A book came out several years ago called, The Consumers Guide to
Effective Environmental Choices. This book provided invaluable
advice to us all by providing simple guidelines that we can follow
to make intelligent and meaningful purchasing decisions.
A book came out several years ago called, The Consumers Guide to Effective Environmental Choices. This book provided invaluable advice to us all by providing simple guidelines that we can follow to make intelligent and meaningful purchasing decisions.
Here is a summary of the book’s seven rules for responsible consumption.
• Give special attention to major purchases – Most of our major purchases have a dramatic influence on our environmental impact. If we purchase a house 60 miles away from our work that is off of the public transportation network, we are forced to drive those miles every day and, even if we have an economical car, we’re going to have a dramatically larger impact than we would if we lived near our work. If we consider the environment before making a major purchase, it is likely that we’ll reduce our personal impact on the planet far more than we can every do after the wrong purchase has been made.
• Become a weight satcher – Those of us who prefer simple guidelines will appreciate this rule. In short, pay attention to the weight of the items we consume and, in general, choose lighter alternatives. Similarly, pay more attention to the heavier items we consume than the lighter items when addressing environmental concerns. For example, it makes more sense to concern ourselves with the pounds of yardwaste we might generate each week than to worry about the 10 ounces of disposable cups.
• Analyze your consumption quantitatively – When trying to be a eco-responsible person, we should really analyze our consumption and implement those changes that will result in the biggest eco-bang for our buck. For example, if we use 2,000 gallons of water a week watering our lawn and only 100 gallons of water washing dishes, it makes much more sense to focus on ways to water our lawn more efficiently than it does to try to save water when washing the dishes. Naturally, I’d like to see us all do both, but the point is we should amend our lawn watering habits first.
• Don’t worry or feel guilty about unimportant decisions – In short, we should focus our eco-energies on the areas where we have the most impact. Everyday decisions like cloth diapers vs disposable, paper bags vs plastic bags, and cotton clothes vs synthetic clothes are largely unimportant and we shouldn’t lose sleep over them. However, remember that here in Morgan Hill, state law requires us to meet tough recycling mandates.
• Look for opportunities to be a leader – When there is something you can do to demonstrate environmental leadership – do it. The book’s authors point out how redoing your landscape to be water efficient, riding a bicycle to work, or purchasing an electric car sends a powerful message to others. As more and more people take these eco-steps, other people are encouraged to do so to.
• Buy more of those things that Help the Environment – There are many products we can purchase that have a direct positive environmental impact. Purchasing a bicycle that will enable you to bike to work can directly reduce air pollution – assuming that you use it! Buying products made from recycled materials, using a microwave oven that saves energy, and setting up your home office to enable you to telecommute are other examples of good eco-purchases.
• Think about nonenvironmental reasons for reducing consumption – Many people that reduce their consumption do so for non-environmental reasons. While some people economize for financial reasons, (we call this involuntary simplicity,) others have chosen to reduce their consumption patterns because it frees up their time, clears their mind, and makes them happier.
Eco-fact of the week: Pollution Prevention Week was last week. It is a time for all of us to assess the hazardous pollutants we create and think about different products we can use or different behaviors we can follow that will reduce or eliminate these pollutants. To celebrate, reduce your use of hazardous materials and generation of hazardous pollutants.
Eco-web site of the week: Buying a car is one of the most important environmental decisions we make. A web site and publication have been developed to help you make a good eco-choice. Check out the site at http://www.greenercars.com/indexplus.html
Anthony Eulo, an assistant to the city manager for the City of Morgan Hill, minimizes his use of pesticides and other hazardous materials. He welcomes your questions, comments, and thoughts and can be reached at en*****@************ca.gov or 779-7247.
