On Gaia's Day

On Gaia’s Day

           

            With apologies to Senator Gaylord Nelson, it’s time to “put the environment into the political ‘limelight’ once and for all.” This is so much truer as we celebrate the 42^nd Earth Day on April 22.

We have all heard of the more popular tips for going green and Gaia-friendly like save energy, reduce/reuse/recycle, compost, proper waste disposal, and the ever popular and much effective plant-a-tree action. Here are more tips that you might not have heard, read, or known about, until now.

Bag it up. It might seem awkward but it’s better if you use your backpacks and large bags to hold your groceries and other items. People might stare at the counter, but it’s worth the try. Think about it, you don’t use plastic, plus, all your groceries are housed in one bag only, lessening the number of unwieldy plastic bags you used to carry.

Become a locavore. Love your own, as they say. To be more Gaia-friendly, this includes loving and buying your local produce. Not only does it help in your neighbors’ businesses, it also lessens the stuff we import, lessening the energy used for transportation. Plus, according to author and eco-expert Alexandra Zissu, “These small farms use their land more efficiently. And, if the food is organic, which it almost always is, no chemical pesticides will have been used.”

Check the label. It really pays to check the label, especially when using pesticides or other items containing harmful chemicals. Labels provide critical safety information for handling and use.  Read the label and use and dispose your pesticides more properly.

Cut down on the “vampire effect.” Even when not turned on, an electronic appliance that is plugged into a power source still draws energy. Even when a car is idling, it still uses energy. It’s time for austerity measures!

Eat home-cooked meals or dine in. When everyday hustle and bustle leaves us all frazzled to the bone, it’s easier to just go to the nearby drive-thru branch of your favorite fast food or restaurant and take-out than cooking your own meal. Or some of the more able just call up the restaurant and have food delivered. This might be easier for us but it’s a no-no to being Gaia-friendly. Going for take-out or having food delivered means the food establishment has to provide additional packaging for your food. And additional packaging means added garbage. If you don’t cook, then walk (to your chosen food spot and eat there).

Fix that leak. Leaky faucets or faulty tubing can waste thousands of gallons of water each year, like money down the drain. Repair or replace old or damaged fixtures. Let’s try to think of Manila and other urban areas where there is scarcity of water, and save the water supply that we have.

Flush less water. You may not know it but one-third of all water we have is used just to flush the toilet. That’s a lot of water to flush just a few spoonfuls of liquid waste. If you can’t control your enthusiasm in pressing the flush button, try using pail and dipper. It’s called portion control.

Go out. Don’t we just love going out in the open and hanging out with friends? Visiting public places which use more energy efficient lighting not only gives us more variety and action in our lives, it also conserves energy that would have otherwise been spent at home watching television or staying online.

Make it a full load. Unless it’s really important, wash only full loads of laundry either in the washing machine or your own handwash method. This lessens the 40.9 gallons or so of water that you use in the average washing machine per load and also saves detergent, effort and energy in the long run.

Refashion.  It’s a more sophisticated word for recycle. Your old clothing may not be fit for downtown strolls anymore, but they sure are still qualified as cleaning tools. If you don’t want to give them away, then consider cutting them open and using them as dust rags. (A Gaia-friendly practice that we have been unconsciously observing. Let’s keep it up!)

Scoop the poop. Even if it’s your pet, dispose of the waste properly. Leaving pet waste on the ground not only pollutes the air but also increases public health risks by allowing harmful bacteria to wash into the storm drain and eventually contaminate water bodies.

Stop buying bottled water. Did you know that it takes 26 bottles of water to produce the plastic container for a one-liter bottle of water, and that doing so pollutes 25 liters of groundwater? And since bottled water is often consumed on the go, most bottles do not actually end up getting recycled. Now that you know it, stop buying bottled water. Use reusable water bottles instead made from materials like stainless steel or aluminum that are not likely to degrade over time. If you choose a plastic water bottle, check the number on the bottom first: Plastics numbered 3, 6 and 7 could pose a health threat to you, so look for plastics numbered 1, 2, 4 or 5.

A cheaper and more convenient place for getting water would be our faucet. For most of us, water flows directly into our homes, which, is not the case in other parts of the world. So why not get a filter and get water cheaper and more convenient – use your faucet!

Take a bath using a pail and a dipper.  A five- or ten-minute shower can use up to 20 to 70 gallons of water – and a much lesser amount is enough to keep ourselves clean. It may be uncool today, but it’s worth the effort to try to conserve water for the future. (At least some of us have been doing this practice for a long time now, without even being conscious of it. Let’s stick to this!)

Considering that each person throws away approximately four pounds of garbage every day; most families throw away about 88 pounds of plastic every year; we each use about 12,000 gallons of water every year; approximately 5 million tons of oil produced in the world each year and 14 billion pounds of trash ends up in the ocean; the energy we save when we recycle one glass bottle is enough to light a traditional light bulb for four hours; for every 2000 pounds of paper (1 ton) recycled, we save 7,000 gallons of water free from chemicals and 17 trees; the amount of wood and paper we throw away is enough to heat 50 million homes for 20 years; and that plastics take 500 years, aluminum cans take 500 years, organic materials, take 6 months,
and cotton, rags, paper take 6 months to break down, these thirteen tips may be uncool, but these tips do save Mother Earth in the long run.