A few weeks ago, I was thinking a bit about the weather and the fact that we've had an almost complete lack of rain here in Sydney for about the last 5 years. Even this year, there have only been 2 seperate weeks of rain all year. So maybe I'm the last person on the planet to realise, but I'm beginning to think that the greenhouse effect might actually be real. Up until recently, I thought there was a fair chance it was just another scientific theory (with the emphasis on the word theory), but I really do think it might be real now.

Anyway, now you've all stopped laughing at me. I have to ask the question. What do I do now?

What can Jo Average do to help?

I already drive an eco friendly diesel car. I don't waste water...well I don't think so anyway. What else can I do?

Please don't give me any, "go sell your possessions and buy trees" answers please. I want to know concrete things I personally can do to make the enviroment a better place. Surely I'm not the only one who wants answers to this question.

http://www.carbonplanet.com/home/index.php 

Check this out Pete. And if you actually have any doubt about global warming or greenhouse effect go and see "The Inconvenient Truth", the movie that Al Gore made about the environment, which he has dedicated most of his life to.

Funny you should mention trees... The biggest problem in short is our massive production of carbon dioxide per person, and the only solution is to become carbon neutral, so we as individuals have zero carbon emissions by offseting your output of carbon dioxide with the number of trees that will neutralise your output.

I already have 6 trees in my back yard. how many more do I have to plant?

Also, Solar power, Bicycles, rain tanks, don't buy plastic anything (especially cars :P). See if you can reduce your rubbish to one garbage a month instead of a week. Grow your own food if you have the land, don't support any fast food chains in any way, as they destroy and plunder large amounts of land and forests. Also watch the movie "The Corporation". BUY IT actually and watch it over and over. It'll kill you 1st time, then inspire you after that.

I actually mean these as real solutions. All you can do is be responsible for your own actions, and even doing ONE of these things makes a difference.

I forgot to mention , http://www.carbonplanet.com/home/index.php  actually plant trees for you for much less than it would cost you to do it. They own land to do it and it's worth reading their whole charter about their principles and systems.

Stop eating meat. One of the biggest water, land and waste savings you can make.

http://www.neco.com.au/default.asp 

A carbon neutral calculator... http://www.carbonneutral.com.au/default.aspx 

This: http://www.carbonneutral.com.au/  is a better site, and the one I meant to put up in the earlier posts... sorry about that.

Stop fartin...

Stop fartin...




Problem is, the world is full of idiots and self centred (BLANK)'s... they won't necessarily care to make a difference till the crap hits the fan...
and we are almost hitting the fan...

stop repeating yourself..... your wasting electrons.

i think the best thing anyone can do is not vote for a party that doesn't ratify the kyoto treaty.

all howard does is worry about money. money doesn't buy fresh water for 20million people. vote for change, real change and stop worrying about material things.

I think you might be right there. Economic rationalism is ruining Australia. The question is, who else is gonna do better? All the other parties are so busy fighting within themselves they have little to offer.

I drive an aircooled car so who is really wasting water here?
I have substituted all liquid drinks to beer. I am also ready for the BBQ season to begin so I can help with the cause of eliminating cows from the planet!

On a serious note though.
With water storage levels at what they are, firstly - how can the Govt. justify increasing the population?
and secondly, saving water to the point where we have to spit into our toilet to flush it because of water restrictions doesn't solve the problem of where is the water coming from to fill our dams? Maybe when we have to import bottles of water from China, the government might realise we are up a dry riverbed without a cannoe!
- Adam

Maybe you could convince an american that he doesn't need an SUV.

the economy which is an abstract concept has taken on much more importance than anything as concrete and real as human beings, animals, and plants, governments have never been concerned with the well being of the population, only in themselves and the faceless corporations that they serve, we can do very little to change this, we can only change the way we behave towards each other, the world reflects the way we behave to it and to each other we are getting exactly what we deserve, when we remove our thoughts and our actions from a capatalistic way of acting and behaving then things will change, governments and big business have a vested interest in making sure that this does not happen when we realise and accept the fact that we all need very little to be happy and content, when someone invents a motor that does not polute when we embrace alternative energy when we stop spending billions of dollars on war and spend the money on improving our society in a loving and peaceful way then all that besets us will disappear as if it was only a bad dream, but for that to happen some major bad stuff has to first come down to wake us up so just do your best in the circumstances that you find yourself in, love your family your friends and help out others as best you can and try to be understanding and send your well wishes to everyone

Hmmm...

Burning oil based fuels and pumping the leftovers into the atmosphere... As opposed to what? Leaving all the oil where it is and letting it build up? Do people reallise how bad THAT would be for the environment? Look how much devestation a single oil spill causes. Do your bit for the environment people, burn that oil...

As for water... If nobody uses enough water the dams will remain full. If the dams are full, how much water do they collect when it DOES rain? None, they're already full, which means all that water gets wasted. The only way to ensure this situation of water wastage does not occure is to use as much water as you can. Come on people, leave those taps running, flush that toilet every time you walk past it, do your washing in small batches with maximum water level... Oh, and keep that car shiney by washing it at least once a day...

And electricity? This is the big solution to the energy crisis. It really is... Did you know that when you make a spark in air you produce ozone? And what is one of our environments biggest problems? Yes, the hole in the ozone layer, meaning if you want to do something about it, use electricity as much as you can manage and use it in faulty appliances so you produce the greatest number of sparks, thereby producing ozone to fill the hole up with. Another point, have you seen how clean this electricity stuff is? Does your tv have an exhaust pipe? How about your computer? No? Why? Because electricity is so clean it doesn't produce any exhaust, hence the lack of exhaust pipes on electrically powered items, including electric cars... Think about it...

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Well, I'm certainly doing my bit for our planet... I drive a big old heavy lump of a car that chews petrol like there's no tomorrow and burns lots of oil while I drive as much as time allows (and without a job, there's lots of time to put into driving aimlessly).

I also use as much water as I can for everything I do in my life. My car's radiator has a nasty leak, meaning I have to put water in it every day. The direct benifit to me of course is my radiator flushes itself while I drive, keeping it nice and clean. I take nice long showers after a quick deep bath each day and never use a plug when washing the dishes. They really sparkle if you only wash them in running water and rinse each item really well. And did you know you can even use water when you sit at the computer? It's easy. Simply turn on the kitchen tap on the way to the computer and turn it off after you've finished. It's that easy...

As for using electricity? My house is chock full of all sorts of gadgets and electronics. Several computers, two fridges and a freezer, three TVs, rechargeable batteries in all my many gadgets and toys, lots of lighting... I probably use more electricity than most small towns. And since most of my electrical goods are old, they produce copious amounts of ozone.

But I don't mean to blow my own whistle here, I'm just trying to encourage others to do whatever they can to save our environment for future generations. Remember, if you don't use it, you lose it...

Say No to bottled water……

“IF” water is not a renewable resource and we all have on average 3lt of the stuff in our fridges or the lakes of it bottled up in 20lt bottles for the water coolers. You could even think that the small oceans of it at the suppliers may have something to do with it.

say no to water and drink beer... remember your doing your bit :thumb

400 litres of water to make 425ml or beer...

Mate, did you know there's actually a high content of water in beer? It's a longtime government conspiracy to force people to drink more water, then thay increase the alcohol taxes (already done) and suddenly you're paying them heaps for the water you drink. It's done this underhanded way because they can't "openly" tax water without people kicking up a stink.

you guys need help ...no really

Lets accept it...


we are all going to die

some good ways of minimising your impact on the planet:

1) get a bicycle... not only will you be saving money on fuel and running costs, but you will be saving the healthcare system millions of dollars when you dont end up with heart disease/diabetes/obesity. The more people riding bikes, the more motorists will accept them (think of tasmania or holland!), the less our roads will be congested and the healthier and happier everyone will be. If you dont do the bicycle thing, get a 50cc scooter. its more than enough. Carpool with friends or take public transport instead of doing a 1-person trip on a highway.

2)stop eating meat/animals. farmed animals take a huge toll on the planet, and you create a huge toll by eating them... if you want to eat cow, grow it and kill it yourself, just like your ancestors used to. USE THE WHOLE ANIMAL too.

3) grow as much of your own food as you can. even tiny apartments/flats can grow herbs, lettuce, salad greens and cherry tomatoes in window boxes or on small balconies. You save yourself money, you know exactly what you are eating and where it came from, and you dont need to put it in all this nasty plastic packaging. If you have a garden, make your own compost from garden clippings and food scraps (no animal products except eggshells) saves you money and less wasteful.

4) use your washing machine water, grey water, bath water to water your plants. put some HUGE buckets or utility boxes under any leaky gutters so that when it rains, you collect the water to use on your plants.

5) recycle all you can. dont by stuff in packaging that isnt recyclable if you can help it.

convince other people to minimize their impact on the planet too... if everyone did a little, it would end up being alot.

got a bike, took the train today (shame it made me late :o ). Already recycle a lot. Sorry but I love my meat.

BTW, grey water is a bit of mixed bag as I understand it. A plumber friend of mine is dead against it. reckons it's not that good and can spread desease if badly done. Also, my bro lives in Goulburn where there's no water at all and they are told not to use too much of their grey water. Apparently it increases salinity levels and that causes other problems.

You might find this of interest - http://www.greenfleet.com.au/ 

Bronze.

I was good today... so far...2 vegetarian meals... Haven't had dinner yet though

toast for breakky, then for lunch, a vegetarian Japanese curry... was great... cept the emissions its currently causing me... My ass is a steam train :o

This thread has been good though, especially when trying finish a sustainability reflective journal... some good topic ideas here for reflecting...

just worked out my CO2 output. I need to plant 113 trees!!! :o

I just drove 20 km into Huskisson and back never going above 60k's so I feel I have done my bit...

less throttle=less petrol in cylinders

less petrol in cylinders=less emmissions!

less emissions= :bounce

So drive slooooooooooow people!!!!.. not only do you save the environment but you piss off the A-holes driving gas-guzzling fume-belching 6 and 8 cylinder Falcons, Commodores and BMW's! :P

ive used Aware washing powder for a couple of years now and only water with the grey water from that with the first wash also filled up from my kids bathwater and the plants are going gangbusters. i think the plants are happy to get any water at the moment so they'll adjust. you just gotta get a low phosphate washing powder, and don't worry about the results, there are probably 95% of people in the world that don't worry about sparkling clean clothes or washing them.