When I taught High School Biology quite some time ago, my students tell me I was very passionate about natural resources and conservation. I used to talk about recycling and being an informed, conscious individual who makes an effort to show you care about the planet. At that time, very few used to take it seriously. People have gotten more aware with time. There is no dearth of people who want little to do about any of this, but it is encouraging to see so many others who try to make a difference.
Recycling has taken center stage, our recycle bins are bigger then ever and almost everyone's bins are overflowing when the collection truck comes by weekly. My father, who lives in India, has had a composting pit in his backyard for a while now. All his organic kitchen wastes go into it, so do the garden trimmings and leaves. Many from his colony have followed suit. I have been told that several conscientious building societies have opted for composting wastes. That is a big step because it is a collective effort and such efforts make a difference on the large scale.
I had seen a few programs on TV of people who make an effort to minimize what goes out from their house as trash to fill landfills. Recycling is big, paper, aluminum, glass, can all be recycled.
So how did I bring my trash bag to contain so little? My contribution to the landfill is now down to a minimum. I started a compost pit in a corner in my yard. Earthworms were in abundance and rains made sure everything was going great. Then I got composting tumblers-
All my vegetarian kitchen waste and garden waste goes into this. Since we are primarily vegetarians, almost all of my kitchen stuff goes in here. I don't add lawn trimmings to the batch I want for my vegetable patch, because I have used something for the weeds on the lawn. I need to find an alternative for that soon.
At the end of every 4-6 weeks, I have a fresh batch of dark brown, nutrient rich compost matter for my flower and vegetable beds. I hope this works well in the long run and I can manage to keep my carbon footprint small on this majestic planet of ours!
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As I wrote this, there was some article in the Washington Post. It talked about global warming, what scientists had to say about the planet and painted a worrisome picture of even the near future. As I finished reading the article and moved to the comments, here was one that was so on the other side, I decided to put it here so people get an idea how many kinds of thought processes are out there. Here it is-
"Hansen and the other top scientists haven't PROVED that this is going to happen.
Until they do, isn't it best to listen to the guys Koch and Peabody have hired to play scientists on Fox News, and just keep on burning oil, gas and coal?
After all, switching to renewable energy will certainly cost something.
I'm not about to keep using my lousy old iPhone 6 for an extra year or give up HBO and Cinemax, just because MAYBE the coasts are going to be underwater when I retire.
If youngsters want a livable planet when they grow up, they need to make it happen themselves.
I'm tired of worrying about the impact of my lifestyle on other people, especially when all I need to do is watch Fox News and believe the pre-packaged denial philosophy they so expertly package for their corporate sponsors.
My motto is: Live for Today - Babies are Overrated."
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Recycling has taken center stage, our recycle bins are bigger then ever and almost everyone's bins are overflowing when the collection truck comes by weekly. My father, who lives in India, has had a composting pit in his backyard for a while now. All his organic kitchen wastes go into it, so do the garden trimmings and leaves. Many from his colony have followed suit. I have been told that several conscientious building societies have opted for composting wastes. That is a big step because it is a collective effort and such efforts make a difference on the large scale.
I had seen a few programs on TV of people who make an effort to minimize what goes out from their house as trash to fill landfills. Recycling is big, paper, aluminum, glass, can all be recycled.
So how did I bring my trash bag to contain so little? My contribution to the landfill is now down to a minimum. I started a compost pit in a corner in my yard. Earthworms were in abundance and rains made sure everything was going great. Then I got composting tumblers-
All my vegetarian kitchen waste and garden waste goes into this. Since we are primarily vegetarians, almost all of my kitchen stuff goes in here. I don't add lawn trimmings to the batch I want for my vegetable patch, because I have used something for the weeds on the lawn. I need to find an alternative for that soon.
At the end of every 4-6 weeks, I have a fresh batch of dark brown, nutrient rich compost matter for my flower and vegetable beds. I hope this works well in the long run and I can manage to keep my carbon footprint small on this majestic planet of ours!
_____________________________________________________________________________
As I wrote this, there was some article in the Washington Post. It talked about global warming, what scientists had to say about the planet and painted a worrisome picture of even the near future. As I finished reading the article and moved to the comments, here was one that was so on the other side, I decided to put it here so people get an idea how many kinds of thought processes are out there. Here it is-
"Hansen and the other top scientists haven't PROVED that this is going to happen.
Until they do, isn't it best to listen to the guys Koch and Peabody have hired to play scientists on Fox News, and just keep on burning oil, gas and coal?
After all, switching to renewable energy will certainly cost something.
I'm not about to keep using my lousy old iPhone 6 for an extra year or give up HBO and Cinemax, just because MAYBE the coasts are going to be underwater when I retire.
If youngsters want a livable planet when they grow up, they need to make it happen themselves.
I'm tired of worrying about the impact of my lifestyle on other people, especially when all I need to do is watch Fox News and believe the pre-packaged denial philosophy they so expertly package for their corporate sponsors.
My motto is: Live for Today - Babies are Overrated."
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