LETTER: Actions we can take towards sustainable living

Shutterstock

U.S. cities, states, companies, and organizations have banded together in the face of federal withdrawal from the Paris climate accord, pledging to move to 100 percent clean energy and adopting the climate agreement themselves. Now more than ever, it seems individual actions can make a difference.

Here are twelve ideas you can implement on an individual level:

Don’t buy a new home; renovate an old one. The greenest home is one that’s already built. But older housing stock is often less energy efficient. The true green home is an old house brought up to speed with 21st-century sustainability solutions. Harvard’s "Center for Green Buildings and Cities" seeks to transform old homes into affordable models for energy efficiency. Inefficient existing buildings are one of the world’s biggest energy problems; the best place to start making a difference is at home.

Xeriscape your yard. Huge lawns use a lot of water to maintain, so consider adding drought-tolerant plants in order to reduce your water consumption by 50 to 75 percent.

Hang-dry your clothes instead of using the dryer. There are more than 90 million clothes dryers in the United States, and if all Americans line-dried for just half a year, it would save 3.3 percent of the country’s total residential output of carbon dioxide.

Recycle. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, in 2013 Americans generated about 254 million tons of trash, but recycled and composted 87 million tons, equivalent to a 34.3 percent recycling rate. We need to do better.

Plant a community garden. It’s a great way to meet neighbors and collaboratively add something to your neighborhood. The American Community Gardening Association offers a set of resources and recommendations on how to manage and maintain a public patch.

 Start or support an urban farm. Supporting urban agriculture in your community can help cut carbon emissions and provide local employment while offering more chances to enjoy that just-picked freshness. Raise crops on warehouse rooftops, in urban orchards, and innovative vertical farms.

Eat less red meat. Raising cattle and sheep creates vast amounts of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. Cutting out or reducing red meat and dairy consumption and favoring fish, eggs, and poultry, can seriously save carbon.

Reduce food waste. Wasted food is a big problem in the U.S. 38 million tons of food are wasted each year, according to the EPA. Luckily, small changes to your routine can make a big difference. Don’t waste food. Be thrifty and smarter about storage and preservation.

Don't drink bottled water. Landfills already contain more than 2 million tons of plastic bottles. And 1.5 million barrels of oil are used to manufacture water bottles every year. And those bottles take more than a thousand years to biodegrade. Try a reusable water bottle.

Plant your own vegetable garden. It doesn’t get more local than fresh tomatoes from your backyard.

Join a CSA. "Community-Supported Agriculture" connects consumers with seasonal food sold directly from nearby farmers. You’ll help support farmers while also eating local—a proven way to reduce your carbon footprint.

Start composting. Transforming food scraps and lawn clippings into fresh, nutrient-rich soil gives home gardens a boost. 20 to 30 percent of what we normally throw out can be composted. Composting offers huge benefits at the city level. New York City’s composting program creates “black gold” in the form of rich soil, saves money on shipping organic waste to landfills, and even generates energy from methane.

David Morton, PhD

Redmond

Dr. Morton's letter was presented at the October 3rd City Council meeting during

 "Items from the Audience."  

E-mail Letters to redmondblog@gmail.com