what can I do if I want to change my life style to a more eco-friendly life?

Question

We all know plastic is really bad for our environment. I'll try to use less plastic. But I really want to make a big change in my house. Now I have quite a dilemma. If I remove my plastic items and replace them with some that are made from wood, I'll have a problem too. Because the wood comes from the trees and each time we have less and less green areas zaround the world, and etc.
So let's think about metal. Sounds like a better idea, untill you find out that most of the companies that work with metal have a high level of pollution.
So, what can I acutally do?

Answer 1

I like this question a lot. I am glad you are looking at possible alternatives for plastic.
Let us run through them:
1- Wood : Like you said that it hurts the environment. All I can say is, if you must go for wood, check if the lumbering company is involved in replanting of trees for the ones they take away
2- Metal : Yes there may come with high level of pollution, but that I think is generalising it a bit too far. A lot of these companies are spending considerable amount of resources on adhering to standards being set by the Govts (and I am assuming that you live in a country that agrees to adhere to the Kyoto agreement of environmental emission norms). For now, I would say, if this condition is fulfilled, you may think about it
3- Glass : Ditto all things in point 2
4- Clay : I know most 1st world countries somehow dont seem to think of this alternative, but from where I come (India), its a very common thing to use. Clay when used as bricks are sturdy and also act as good insulators. Clay can lead to exquisite pottery work that can supplant plastic and glass utensils. There are other uses possible, and most of them come with remarkably clean sideeffects.

There are obviously a few more things you can look at.
- Recycled paper (for writing and bags etc)
- Use of bicycles for short distances
- Use of solar heaters
- Water conservation techniques

The possibilities are endless. Pick whichever ones you prefer :-)

Answer 2

Everytime you purchase an item or throw something into the trash, stop and think. Before you purchase that item think if there is something else you already have that will work. Before you throw something away think if there was something else less disposable that you could have bought and also think if that item can be reused by you or someone else. When you need a new item look at yard sales or thrift shops and join Yahoo Groups Freecycle.
For example. When you stop at a convenience store to buy some water you are buying a plastic bottle that is going either in the trash or recycling bin (either still uses energy). What you could have done was bought a Nalgene bottle and filled it up at the home instead.
We are not going to be getting away from plastic, wood, metal etc. anytime soon. The key is to conserve.

Answer 3

I would suggest that you hook into some prophetic force namely God, and let that energy direct your path on a moment to moment basis. I am afraid that if you make your life totally surrounded with the worry of being eco correct, you will miss many of the great things life has to offer. For every problem there is a an answer, so the best you can do is to make yourself educated on what the problem really is and utilize the available aspects of the solution at the present time. If the total solution is to come through you, like the words to a song, or a poem, or inventing the light bulb, then you will be given the answer in a vision of some sort and you will also be given the steps you can take in the here and now as you head to a manifest vision. Don't let it go beyond the reality that is presented to you, as you can waste a life time on the problem without one solution. Not to minimize, but to put the truth into perspective, the answer is already in the spirit realm, it just has to manifest through the visionaries that it is channeled to.
What you can do, is what you can do.

Answer 4

It's good to see your mind is scratching into this issue. So much "eco-", "environmental", stuff has been bantered about so much in the last 30 years as to make an intelligent person want to puke, and it's good to see someone looking at both sides of the coin, so-to-speak. I can guarantee you that without plastics, this world as you know it would not exist! And, living in a wooded part of this country I can tell you, first hand, how ugly and environmentally UNfriendly the harvesting of the trees for some cheap, quick money, is. And the other issues you bring up are as valid as the first to be sure. This issue / debate has been going on and has been covered in so many millions of "reports" and "studies" as to be a pollution in and of itself, both in the products to complete the report, and the debasing of our intellect and ethics in order to "win" it. So let me suggest a few quick ideas here. Number one, study the issue if you want, but, believe me, you've got YEARS of studying to do and "miles to go before (you) sleep". On a more personal level, just make sure you don't litter the highways with paper cups, wrappers, aluminum cans and bottles, etc. If you stick to doing that, I can guarantee you have done more than half the population of this country. Keep the lids on your trash cans so garbage doesn't fall out and flies and maggots and dogs and cats and other animals don't get in and spread it all over the neighborhood and spread disease. Again, if you do that, you're WAAAYYYYYYYYY AHEAD of most of the population of this country. How do I know? I was a garbage man for a major metropolitan area way long ago so that I could work my way into college, and I did!! I worked my way in and through around 10 or so years and a few degrees of it. I can tell you first hand how trashy and sloppy many people are. So if you do those things alone, you'll be "head and shoulders" above a HUGE part of our population. If you want to study all those "eco-friendly", "environmental impact 'studies' ", well, go ahead. I can promise you that you will come out with no more clear picture than you have now, poor and tired old eyes, a brain tired of all the lies and contradictions, and a world just as filthy if you forgot to put the lids firmly on your trash cans and failed to keep your litter in your car instead of on the highway. God Bless you, and I hope your world is a whole lot cleaner than it's been here the last 50 years.

Answer 5

Everything is a delima and a trade off, there are products that look like plastic for keeping food, and its actually made from a soy product and eventually breaks down. Soy based candles are also better than parafin. Soy based diesel fuel will someday be more widely availiable. Dont throw anything away to replace it, that act alone is bad news. throw it away when it has worn out, then consider what is the best item to replace it with. If you wish to replace lawn furniture or must replace is a better term, look for the lawn furniture made from all those recycled walmart bags. Everything is a balancing act and you can get catalogs of products that are considered eco friendly. There are electric toilets that burn human waste to ash, it doesnt use any water so there is less taken and less one has to reclean , filter and so on, and the waste being a small ammount of ash, it can go in your trash or if you live out in the country you could probably bury it. I know this is going to be work. Next year go to your local earth day gathering and see what is available. To know what your living situation is like would make it easier to point you to things you can do. I wish you the best of luck. Its a big step.

Answer 6

Little actions mean a lot. It is admirable that you want to change to a more eco-friendly life however you do not need to take the big leap and replace all your personal belongings with reclaimed wood and recycled plastic bottles. Start small, if you have not already. Recycle paper products, glass, aluminum and plastic. Perhaps make a conscious effor to only purchase groceries in materials you can recycle. Reuse your brown paper bags when you shop or invest in eco-friendly cloth grocery bags. If it comes to purchasing clothing look into earth friendly companies who use natural unbleached fibers. Buy your coffee from fair trade businesses or look into local growers to support your community and not the large conglomerate companies. There are a lot of small things you can do that add up to making a huge difference.

Answer 7

you can move to a place where people don't live a modern life, like borneo. There would be NO modern conveniences, not even clothing, but hey; you would be eco friendly!!!

You could also join the peace corps and do missionary work in a 3rd world country thus not having to worry about modern conveniences.

Sounds like you have a long way to go, though, because the computer you're using contains mercury and other heavy metals, plastic, silicon, makes billionaires foffillionaires, consumes precious electricity, time and money you could be giving to Dirt First Liberation Front, and probably used labor for like 30 cents an hour.

The first step is far away! You gotta go 3rd world to commune with nature.

Answer 8

I think you're over thinking it. Not using any plastic items, wood items or metal items would be reducing yourself to living in an adobe hut. If you want to be friendly to our planet, ride your bike to work or school, and walk to the market instead of driving. Recycle everything you are able to, and encourage friends and family to do the same. Get involved in your community to get the word out to other people that little things can make a big difference in the health of our environment. Be active and be smart - but you don't need to be a fanatic. The way you are overcompensating will lead to a third world life, which is not all that necessary.

Answer 9

1: Every time you replace an item, you're contributing to polution (I've struggled with this myself).
2: There are plastics that can be made from soy that are environmentally friendly. If there is a market for them, then they will be produced.
3: Try to use less disposable products and use environmentally friendly cleaners like Simple Green, Dawn and Dr. Bonner's Castile Soap.
4: Buy products made of recycled materials.

There's a book that was put out about twenty years ago calls "50 Things you Can Do for the Planet" or something like that. Get it, it has lots of good ideas.

Good luck

Answer 10

You shouldn't worry about what things are made of. What you should worry about is the reputation of the companies that manufacture the items you buy, whether or not the company is doing all they can to protect the environment.

If you want a life that is more eco-friendly, I suggest that you go out into areas that have a strong wildlife population and plant vegetables and trees to help keep that population strong. You also need to join a local organization which lobbies for the environment. Only through pressure from organizations will we ever see EPA labels on every product sold.

Answer 11

You can REUSE items as much as possible, instead of worrying about which types of new ones to buy. It doesn't make any sense to throw out all your plastics for wood, because then you're doubling your overall consumption and piling your plastic on the landfill. Just use and reuse it for as long as you can, and then try to replace it with recycled material. You can find a lot of products made from recycled plastics these days.

One of the biggest changes you can make, though is in where you get your food. If you go to the supermarket and buy, say, oranges that were grown in South America, those have been shipped all the way to your store, which creates IMMENSE carbon emissions. Try going to the local farmer's market, and you can really cut down on your related pollution, not to mention packaging.

Read the ingredients on your cleaners and toiletries--many of them contain petroleum based ingredients, which enter the water supply and take years to break down. Use the "eco" cleaning products, available at the grocery store, which don't include these ingredients.