Skip to main content

What resources do you use that you could use less of or not at all.

It's likely that you can cut back on your use of many resources. For instance, The Economist reports that the average American uses the paper equivalent of 5.57 forty-foot tall trees each year. By contrast, the average citizen of Ireland uses only 2.21. Different levels of resource use are driven by cultural practices that we can change. Here are some examples.


Trees


Use fewer trees by going "paperless" whenever possible. Recycle and reuse paper, cardboard, and furniture made of wood.


Water


Reduce consumption of water by eliminating wasteful practices (like letting the water run when you are washing dishes, or brushing your teeth). You can also reduce waste usage by taking shorter showers. If you have a yard or garden, and live in an area where dry conditions are common, you can reduce usage by cultivating only drought-resistant plants.


Fossil fuel use in the home


Central air conditioners and heat pumps typically burn more energy during use than any other home appliance. So you can save energy by finding ways to use these devices more sparingly (for example, by insulating your home, and dressing more warmly in winter).


You can also save energy by


  • turning off electric lights and other devices when not in use

  • switching from incandescent to fluorescent bulbs

  • unplugging appliances you use infrequently (because these appliances draw small amounts of electricity even when they are not in use)

  • drying laundry in the air

  • replacing energy-wasteful appliances with more efficient models

Fossil fuel used for transportation


You can save energy by walking and riding bikes. When that's not feasible, you can save energy by using public transportation, car pooling, and planning efficient car trips (accomplishing multiple errands with minimal mileage).


Fossil fuel used to make plastic


Avoid buying products with lots of plastic packaging. Use reusable grocery bags.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Is there a word/phrase for "unperformant"?

As a software engineer, I need to sometimes describe a piece of code as something that lacks performance or was not written with performance in mind. Example: This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code. Based on my Google searches, this isn't a real word. What is the correct way to describe this? EDIT My usage of "performance" here is in regard to speed and efficiency. For example, the better the performance of code the faster the application runs. My question and example target the negative definition, which is in reference to preventing inefficient coding practices. Answer This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code. In my opinion, reads more easily as: This coding style leads to unmaintainable and poorly performing code. The key to well-written documentation and reports lies in ease of understanding. Adding poorly understood words such as performant decreases that ease. In addressing the use of such a poorly ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Is 'efficate' a word in English?

I routinely hear the word "efficate" being used. For example, "The most powerful way to efficate a change in the system is to participate." I do not find entries for this word in common English dictionaries, but I do not have an unabridged dictionary. I have checked the OED (I'm not sure if it is considered unabridged), and it has no entry for "efficate". It does have an entry for "efficiate", which is used in the same way. Wordnik has an entry for "efficate" with over 1800 hits, thus providing some evidence for the frequency of use. I personally like the word and find the meaning very clear and obvious when others use it. If it's not currently an "officially documented" word, perhaps its continued use will result in it being better documented.
Post a Comment
Read more