Half the Garbage

This good turn isn’t a one-day thing, but more of a weekly summary.  When I took out the trash to the curb, we had only half-filled our bin, is usually just about full by the end of the week, if not overflowing (it’s not that big).  I was happy to see we’d reduced our garbage quite a bit this week.  Hopefully we can keep it up.

Helping a Stranger Who’s Lost

I was in a copy shop and overheard a customer asking one of the salespeople how to find the nearest lumberyard. The salesperson didn’t really know, so I went over and gave the guy some directions.  He thanked me before leaving.

Reuse in the Garden

We love to grow edible stuff in our garden. Unfortunately, we’re not the only ones who like to eat it. Recently, a beautiful corn stalk, in the prime of its life, was mowed down mercilessly by a squirrel, raccoon, or one of our other four-legged neighbors.

To try to discourage future attacks, I used a tip that I found somewhere online… Take pruned canes from a rose bush and lay them on the ground around whatever you’re trying to protect. If you don’t have a rose bush, I bet you have a neighbor who does. I like this solution better than fencing, chicken wire, and much better than anything having to do with chemicals. Reuse isn’t limited to the stuff you buy, it can be anything. (Of course, it remains to be seen if this technique works for us.)

Asking for Help

… is what I’m doing right now. I need some advice.

This project has been a great experience so far. Doing little things has added up to quite a bit of a difference in my life, and I think it’s for the better. Many of the things I’ve described here have become part of my daily (or weekly, or monthly) routine. However, I’ve reached a point (predictably) where it’s becoming harder and harder to keep up this blog, for two main reasons:

1. It’s harder to do something new every day. I’m running out of ideas, and most of the ones I have left are fairly big, which means it will be even harder to keep up a daily or near-daily pace. The idea was to do small things anyway. I’m trying to think of more things, and look for opportunities as they present themselves, but it’s getting difficult to keep it up.
2. Writing the blog itself takes time. Even if it’s just a paragraph, it still takes a while to figure out what to say, fire up the computer and blogging software, write it, look for mistakes, add links, and generally do a decent job of publishing something worth reading (or at least trying to). I didn’t start the project to become a known blogger–I just thought blogging about it would (a) help me keep it up, (b) hopefully create a discussion where people could share ideas about good things to do, and (c) perhaps inspire others to try something new themselves.

Whether I keep blogging or not, I’ll keep trying to do new good turns, and keep up the ones I’ve already adopted. But back to asking for help… What do you think? How many people even read this blog, anyway? Should I try to keep blogging? If so, do you have any advice, comments, or suggestions?  It will all be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

Navy Dishes

The title of this post doesn’t really make sense, but I decided to make up a term, based on the previous entry about “Navy showers.”  Today I did the dishes this way: Just turn off the water while you’re soaping up a pot, drying a bowl, or anything else that doesn’t require the water to be running.  I’m a little embarassed that I hadn’t already adopted this method.  Water isn’t free and infinite, though we may act like it is.

Reusing Envelopes

I can’t remember where I first read it (probably No Impact Man), but somewhere I picked up a suggestion I liked: Reusing commercial envelopes for personal mail.  In the midst of all your daily mail, solicited and unsolicited, you probably receive a number of return envelopes, include many nice ones complete with security patterns on the inside.  Why not set those aside for your own use later on?  You might have to scribble out some of the markings on them, but in general they’re perfectly usable.

Anyway, I did this today.

Holding the Door

I was walking out of a building when I saw an older woman walking towards me.  I waited a little and held the door for her.  She smiled and said, “Thanks so much.”

Researching Charities

This evening, I spent a little time researching good organizations to which to contribute. I tend to be cautious about giving money away (I work hard for it!), and I care a lot about knowing that it’s being used effectively in the ways that I’d like. Therefore, from time to time, I try to do some investigating and plan for making future donations.

A few of my favorite organizations include:

• The Electronic Frontier Foundation (personal rights in technological issues)
• National Resources Defense Council (broad environmental advocacy)
• Public TV/Radio stations (such as KQED and KTEH)

Anyone else care to contribute to the list? Your help will be appreciated, hopefully by many.

Some Notes on Carbon Offsets

Today I did a little more research on the topic of carbon offsets, an issue I’ve been following for a while.  There is certainly no shortage of providers today (the best known probably being TerraPass), willing to turn your dollars (or guilt, if you’re a cynic) into carbon-reducing technology of all sorts.  But it’s also kind of a murky area to many people–just what exactly do they do with your money?  Is truly offsetting your emissions?  How do you know?

The best place I know of to educate yourself on carbon offsets–the role they play in achieveing a sustainable economy, how the different technologies work, the scale of the problem, and which providers are recommended–is the information portal provided by the Tufts Climate Initiative and Stockholm Environment Institute.

One of the most surprising things I’ve learned about carbon emissions is how big a culprit air travel has become.  Did you know that a single long-distance round-trip flight contributes as much to climate change (global warming) as an entire year of driving?  I was shocked when I first read it, but I’ve verified the numbers on a few of the different emissions calculators (provided by almost all carbon offset organizations).

In general, carbon offsets are best thought of as a last resort.  Only after all attempts to reduce emissions by conserving energy, driving less, flying less, or any other means have been exhausted, should we turn to buying our way out of the problem.

I’ve bought offsets in the past from myclimate/Sustainable Travel International, based on a recommendation from the Tufts report.  I was happy with the results, I guess, but of course it’s really hard to know what’s happening.  That’s why the Tufts report (and recommendations from others) are so helpful, at least for peace of mind.  This blog is a fight against cynicism in many ways, not just this one, so I remain optimistic that some great results will come out of the carbon offset industry, and it’s worth our support and investment.

From the TMI Department

This one is pretty much for the fellas.

Today, I was at some friends’ house, and needed to use the bathroom.  This was a number-one, standing affair.  Despite my best efforts, however, a few drops got on the rim of the toilet (shocking, right?).  So, I decided to be a good friend and I wiped them clean before leaving.