Sustainable development blog : ecology and humanitarian aid

Have you ever thought about the number of natural disasters that are occurring? At one time things like hurricanes, floods, tornadoes and tsunamis were occasional events, but now they are happening with increasing regularity.

What are the reasons? Have you ever wondered ? If not, then it’s time to ask yourself why, and if we are playing a role, because for the foreseeable future, this remains the only planet which you and future generations have to live on. Trying to reverse the effects of climate change to keep our Earth habitable is a serious issue, and one that needs to be addressed urgently. Many governments, organizations, groups and individuals around the world recognize this, and also realize that it will take unified, global co-operation on a scale previously unseen to do it.

That said, there are still things that you can do on a day to day basis to help make a difference, however small. Just these few simple steps will help you do your part in this great global cause.

Let’s first address the issue of water, essential to all living beings. Develop the habit of drinking filtered water through a PUR (or similar) faucet mounted, filtration system. Avoid purchasing water in plastic bottles, which are non-biodegradable and can have serious human health implications.

Next: Recycling. If you get into the habit of recycling as many household products as you can it can be a life altering step for you, save you money and help reduce the amount of toxic substances entering the waste stream, which eventually ends up in our air, soils and water. So wash and re-use those glass jars and bottles, recycle your plastics, aluminium, tin and paper, and pass your kids good, outgrown clothes on to another family to use.

On the subject of clothes: Wash your clothes in cold water. Hot water won’t get them any cleaner and wastes huge amounts of energy and costs you money. Concentrated detergents are more soluble and require less packaging materials, and try to make sure they are phosphate- free. Hang your clothes outside to dry when the weather permits, and invest in a drying rack for indoors when it’s wet or cold outside. Using the ambient heat in your house to dry your clothes, instead of a high-energy clothes dryer, makes a lot of sense, ecologically and financially.

Try to eliminate plastic bags from your life entirely. Take reusable cloth bags to the grocery store and always keep a couple of extras in your car.

Paper takes not only a lot of trees to make but also a great deal of energy and water, and pulp mills are a major source of water pollution. So try to reduce the amount of paper you use every day. Make use of online directories to find phone numbers and eliminate the need for a phone book. Try to use organic papers that are made from renewable resources.

Then finally there is the sleeping giant in every home: electricity. Try to consume less power. Using the “off” switch for everything from the lights to the VCR will help save energy and money. And remember to unplug electrical devices like the X-Box or appliances like the microwave when not in use, as they use considerable amounts of residual power even when in standby mode. The less power we use as consumers the less we need to generate, which saves air pollution from inefficient coal-fired power stations, helps reduce radioactive waste from nuclear power and eliminates the need to flood vast wilderness areas to construct dams.

All of which is helping heal our planet just a little bit.