Sustainability is Sexy: “Another Green List”

I was once told that the best way to reduce my carbon footprint would be to kill myself. While this is probably true, I have not reached the personal conclusion that such extreme measures are required to reduce my environmental impact. However, I also don’t want to live a life dictated by always choosing the most environmentally friendly option. If we were to base all of our decisions on what most was most sustainable, our lives would be pretty boring and we would probably want to kill ourselves anyways.

So where is the fun in being sustainable? Does it really mean we have to take two-minute showers? Well—not if you shower with someone else, then you could shower for 4 minutes!

For me the fun comes from thinking about my actions—engaging myself to critically evaluate what my everyday decisions mean for the future and how they personally reflect my own values.

I thought I’d use the rest of my column to list some things to think about (I’d like to thank members of SEED who helped contribute to this list).

• Our school spends between $75,000 and $105,000 each month on electricity.
• If you use the on-campus washing machines, set them to “brights and colors”—this uses cold water, which doesn’t require as much electricity (and also does not turn your socks pink).
• Use clotheslines and drying racks to dry your clothes, instead of using a dryer.
• Restarting your computer uses about as much energy as leaving it running. If you plan to leave your computer unattended for more than 2 hours it is always a good idea to turn it off or at the very least put it to sleep.
• The surge generated by turning on and off your lights is almost zero. It is always best to turn off your lights when you leave the room.
• Use the “10 second rule” for idling car engines. If your (non-diesel) car is parked or sitting for more then 10 seconds, you will have used more fuel then had you turned it off and restarting it. According to the California Energy Commission, leaving your car idling for 2 minutes uses the same amount of fuel as driving for one mile. Also, starting your engine has negligible impact on its overall longevity. In fact, leaving it idling can lead to build up of fuel residues.
• Use your own towel to wash your hands and face, rather than paper ones.
• Carry around your own set of utensils.
• Learn to fix a bike at the LC bike co-op.
• Learn to fix your computer at Free Geek (look it up online, it is awesome).
• When buying a bagel or pastry at Maggie’s, tell them you don’t need a bag if you are just going to immediately throw it away. Also, bring your own mugs. They’ll give you a discount!
• When printing readings or papers always print double sided or just do the readings from your computer.
• Sit by the river every once and a while and drink a beer.
• Pay attention to how much packaging you use and find ways to reduce this amount.

This list different for every person, and it can always change. However, I think it is important to share with others what we are doing, because that is much more powerful then just complaining about how unsustainable the school is. This past summer I attended a march in Seattle for universal health care. A couple hundred people and myself went through downtown Seattle carrying signs and stopping traffic. But while doing this, I realized that we weren’t really engaging people in any kind of meaningful way that made them question the health care system, or show how a different system might be better. In fact, we were just making them late for work. While I don’t think that marching does not have its place, it cannot be the only solution.

The real solution has to come from how we create our own environment and how our habits reflect our ideals.

The next SEED meeting is Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. in the SEED office in Templeton.