same species (Cannabis sativa), their resulting products are entirely different from each other. Marijuana contains considerable amounts of THC (this is what gets a person "high") and hemp contains little or no THC (less than 1%), hence the reason it is used for so many other uses.

BUT... if you smoke enough hemp, it will probably get you a buz... or a very bad headache.

i burned wood this wiinter, well half of it , after 3 chimney fires i just dident think it was worth it, follow the kids around all day and turn off the lights , they never do, cook out side , saves on electric you know, take a shower on saturdays, saves water, drive my f-250 5 miles a day , never on weekends, mow grass on time a month, untill the county tells me i need to do it more, lots of things can be done to cut back, i cant list them all.

The Common Market in Frederick just opened in their new location, and it's awesome! They have lots of eco-friendly household items such as cleaners, pet supplies, cosmetics, and even hemp clothing items!

This could go in the food forum, but I'll go ahead and post it here anyway...They now have a full salad & hot foods bar, along with organic & locally grown meats & produce. It's probably the closest natural/organic grocery store to Washington County. I'm lovin' it because I work in Frederick & can stop in for lunch


www.commonmarket.com

Thanks for the heads up about the new location of the Common Market...

Is it bigger? Do they have more stock now?

They're the only place close I can find Fakin' Bacon... YUM!

Recycle glass, #1 and #2 plastices, aluminum and steel cans, newpaper, and corrugated cardboard...wish we could recycle junk mail and paperboard (ie cereal boxes)

use biodegradable cleaners

use canvas bags for shopping, and not just for groceries

take my travel coffee mug to restaurants to use instead of paper/foam cups

compost

try to aviod single serving items to reduce packaging waste....make a bowl of pudding and divide into reusable containers (gladware type things) instead of buying pudding cups for lunches, etc.

support Arbor Day and Sierra Club when appropriate to my values

feed birds

plant native flora and fauna that supports the wildlife habitat, rather than exotic/ornamental plants which offer little useful food for animal diets (though I really wish the bunnies would stay out of my strawberry patch!)

Try to conserve energy and water as much as practical

Recycle my junk mail....blank sides become my note pads, those "no postage neccesary" envelopes hold coupons, contain lunch money, anything else that isn't yucky and requiring a baggie

I don't buy ziplocs since they promote disposable.....again the reusable containers for chips, cookies, crackers, sandwiches, etc. in the lunch box

Since plastic isn't recycled in the sense we think of with aluminum cans (plastic changes composition when melted and can't become a bottle again) I try to avoid all the 20oz bottles and 2L bottles, opting for aluminum if possible since it can be recycled about 7 times before it loses it's molecular strength.

I pull recyclables out of the trash at work and walk them down the hall to the recycling bin in the lounge....lazy people....some day we will mine the landfills in search of aluminum sources.

Yes, much bigger and much more stuff! I'm going there today

Oh, and I have this cool little dispenser that hooks on my car visor that dispenses oversized kleenex things, but instead of buying the refills, I just refill it with paper napkins from all the fast food places when we eat there....they usually give you a million napkins with your order or not at all...so instead of trashing the extras, they get used when we have a spill, a sneeze, whatever, and I don't spend any money either!

Use the microwave..it's much more efficient than the range top or oven

I do have my vices ....I love my dishwasher, but I do run it on low-energy mode .

GOOD QUESTION ,

i fight air polution by taking a bath at least once every two months and brushing my teeth at the same time .

i blow my cigar smoke down inside my shirt .

i freeload on my nieghbors to drive me around

Try to products made out of recycled materials, palm pilot my grocery list instead of wasting paper. REcycle

I've been recycling newspapers, cardboard, plastic, cans & glass containers for years now. I've recently started using natural/organic cleaners for my home, ie: bathroom & kitchen cleaners. Not only for the environment, but my health also. I can't stand the fumes and don't like the idea of breathing them, nor the thought of the stuff going down the drain & into the septic system.