Practical solutions for helping the environment or doing your part

I always thought residential roads with four-way stops were a waste of time/gas. If the govt made two of those stops yield signs it could save gas. Think of the millions of corners like that where people did not have to come to a complete stop. Over time it would save a ton.

 

Roundabouts.

 

Anyone should be able to buy a rain barrel for something in the neighborhood of $50-$75. This also saves you money if your water company automatically tacks on a sewer charge for all the water you draw (as mine does). Doesn't make any sense to pay a sewer charge for water that's going into the ground, does it?

 

Check out the products available here ... http://www.aquabarrel.com/

Or you can rig it up yourself using the downspouts and a simple plastic barrel.

 

I didn't get much out of the tomato plants I had on my deck last year. Could be my complete lack of a green thumb. What varieties did you use, Inky? And how big were the pots?

 

This is the tomato bush I grow ...

http://www.burpee.com/product/vegetables/tomatoes/midseason%2C+midsize+tomatoes/tomato+bush+big+boy+hybrid+-+1+pkt.+%2830+seeds%29.do?search=basic&keyword=tomato+bush&sortby=newArrivals&page=1

Put one plant each in half-whiskey barrels I get at a local hardware store. They hold two sacks of soil each.

When I transplant into the barrels, I use this stuff ... http://www.terracycle.net/tomato.htm ... and then I use it once a month after that.

 

I'm thinking my pots weren't big enough.

Plus I'm pretty sure that plants shrivel and die when they hear I'm going to be their plant mother.

 

Eating less meat makes a big difference. It takes a lot more water and land to feed a meat-eater than a vegetarian. I'm not a vegetarian, but I don't eat meat, most days. It's easy for people who live in a wet climate to forget that water is a huge issue, but it is.

Bicycle for transportation, when possible.

Consume less, in general. Considering the usual journalist salary, that shouldn't be too much of a problem for many here.

 

I'd sell any Walmart stock I had. Only loosers would support a non-green company like that.

 

Ouch. Very ouch.

But that is where I buy free range, organic eggs and organic milk.

 

Wal-Mart is making major efforts to become more green, Inky, esp. as far as its groceries go.

I get my organic milk at Target, but the most comprehensive offering of organics here is at Wal-Mart, at least until Whole Foods comes in this fall.

 

Oh, I know all about it.

Despite having a family member high on the Wal-Mart corporate ladder, I still can't decide if the company is serious about it or doing some greenwashing.