Published January 10, 2011
by dbazely
Dr. Johnson is often miscredited with first writing that good intentions pave the way to Hell. Having said that, I am very fond of making lists of goals and New Year's resolutions. "Blog more frequently", is usually on my list, but my attempts usually follow the pattern of starting a diet or exercise regime - they start strong and trail off.
BUT, I think I finally came up with a way to sustain a year of regular blogging.Tracy Tanentzap, our IRIS Research at York Undergraduate Student gave me one of my favourite Christmas gifts: a 2011 365-day calendar with advice on how to Go Green. My only issue with the calendar, is that the tips are very much at the Introductory Level. I am doing nearly all of them already (I looked ahead).
So, what better inducement to blog regularly, than to provide the GOING GREEN 101 tip for you, plus a suggestion for how to upgrade it to a GOING GREEN level 201, 301 or 401 tip. The good folk at www.pappintl.com are very welcome to incorporate my ideas into their future calendars:
Jan 1: Make a New Year's resolution to 'go green'. If this is the Introductory course on Going Green, then the higher level course would be: GOING GREEN - UP YOUR GAME.
Jan 2: Get fit by jogging, running, biking, walking or skating outdoors. Time spent outdoors builds an appreciation for nature and the environment. Upgrade: Take the stairs at the office, not the elevator. OR, in my case - if you are working 60-70 hour weeks and your failed intentions to exercise are paving the way to overweight hell, then call a personal trainer and support the local economy.
Jan 3: Wash your clothes in cold water. Upgrade: Wash fuller loads - combine clothes and reduce the total number of weekly loads.
Jan 4: Darn your socks, repair your clothes. Upgrade: Start a knitting or sewing club - for any age - as a social activity.
Jan 5: Drink tapwater, not bottled water. Lot's of good reasons to do this. Upgrade: We all have our own water bottle, but if you are like me and forget to take it, then make sure that you have 3-4 bottles stashed in different strategic locations.
Jan 6: Use baking soda instead of chemical cleaners for the tub and toilet. Upgrade: Buy the book, Clean: The Humble Art of Zen-Cleansing by Michael de Jong. In fact, buy 10 and give them as gifts along with a Zen Cleaning Kit - lemon, white vinegar, baking soda, borax and salt.
Jan 7: Compost your kitchen and yard waste. Upgrade: Make your composter RAT-PROOF. Yes - your composter is an ideal home for Rattus norvegicus. Food rains down on their heads and they are very happy. We now have a rolling compost bin (available at Lee Valley Tools) plus a raised metal bin on bricks with holes punched in the side and a huge, heavy lid. As much as I respect rats, I really do not want them living in my compost bin.
Jan 8: Buy local food produce, and buy organic (check out my blog on buying organic). Upgrade: Learn how to preserve and put up food. It has gotten easier to learn how to do.
Jan 9: When printing documents, use recycled, non-bleached paper. Upgrade: Set your printer to 2-sided printing. You will need to change the printer settings in your computer printer driver.
Jan 10: Use biodegradable detergents for your dishes and laundry. Upgrade: Learn about the Phosphorus run-off situation and the phosphorus by-laws in your region. It's actually more of an issue than you may think it is. I was surprised by what I found out.
Ok - so that's it for now. Let's see if I can keep the tips and the upgrades coming.
Happy New Year,
Dawn R. Bazely
Posted in: Blogs | IRIS Director Blog
