3 Small Steps to More Sustainable Living

Making little lifestyle changes will do a lot to enhance sustainability for the planet--and make every day Earth Day.

It's a great feeling every Earth Day to bike to work and show your love of the planet. But sustainable practices-managing how you use resources to ensure that there will enough for future generations-doesn't have to be limited to once a year. With a few adjustments, sustainable practices can easily become a part of daily life and save you money while you help improve the planet.

WHAT IS SUSTAINABILITY?

Sustainable living is an umbrella term that covers many different ideas and programs. It can be as simple as recycling and using less water or as complex as changing state and federal policies to promote wind and solar power and high-speed rail transportation. Local planning commissions can promote sustainability by allowing higher density housing that uses less land. If you want to support some of these public sustainability programs, you can contact your government representative to express support. You could also support a nonprofit group like the Edible Schoolyard program, which teaches kids how to grow and eat locally.

OPPOSITION TO SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES

Not everyone is a fan of sustainable practices. Some people worry that conservation efforts produce more government regulation, increase living costs, and reduce corporate profits. Not sure where you stand on these major policies. Why not start small and see?

Eat locally. One of the biggest impacts a family has on the environment is what it eats. It takes around 10 calories of fossil fuel-in the form of fertilizers, processing, and transportation-to produce a single calorie of supermarket food, according to Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore's Dilemma. Cut down on your food's energy impact by eating food grown near your home.

A 2001 study conducted by the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, Iowa State University, found that the cost of transporting food from the region or the local area was four and 17 times less, respectively, than buying from national distributors.

FINDING LOCAL FOOD ISN'T DIFFICULT

• Local Harvest will help you find farmers markets as well as farms in your region that offer subscription programs. Signing up for a subscription means you pay up front, so there's a risk if the harvest fails. Costs vary depending on the size of the share and your part of the country. A good estimate from Local Harvest is that you'll spend about $600 to cover produce for a family of four during a four or five month growing season.
  


• Keep food even closer to home by growing your own, either in your backyard or in a shared community space. Expect to spend several hours a week seeding, weeding, and harvesting. Gardening is also a great way to teach kids about healthy eating.

The downside of eating locally is that food from a farmer's market often costs more than the same from the supermarket. And in winter, you may eat a lot of cabbage and potatoes if you stick to local eating.

BUY GENTLY USED

Everyone likes something new once in a while-and fast-growing kids require it. Consumer spending is also a big contributor to a healthy economy. But producing and transporting new products from the factory to you also uses lots of resources. One way to get new stuff and still promote sustainability is to trade something you no longer want for what you need.

• Freecycle is a 7 million-strong global network of people who share their possessions-for free. Once you join online, you'll receive regular email about used items that you can request and pick up. Eva Schmoock, a student nurse and mother of two in Carrboro, N.C., is an avid user. She's found new homes for everything, including paint and kids' bathing suits.
  


• A low-tech option: Organize swap meets with neighbors to lessen your environmental footprint without opening your wallet. Get your kids to put flyers in mailboxes to promote the swap. Or try a consignment shop.

REDUCE TRASH BY COMPOSTING

It isn't just what you buy that has an impact on the world's resources, it's what you throw away. The average American is responsible for almost 5 pounds of garbage a day, 12.5% of which is food scraps, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. That trash clogs landfills and pollutes ground water.

Want to reduce waste? Consider composting. Just put those peels and pods (but no meat or dairy products) in a separate container instead of the garbage can. When the container is full, carry it to your compost pile.

A $10 plastic bucket with a lid will work; fancier models have charcoal filters that cut down on smells but cost two or three times as much. Let your kids scrape plates into the compost pail or empty the full container.

You'll find a compost bin for every budget. You can fence off a small (out-of-sight) section of your yard with less than $50 worth of mesh wire and poles. Plastic bins and barrels are neater, but can cost several times more. The best part of composting: In six months, nature will convert your waste into terrific fertilizer to sustain your vegetable or flower garden.

Article From Houselogic.com
By: Amanda Abrams
Published: August 28, 2009

Amanda Abrams is a Washington, D.C.-based writer who spent many years planning to be an organic farmer. Now she writes about how to make the world a better place for papers like The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times.

Reprinted from HouseLogic (houselogic.com) with permission of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS (R). Copyright 2010. All rights reserved.

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Eco-Gardening

Its spring again, so you may be thinking about doing some gardening. There are a lot of things to consider these days when it comes to planting flowers, scrubs and trees. Here in Denver we always have to worry about water conservation. We always want to be kind to our environment be not using harmful chemical when it’s not needed. We also need to be careful about what we plant because certain plants can be harmful in a particular ecosystem. You should be aware of a several key concepts in modern gardening, especially when you visit your local garden center.

Standards and certification are two of the more controversial topics surrounding the sustainability movement in 2008. Sustainability is a characteristic of a process or state that can be maintained at a certain level indefinitely. The term, in its environmental usage, refers to the potential longevity of vital human ecological support systems, such as the planet's climatic system, systems of agriculture, industry, forestry, fisheries, and the systems on which they depend. In recent years, public discourse has led to a use of "sustainability" in reference to how long human ecological systems can be expected to be usefully productive. In the past, complex human societies have died out, sometimes as a result of their own growth-associated impacts on ecological support systems. The implication is that modern industrial society, which continues to grow in scale and complexity, will also collapse.

You may wonder, what is the difference between “organic” and “sustainable”? The relationship between “organic” and “sustainable” is an issue with several dimensions. At this point in time it is hard to say. Is “sustainability” going to be “organic lite” or “organic plus”? That is, will the standards allow practices that are not acceptable for organic production or will organic production be the goal? How far will the standards go to address issues that are not addressed by the National Organic Program, such as labor relations, food safety, packaging and energy use? Will a national standard for sustainable agriculture dilute the identity of the National Organic Program? Will consumers perceive a difference?

The most heated topic is genetic engineering. The draft standards prohibit the use of “Genetically Modified Organisms.” Many producers are unhappy with that stance, and the biotechnology industry predictably argued for technology-neutral standards. On the other hand, organic producers and environmental advocacy groups are strongly opposed and would likely have nothing to do with a standard that allowed genetically engineered crops.

Finally, potentially the biggest problem facing the committee will be drafting standards that will support measurable, verifiable, auditable assessments. At the same time, the standards have to be flexible enough to accommodate local needs and conditions. Will there be an opportunity for peer review of any certification program?

So, what should your local garden centers be doing to help promote sustainability and cater to the eco-friendly gardener?

The retailer should provide an eco-friendly option or a natural option first without an apology, For example, not making an apology on why they’re not selling English ivy or some common variety of honeysuckle that’s so invasive and so aggressive that it’s destroying our ecosystems and our biodiversity, and instead, they should provide a better solution.

Provide safer, natural compost, because compost is believed to be the single best soil amendment you can put in your garden.

Provide more awareness. When consumers go in and buy mulch and soil. They should be aware that there’s a certification seal now from the Mulch & Soil Council that lets the consumer know that bag is safe and free from potentially harmful chemicals, such as arsenic from pressure-treated wood.

Practice fair trade products – have more sponsorship of local things – products that are local from sustainable sources, and maybe not so many plastic pots. There are more and more options these days for recyclable pots or pots that break down in the compost. They should eliminate that problem at the source by encouraging their suppliers to do something about it.

Offer more classes – more education. Certainly independent garden centers do a great job of hiring people that naturally are eco-friendly gardeners or are very conversant on that topic.

A garden center is a great place to develop that community and that destination site where people can go not only for their product, but for the information from a reliable and trusted source. Garden center owners and managers are teaching employees the benefits of organic, natural and sustainable products so they can pass along the knowledge to customers.

Several terms get thrown about when talking about the green movement in horticulture. We asked several retailers what they thought the following three terms meant. Here are some of the answers:

Organic:
This one is more cut-and-dried than the rest. Several retailers said organic is a product that is certified either by a state or a body like OMRI. Also, another retailer said organic refers to a carbon-based product.

Natural:
This one is a bit trickier. In fact, one retailer said the word 'natural' gets abused because it doesn't have a true definition when applied to horticulture products. Several said it refers to ingredients that are naturally occurring in the environment with little or no human processing. Two of the retailers make their own products and label them natural, even though they could be certified organic. They both said the expense to have them certified would only translate to a higher price on the product, and wouldn't increase sales or make the product any better.

Sustainable:
This term relates to the product's ability to renew or carry on, says one retailer. Another says the sustainability movement is about creating a "softer" living or growing space. And finally, one retailer says sustainability means the practice can continue without exhausting the resources the Earth has to offer. He quoted Ghandi in his response: "The Earth has enough for man's need, but not enough for man's greed."

Hopefully you have found this information helpful and happy gardening.

For more information about how Denver is going Eco-Green go to http://www.greenprintdenver.org/green/index.php
http://www.milehigh.com/business/sustainable

For more information about Eco-Green housing in Denver go to:
http://www.highlandsgardenvillage.net/index.htm
http://www.livingearthconstruction.com/

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