a sustainability guide for everyday folk

8/13/2019 A Sustainability Guide for Everyday Folk

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A Sustainability Guide forEveryday Folk

~1 Year Edition~

Over 200 Topics and Su estions !overin"ealt#$ Food$ "y iene$ Art$ and %ore

&edistribute and Alter Freely'ritten (ece)ber 2010 *y Sa e$ +pdated (ece)ber 2,$ 2011

*Note that this guide was originally written for a single person as a quick brain dump of mycollective knowledge of sustainable living in the city, though most information applies to thoseliving in rural areas as well. Citations and comprehensive research were neglected, thus someinformation may be outdated, uncertain, or incomplete. Further research should be done on anygiven area. The beginnings of my environmental knowledge began years ago at the website Tree

ugger and many individual web searches for specific pieces of data.


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T ransportation

* et a conversion kit to makeyour car run on bio-diesel orve ie oil . +ou can also converta bicycle to run very efficientlyon gasoline or electricity andother forms of fuel.* ncreasin your %/G +oucan increase your miles per gallon by driving certain ways.)-ve even heard people doublingtheir ( rating/ Turn off theengine while going downhill.+ou can draft behind other

vehicles to cut down on windresistance. 0ehicles havespeeds at which they run mostefficiently which people commonly say is 11 ( , but itchanges depending on thevehicle. #sually the low end ofthe 2( power band is mostefficient. 3bove 45 ( youshould use the fan or air conditioner 6if you must7 instead ofhaving a window open to reduce drag. The radio, cd player,and lights do not take up thatmuch energy, but still consumesome e&tra fuel. 8top an accelerate slowly to conserve your

brakes and conserve a littlemore fuel. Carry less in your

vehicle.*#se car rental services whenyou need a vehicle or a biggervehicle instead of buying one.*'rive a smaller car 9 Thesegenerally get better fuelmileage and need less raw ma

terials to make.*!uy a used car 9 the energyand money costs of a usedvehicle generally are far lessthan buying a new vehicle. 'oa cost comparison with gasmileage in the picture for a 1year period.*&ide a bicycle . There arefolding bicycles that can beeasily transported in a car or

bus too.*For transporting materials, arack can be attached to the bicycle with panniers 6saddle

bags7, or a bicycle trailer can beused for hauling larger things.)-ve even seen people hauling atrailer shelter for sleeping in/

*"itc##ike 9 ake a sign witha sharpie and some cardboardand get on the highway or anoff ramp/ 2ead up on hitchhiking laws before going out. Thewest coast is one of the best

places to hitchhike.*(ick up hitchhikers or offerrideshares.*&ides#are 6:istings onCraigslist and other bulletins7.This is more e&pensive thanhitchhiking but much less thantaking the bus. )t-s safer andless time intensive than hitchhiking too.*2ide a motorcycle if you don-tneed to transport much. Theyare very efficient.

*#tili"e public transportation/Trains, buses, subways, trolleysand the like.*!arpool with people at yourwork or announce you-re starting one yourself/*Try to avoid traveling long

distances. :ocali"e your socialgroups and cultural interests/

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F ree T #in s

*(u)pster (ivin 'umpsters are usually not as dirty as

people will lead you to believe.;specially in college townsafter fall and spring terms,dumpsters are laden with goodies. These include furniture,clothing, appliances, even

laptops and hard drives. +oucan also find dumpsters withunblemished food behind grocers and bakeries.*%ake it yourself / enerallyfor very cheap or free you can

build furniture, make tools, orsew together clothing. 8tudythe way native peoples use6d7tools and ethnobotany, the way


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native peoples use6d7 plants.*#se paper from recycling binsfor creating a daily planner6$ust take a bunch of sheets andfold them in half to create a

booklet7, take notes on, orscribble on.

*Free !ycle 6website7 9 (eople post -for free- and -wanted forfree- ads in various locales.*!rai slist 6website7 9 anydifferent sections, includingfree stuff in various locales.**ackpa e 6website7 9 8imilarto Craigslist.*Free *o:es 9 3 bo& left outne&t to the sidewalk with assorted goods generally means it-s a

bo& full of free things.*&eally &eally Free %arkets622F 7 9 No money, trade, or

barter allowed. (eople bring reen,sweatshop free labor, not testedon animals, sustainably harves

ted wood 6wood that isn-t froma clear cut or old growth forestfor furniture, paper, and construction materials7.*8ome printer ink cartridgescan be refilled, thus cutting outa lot of waste.**orro8 or rent instead o

buying new. There are car rentals, book rentals and e&changes, e book versions ofte&t books, and tool rentals.*8top wrapping your gifts. )fyou still want to wrap gifts, try

paper bags with drawings overthem and string to avoid thetape.

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" y iene and ! leanin

'as#in Yourself5*Sink s#o8ers 9 The primary

part of your body that smellsare your armpits, so $ust washthose each morning and avoiddoing the rest for at least a fewdays, if not weeks. +ou can filla bowl with a few cups of waterthen soap up and rinse down.

air can also be washed in a


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similar manner if you want to.*To wash your whole body, filla container with about 1 cups ofwater. et a bar of soap wetand soap up, then rinse off bycupping your hand and splashing the water onto your body.

Try to direct splashed water back into the container so youcan reuse it in consecutivesplashes. Now you can use thiswater for a greywater toilet.*'o not use anti bacterial oranti microbial soaps, they maynegate effects of antibioticmedications 6when you arereally sick7, and normal soap is

$ust as effective.*:ook into the #y iene #ypo-t#esis , which says so many

people these days are sick because they-re too clean. There issmart sanitation and over sanitation, learn about what level isright for you to be optimallyhealthy.

*Take your shower in the morning instead of at night becauseyou-ll be fresh when you actually need to be. (lus it-s a goodwake up alternative to stimulants like coffee.*8oap, shampoo, and conditioner can be bought from somenatural food stores in bulk thusavoiding the need for buyingnew packaging. ?ust bring inyour own bottle to fill.*@ur skin is very porous andabsorbs a good deal of what we

put onto it. !e very cautiouswith the ingredients of skin

products like sunscreen lotion because many have been linkedto cancer.

*%ash your hands with locallymade bar soap to avoid the

packaging and e&tra processingliquid soaps require.*#se something like a pen capto gently scoop ear wa& out ofyour ear instead of using cotton

swabs. 3lso, don-t put your fingers into your ears, this com presses ear wa& which wouldnormally fall out naturally.*2emove snot from your nose

by plugging one nose channeland blowing out the other hard.

Toilet5*#se newspaper instead of toilet paper by tearing pieces offabout the si"e of toilet paper.8ome people crinkle the news

paper to make it softer too. 'onot use large pieces as this canclog the toilet.*#se two or three sheets of toilet paper per wipe, and fold itover the brown after each use.+ou can get 1 or A wipes out of

these few sheets, and then goand get another few sheets andrepeat wiping and folding.*To avoid the spread of germsand possibly the need for washing your hands, open toiletseats and flush with your foot.

Toot# !are5*;at fewer simple carbohydrates and sweets as thesedeteriorate your teeth faster.*%ash teeth with a twig/ 8ome

people use sticks to brush theirteeth. They take a twig andchew up the end, then brush.This works so long as you are

primarily eating fruits and vegetables, versus sweets 6including honey7 and carbohydrates

6especially bread7.*2euse floss 9 ost floss isvery durable and can be usedmany times.*#se a toothbrush with a re

placeable head."air5

*'rying off shaving blades will prolong the blade-s life becausewater o&idi"es with metal thusdulling the blade.*8top using shampoo/ :ook up

No poo. 8hampoo is oftenharsh on our hair and causes anover compensating effect in oil

production. )n the ad$usting period use baking soda. ?ustsoak hair and use natural conditioners.*8haved head 9 (eriodicallyshave your head to eliminatethe constant need for hair

products, water, or time managing it.

!leanin Surfaces and!lot#in 5

*%oppin 9 8plash hot soapywater on the floor instead offilling a mop bucket. +ou reallyonly need about = cups of waterfor a single room, then intermittent wringing out of the mop.*%ring out sponges and mopsto increase their lifespan*2euse silverware and bowlsthat you don-t eat animal

products with. !ad germs,mold, and the like most alwaysneed moisture to grow. 8o longas you-re eating all your food,then you can reuse your eatingware as much as you-d like. ) gomonths with $ust one bowl andspoon that ) never wash or rinseout. )-ll eat directly out of the


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cooking device when it has animal products, or lightly sprayoff my dish otherwise.*!ring a reusable drinking container, bowl, and your preferredutensil with you when eatingout or going to potlucks. any

cafes will let you use your owndrinking container, though it-smore difficult at restaurants. )t-s

$ust a matter of communicatingB) don-t need silverware, orBCould you $ust fill this up insteadD**akin soda and vine ar can

be used to clean $ust about anything individually or combinedtogether for your face, hair,sink, floors, laundry, teeth, etc.* ost clothing can be worn formore than one day, especially ifyou take a sink shower in themorning. ?ust let your clothingair out over night. %ear something else while engaging in

physical activity.

*%ash your clothes by handwhile you-re taking a shower.*%ash your clothes with two

buckets> @ne with soapy water,and the other with rinsing water.

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F ood *:ocal and organic or biodynamic together are the best la

bel indications of healthy andsustainably harvested food.

owever, organic and free

range labels can be abused, sotry to know your farmer at farmstands or on their farm and askwhat sort of pesticides and fertili"ers they use, how their animals are treated, etc.*!ecome a ve etarian loc-

alvore; 3s long as you are buying animal products from farmers you know treat their animals well, in almost all casesyour diet will be more sustainable than any other while getting all your required nutrients.@rganic free range eggs andraw goat milk are strongly suggested on top of fruit, veggies,nuts, and locally grown grains.3fter farming practices aretaken into account, the closerthe food source, the less trans

portation it requires and themore sustainable it is.* e anis) is usually not sustainable ) have never heard ofa vegan getting all their nutri

ents from local, unprocessedsources, and more often hearabout health issues arising fromvegan diets. !illions of peopledo not have the importing privileges #8 3mericans do andlack an agricultural growingclimate to support themselveswithout animals. 8ome of themessages are great such as cutting out the many problems associated with animal agriculture, but there are alternativessuch as hunting and gatheringand free range organic thatwould be better to support. Furthermore organic farms typically rely on non human manurefor nutrients to grow their food,

and farms that don-t raise nonhuman animals must transportmanure from other farms. %ecan respectfully treat non human animals while benefitingfrom the nutrients they provideto the soil and our bodies. 3lso

remember, unlocal and processed foods support the oil industry, which is vastly cruel toall. Thus a sustainable farm incorporates what is referred to asBanimal husbandry, havingnon human animals work within the practice of growingcrops.*(rocessed and or packagedfood is bad. They contain cancerous preservatives, plasticthat never deteriorates, and aree&pensive. 8ave your money,health and prevent pollution byeating whole foods/*!ookin 9 Cooking requiresenergy, but not all food can bedigested raw and cooking can

sometimes help release nutrients. Thus a mi&ture of raw andcooked food is important.

*Sproutin and soakin seedsgrains, and nuts 9 8oakinghelps a food become more digestible as well as increases anumber of nutrients and de


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creases the time it needs to becooked. (ut seeds, beans,grains, or nuts into a glass $arand fill with water. :et sit for E

9 = hours then drain the water.:et sit for another E hours before rinsing. 2epeat until

sprouts form. )t-s best to $ustsoak nuts. 8prouting allowssome foods normally requiringcooking to be eaten raw, thoughothers are still poisonous or difficult to digest.*Fer)entin foods 9 Fermented foods are very easy to digest and the bacterial cultureshelp increase your ability to digest other foods.*Food du)psters 9 Tons ofgood food is thrown out eachday. @nly about 15 percent offood grown for consumption iseventually eaten in North3merica. !akeries especiallythrow out do"ens of loaves ofday old bread, and grocers toss

things that have $ust reachedtheir e&piration or have a small

bruise but are not bad for days,weeks or even months to come.

ost food does not require ane&piration from the F'3, andsome stores put an e&pirationdate on food themselves. )t isup to you to test food for freshness.*2eplace your grass or ornamental garden with food/ 3

5& 5 foot area might seemsmall, but can grow a largeamount of your food in a givenseason.*+rban fora in 9 8ome citiesalready have a host of foodabout like ha"elnuts, dandeli

ons, apples, figs, etc. !e carefulwith pesticides and fertili"ersthough and collect things likedandelions away from the roadside which deposits heavymetals on the plants. )f therearen-t any nut or fruit trees

about, plant them yourself/*(ick up road kill if it-s fresh6within the day7, for their meat,fur, or bones. ?ust don-t be seen

by authorities, it-s illegal.

*Food preservation 9 3llowsyou to still depend on localfood when things aren-t growing in your climate. 8moking,canning, free"ing, fermenting,and drying are some methodsof food preservation. 8moking

and drying are probably themost sustainable, though don-twork for all foods. To keepfood raw while drying, thus

preserving the most nutrients,get a food dehydrator with atemperature gauge that goes to

51 degrees Fahrenheit or below.*)f you have no yard, try ver-tical ardenin , such as withhanging pots, or indoor gardening, ne&t to a window.*'rink only water, eateverything else as a wholefood. ?uices lack the fiber offruits and veggies and come in

packaging. )t also takes a lot ofa given fruit or veggie to make

$uice with 6though, ) have heardthey sometimes use the onesthey wouldn-t sell at the market7, for instance when myfriends made apple $uice, 45

pounds of apples became $ust Egallons of $uice/ )f you really

want $uice, make it fresh anddry the pulp into crackers orfruit leathers.*Cans and glass bottles have aninteresting ecological footprint.The ore for aluminum is mined

by clear cutting and blasting asite. )t is more energy efficientto manufacture glass, but it isheavier 6more energy in trans

portation7 and harder to recycle.3luminum however is very to&ic in food. Thus, it-s a toss up ofwhich is more sustainable.*For alcohol, drink locally

brewed beer or wine. +ou canavoid the bottle and packaging

by going to a bar, brewery, orhome brewing.

*Gardenin 9 ardening andgrowing your own food worksagainst almost every social issue there is, playing into savingoil and keeping you healthywith fresh clean produce, e&ercise, sunlight, and soil bacteria.

ardening is very simple onceyou get the space you-re goingto garden ready 6$ust removethe grass or Bweeds or cover itover with cardboard and layersof leaves for a season7 3 5& 5foot plot is plenty of space to

be growing all of your fruitsand veggies at least for thesummertime, if not beyond.+ou don-t need much knowledge or resources to start


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gardening. (lants $ust need nutrients, sunlight, and water. Thistranslates into using some sortof fertili"er like compost, putting your garden in a well litarea, and watering often. )f youwant to go deeper though, )

suggest reading asanobuFukuoka-s @ne 8traw 2evolution or any sort of permacultureguide for the most sustainable,logical, and time efficient ap

proaches to gardening andfarming. 8ome people hypothesi"e it would only take < 4of an acre to be growing all thefood for a family of 4. @n the#rban omestead in (asadena,C3, the residents there havegrown over A555 pounds offood on < 1 of an acre in $ustone year/* arden pests and weeds can

be dealt with without usingchemicals by mulching, planting a wider diversity of plants

and having flowers. 0inegarcan also be used to kill someweeds.*3void growing invasive species of plants because they canout compete native species anddestroy the ecosystem.*Food is a primary componentof our well being. (aired withsome form of e&ercise like taichi or yoga, ) have heard numerous stories of people recovering from fatal illnesses suchas cancer by changing the foodsthey eat.*'rip irrigation saves the mostwater but also is petroleum

based. )rrigation can save a lotof time and water though.

*(lant drought tolerant plantsto save water.*The food pyramid we weretaught in school is based uponeconomic principles rather thanscientifically based health principles, thus you should not eat

according to what it says. ostof your diet should be fruits,veggies and nuts with a smaller

portion,Gof beans, grains, andanimal products.* it *12 Nutritional yeast,semen, and raw milk are goodsources of b =. ;ggs are debatable but may give you some! = if not eaten with the white.3 small amount of ! = can also

be obtained from unwashed vegetables. ! = is heat sensitiveso even omnivores can miss itif they overcook their food.! = deficiency results in pervasive anemia, it is important to

be conscious of getting enoughespecially if removing meat

from the diet.* oat milk and cheese ishealthier and easier for humansto digest than cow-s milk andcheese, so support goat farmers.*2ed meat should rarely beconsumed, if at all. )t has beenlinked to numerous health disorders including cancer andarthritis. The high iron contentof red meat can be obtainedfrom other meats, liver, and

poultry, or from plant sourcessuch as nuts, green leafy vegetables like spinach and kale,legumes like lentils and pinto

beans, and from cooking in castiron. (lant sources of ironshould be eaten with a source

of vitamin C, which helps theiron digest.*)f you must eat meat, look forgrass fed, free range meat orhunt it yourself. enerallyavoid cow products, as they arethe least efficient convention

ally grown input to output6about H& the amount of foodhas to be fed the cow than isderived after the slaughter, aswell as taking thousands of

pounds of water and other problems7. (rairie land is naturally gra"ed upon and burnedthough, so cows can actuallyhelp maintain a healthy ecosystem if bred and raised properly.*Soy ;at soy sparingly. ostis grown with unsustainable

practices like factory farmingand genetically modified seeds.)t also has a number of healthrisks attached. Fermented soysuch as tempeh is much healthier, but should also be eaten

sparingly again due to how soy beans are grown.*!o)postin 9 )nstead ofthrowing food scraps into thetrash, compost it and createnew nutrients for the soil/ )t is

possible to compost inside ofapartments without it smelling.:ook into worm bins. +ou can

put up ads for free compost online at sites like Craigslist or innewspapers, or use it yourselfin potted plants. +ou can alsoask if someone with a compost

pile would let you put yourfood scraps in theirs.*!uy into a community sup

ported agriculture 6C837. Thisis a weekly bo& of food directly


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*#se a tack board with paperfrom recycling bins for notesinstead of a dry erase or chalk

board.*'ying and Funerals 9 et agreen funeral with a composting coffin so all your nutrients

go back to the earth. Cremationand standard burials are notsustainable.

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/ #ysical and

% ental ' ell- * ein

*+ou do not usually need western medicine to fight depression, illness, or bodily wounds.%estern medicine, especiallythe #nited 8tates- medical industry, is tied into all sorts of

horrible things due to being tiedto a profit based system led bythe insurance companies and

pharmaceutical industry. Forsurgery, go to the emergencyroom, but for any drug there isusually a tea or plant that can

do the same thing in your region. 3lso changing what youeat can adversely improve yourhealth. 2esearch naturopathicmedicine, ethnobotany, andhealing foods.*Consider the media and entertainment you voluntarily andinvoluntarily e&perience. Trygoing without media 6no music,movies, fiction books, etc7 andsee what happens. @ften thesecan be addictions creating anavoidance of emotions andthoughts. The same goes fornews. %hat do you really needto know aboutD 3re you drowning in the depression of globalmedia and propaganda when

you should be caring for yourlocal communityD +ou don-tneed it/*For small wounds, scrapes andcuts, a small amount of

plantago 6more commonlyknown as plantain, not to beconfused with the North 3merican banana7 can be chewed up,

put directly on the wound, andleft to dry. These grow all overthe world, including everywhere in North 3merica and often found in grassy and sunnyareas. )t is astringent, anti to&ic, antimicrobial, anti inflammatory, anti histamine, as wellas demulcent, e&pectorant,styptic and diuretic.

*For depression, especially during times of limited sunlight orwhen you-re stuck indoors mostthe day, try supplementing withvitamin 'I 6cholecalciferol animal derived7, which is themore readily used by our bod

ies than '= 6ergocalciferol planted derived7. 'I is absorbed when sunlight hits theatmosphere at a certain angle,and many of us live in areaswhere the sun is not situated

properly to create this angleduring the non summer months.Fish oil will also have a similar

benefit.*1 T(, a precursor to serotonin 6a chemical that causes hap

piness7 derived from an 3frican plant, as well as 8t. ?ohn-s%ort, have both been shown toeffectively treat depression forsome people. 2ead up on thesemedicines before using.* . 0accae, a soil bacteria

found all over the world in soilswith organic matter has beenshown to effectively treat de

pression. 8imple e&posure isenough, so $ust start gardening/* igh impact e&ercises maymake your body feel good inthe moment, but deterioratesthe body in the long term andincreases the possibility ofover straining something into a

broken bone or sprained ligament. Calmer e&ercises such asyoga or tai chi are good alternatives to running on hard surfaces, high impact martial arts,or weight lifting.*Natural !ug 2epellent 9 8afe

bug repellents can be from a


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variety of plant oils, but theyhave to be reapplied each houror two. !oil down garlic in water and put the water into aspray bottle. @r combine a variety of part essential oils6neem, cinnamon, eucalyptus,

peppermint, citronella, rosemary7 with 5 =5 parts carrieroils 6sunflower, olive, witchha"el7 or an alcohol like vodka.*3voiding activities that putsyour body in danger is a goodway to avoid using westernmedicine.*!uy carpets and clothingmade from organic fiber. +oucould also avoid using carpetand get rugs instead for a woodfloor. ost carpets and clothingcontain to&ins which absorbinto the body or off gas into theair.*#se natural paints made frommud or flour to avoid the thehealth problems caused by reg

ular paint off gassing.*#se cast iron, stainless steel,wood, ceramic, and glass tocook in, drink from, and eatwith. ost all other materialsleach out harmful to&ins. lassand wood are the most sustainable from these.*'uring the winter, get outsideas much as possible. 8icknessduring the winter is more prevalent not because of the cold,

but because there are more people sharing germs insidethan usual and the air is not being circulated with open windows.*)nstead of sunscreen lotion ,cover up in a light layer or wear

a wide brimmed hat. +ou canalso cover your e&posed bodyin a thin layer of mud to protectfrom the sun.* row plants indoors ost all

plants filter out air pollutants,though some better than others.

This is especially importantwith the to&ins off gassingfrom paints, carpets, and clothing.

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F alseA dvertisin

*BGreen8as#in is quitecommon these days, with com

panies trying to sound environmentally friendly while in factusing heavy to&ins, sweatshoplabor, or $ust actually makingvery unsustainable products. 3number of different powersources are also made to soundgreen.*2esearch is necessary beforethe purchase of any new item.%here did it come fromD %hat

is it made ofD Can you recycleitD %hat other companies doesthe corporation own 6e&ample !urts !ees is owned byCloro&7D %hat else does thecompany makeD %hat is its lifecycle or what process does it gothrough to break down 6especially for Bbiodegradable

plastics7D

*!amboo clothing is not ecologically friendly, though bambooused in construction generallyis.

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deolo ical

*3sk yourself how whateveraction or ob$ect you are takinginto your life might be hurtinganother organism. 2esearch iskey. (ut yourself into the shoesof the organisms around you.;verything is connected. +ouractions influence everything invery direct and indirect ways.)magine> +ou buy a computer,turn it on, and connect to the in

ternet. The coal used to powerthe servers that store information on the internet and the metal used to make the computerhave been mined. The mining

process begins by clear cuttingan area, then blasting the site soas to get deep into the earth. Nomammals can live here, and itwill take thousands of years for


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any healthy soil to developagain. %ithout plants to keep itin place, the rain carries coaland soil debris into the drinkingwater and into the streams that

poison locals, fish, and otherorganisms. The burning coal

makes the air unhealthy to breathe, and increases respiratory illnesses in people livingaround the coal burning factory. 3s a result, people mustspend large amounts of moneyin hospital fees trying to get

better. This is $ust one e&ample,and it goes on and on. )f you

buy a shirt, a pair of earrings, ifyou paint, etc, there are manythings to be aware of.*)t can be very difficult to bewholly sustainable and maintain one-s cultural #erita e .+ou may have many feelingssurrounding this, that althoughyou would like to participate inthe traditions you have been

raised with, you know many ofthem are not sustainable. ?usttry to be aware of your actions.

ost traditions can be practicedmore sustainably if some thinking goes into them.*)t is very difficult to be whollysustainable and maintain one-sties to society. 8ome people goto remote intentional communities, but often neglect thatwhile they may be wholly sustainable, their ability to spreadawareness to others is drastically decreased. 3s things standnow with so much unawareness, maintaining parts of anunsustainable lifestyle whilespreading awareness of a sus

tainable lifestyle is best.*;nvironmental discriminationis the systematic placement of

polluting industries ne&t to poorneighborhoods.*%hat is really sustainableD

any of the ideas in this guide,

while more sustainable than themainstream, are still not sustainable with the number of

people we have on this planet.Try not to get into guilt tripsover not being sustainableenough. 3wareness is key. )t-snot you who are at fault, youhave been born into a society

based on unsustainable principles. Change what you can,

but do not lose yourself in negative emotions.*'o as much as you can at alocal level, but also be awarethat while the consumer doeslargely control how goods are

produced, a comple& system between material wealth, the

companies that produce goods,and the government work together to maintain our currentunsustainable system. 3ctionsthat work to change any ofthese systems to favor the ma

$ority rather than the richest iskey.*Try not to get into ego tripsover what you do sustainablythat others do not. 8uggest it toothers from a health or money

perspective. Not everyone canrelate to caring about theforests, drinking water, or thelike. enerally relating a pieceof information to a person insuch a way that they see how itwill help themselves is best.

*(eat# is not bad or good, it is part of a cycle that allows neworganisms to come to life. )t isokay to die sooner by not taking medications or beinghooked up to life support machinery.

* ave friends that help motivate your desire to be sustainable.*2ead about et#nobotany anthe lifestyles of native peoples

past and present for many ideason sustainable living.

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E ner y S avin

*'o anything to avoid usingelectricity e&cept when absolutely necessary. Coal, oil,wind, natural gas, geo thermal,solar, and hydro electric 9 someare better than others, but production of electricity takes atoll on the environment at some

point. :ook into the life cycleof each and support the one ortwo that are most sustainable.


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*:et your clothes air dry on aclothesline.*%ear layers of clothing or integrate physical activities intoyour day instead of heatingyour house.*8ome power companies offer

renewable energy options, buyinto them.* ow your lawn with a reella8n )o8er .*Collect leaves with a rake andask your yard maintenancecompany to do the same. :eaf

blowers are inefficient, createnoise pollution, and causestress.*)nstall a reen roof , the plantswill help keep your house better insulated, reduce storm runoff, and lengthen the life ofyour rooftop. They also

provides space for growingfood when the ground has beencovered up by cement and as

phalt or is shady.

*#se #u)an po8ered tools .There are human powered drills6auger drill7, chainsaws, logsplitters, blenders, $igsaws,sewing machines, and more.These are most often hand or

bicycle powered.*'o work in a public space thatis already heated and lit up instead of at your home.

!ookin 5* nsulated cookin bo: 9 ;s

pecially if you soak your beansand grains the night before, youcan get them to a boil for 5minutes then put them into aninsulated bo&. 3 cardboard bo&with blankets on all sides workswell. (ut a thick blanket,

maybe a comforter, on top thenclose the bo& and put another

blanket or couch cushion overit. )t will take the beans orgrains longer to cook thankeeping them on the stove, butyou-ll have used a lot of less en

ergy.*!rockpots or slow cookersare probably the most efficientway to cook food with electricity. +ou can also try insulatingthese with a blanket to increasethe efficiency even more.*&ocket stoves are a simpleyet efficient way to burn woodand cook food.*)n sunny times of the year,you can cook food using a sol-ar cooker , which concentratesheat from the sun into a cooking vessel. They can be constructed using simple materialslike aluminum foil, cardboard,and glass.* enerally the slower you cook

food the less energy it consumes.

"eatin 5*(ut blankets over doorwaysand windows to help seal thecracks that let cold air in.* eat smaller spaces by sectioning off parts of rooms with

blankets.* et 8eat#er strippin foryour doors and foam strippingfor your windows.*3 water heating system can becreated by running a long hosethrough hot compost with tem

peratures upwards of 55 9 45degrees Fahrenheit.Appliances$ Tools$ "ard8are$

Soft8are

*3 laptop


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off to conserve energy. Forfluorescent light bulbs specifically, if you-re going to turn thelight back on within 1minutes, you should leave it on.)ncandescent bulbs should beturned off immediately since

they-re so inefficient. )f youhave a light that constantlygoes on and off, use a :;'light bulb.*T#e nternet 9 The internet isvery energy intensive. 3 pro

posed Facebook server site6where they store data7 pro

posed for @regon alone wouldconsume energy enough to

power over 45,555 homes. )fyou feel a need to create newdata on the internet throughwebsites or pictures on socialnetworking sites, try to do sosparingly. The internet is anama"ing technology and has somuch knowledge and worldconnectivity attached to it, but

data needs to be stored somewhere, and the servers used toaccess it are always running.That said, a ma$ority of thespace is taken up by pornography.*(rinted versus downloaded %ith the energy 6mostly coal inthe #87 required to keep com

puters and servers on and unsustainable practices of metalmining required to build com

puters and the internet infrastructure, ) consider using pa

per made from sustainably harvested wood or recycled material very likely more sustainablethan downloading internet documents.

* any devices while off stilldrain a little bit of energy whenthey are plugged in. ;ither un

plug devices when not in use,or get a power strip so you can

$ust flip a switch to turn themoff off.

3i #tin 5*%ake and sleep with the riseand fall of the sun.*3dd more windows to yourhouse to increase natural lighting.*#se 3E( li #t bulbs , whichcan last a lifetime, don-t haveheavy metals like mercury inthem, and use very little energy.)f you don-t like the light theycast, put some sort of shadeover it.

Food Stora e and /lants5*#se or build a top openingchest fridge and free"er, theselose much less cold than dofront opening models whenopened.

* et cubby drawers for yourfridge so you-re only accessingand e&changing heat with onecompartment at a time.*:earn about the benefits ofcertain Bweeds like dandelionand plantain 6 plantago 7 insteadof removing them from yourgarden.

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' ater

*Gray 8ater toilets 9 #sedish, shower, or rain water toflush your toilet. +ou can put a

bucket beneath your sink andremove the connecting pipe.2ead online for specifics.=Flushing :eave urine in thetoilet until it gets smelly or you

poop.

*(ut a water bottle full of wateror a brick in your toilet tank,this makes it use less water perflush.*)nstall water efficient headsfor your faucets and shower.*)nstall a rainwater catchmentsystem for watering yourgarden or flushing the toilet.*:awn 9 if you have one, stopwatering and fertili"ing it.


15/16


16/16

tious.*#se biodegradable poop bags.*3dopt pets.

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A rts and ! raft -in

*Flour paste 9 3 simple re placement glue, good for pasting paper to things, can bemade with 1 parts water and

part flour. !ring 4 parts waterto a boil while you mi& together

part water with part flour, breaking up all clumps. 'umpthis into the boiling water andlet it simmer for a = or Iminutes while stirring. 2efri

gerate between uses. )t can lastabout a week and e&tra if salt isadded.* ost art supplies can be madeat home including paints, crayons, stencils, etc.*8tay away from using electricmachines while making art, andthink about art as a form ofmeditation rather than as a

product.*4atural art ake art fromnature with twigs, berries,rocks, moss, and the like.Check out 3ndy oldsworthy, anature artist.*2ecycled 3rt ake art from

your recycling or trash/*:et go of the idea of permanence in art. Nothing lastsforever.*!oil fallen walnuts with theirouter green black husks in afew cups of water to make walnut ink.

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/ articipatin

*There are many groups fighting for a more sustainable future, and they need help insmall and large ways. Talk toyour neighbors, attend towncouncil meetings, and vote.

+our words have a lot of powerat a local level.*)f your town doesn-t have aspecific resource, create it/ Forinstance, a compost or recycling center. %e need to startcreating resources that would

be useful now as well as in a post industrial future.*%hen discussing sustainability with someone or advertising, relate the beneficial outcome directly to them and theirfriends- livelihoods. 3 huge

problem with activists today isthat many relate the beneficialoutcome to the resource beinge&tracted... For instance peopletrying to protect old growthforests say there will be nomore large trees instead of saying the health of the people will

be compromised through poorer water and air quality. Not everyone cares aboutforests, but almost everyone

cares about their own personalwell being. Appeal to t#eirneeds and e)otions;*3sk your city council to useeco friendly products on publicspaces like fertili"ers on grassesand not to use pesticides.*(articipate in direct action andgrassroots campaigns.

MuestionsD 3dditionalsuggestions for sustainable

livingD 8ageIAI Ohotmail.comFeel free to redistribute and make

alterations to this work, though please do not sell it.Thanks for reading/

a sustainability guide for everyday folk

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