As I said in the last blog, I have made my fair share of contributions to the potential dawn of the new epoch. I say potential because the scientific community is still debating, and it has yet to be confirmed that we will declare a new epoch. But we are getting there. And not getting there will take effort - from you and me.
Water! I have become very conscious about my water consumption habits. I have become the water conservationist in our family. It starts with the tap. Do not - I mean do not - start with full force. I have realized that we can get almost all our regular routines done comfortably - be it washing our face, cleaning dishes, morning and nightly brush routine, showers - all with half or less than half the force of water gushing out of our taps. The only place I am deeply conflicted about is the sprinklers. Green is good. But some green needs water!
I try to avoid paper plates. I thought they were outright recyclable, but I guess not. As much as possible, I now use regular plates, but there again presents a conflict: reusable plates that require cleaning, meaning consuming water, or paper plates- no recycling, but then no water. The more I dig deeper into this, the more I realize there are conflicts at each stage - choices to be made.
Moving on - the clothes. Yes, this will be tough. Not just clothes but shoes as well. All these items have been made to make us consume more and more. I already know what I can do about this, but let's save that for later.
So then, the gadgets. We are all grappling with this - let's start with the chargers and the chords. It is hard to use the same charger across multiple devices. The monitors, too, are tightly coupled with the laptop make or type. Like with clothes, gadgets are yet another area where I feel helpless. Let's save this as well for later.
So then the food. Like the farmers, is it possible for me to establish a zero carbon footprint when it comes to food? So, if I am consuming dairy products with a higher carbon footprint, what if I have more walnuts - as these absorb more CO2? What if I cut down on processed foods - like chips - and instead consume fruits and vegetables with a much lower carbon footprint to get to us? Not to mention, my parents would be overjoyed if I had more walnuts and fresh fruits!
And when it comes to shopping for food or anything else, I remind myself to take reusable bags as much as possible.
So then:
Water: Start taps with less force
Paper plates - avoid and use reusable utensils
Gadgets and Clothes - still under investigation
Food: Consume foods with a more climate-friendly CO2 footprint (such as walnuts, fresh vegetables, and fruits) to offset those that are less friendly.
Bags - use reusable bags.
References (Updated: March 2024):Are Paper Plates Biodegradable? (n.d.). https://theroundup.org/are-paper-plates-biodegradable/
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