Three Pillars of Environmental Responsibility

Three Pillars of Environmental Responsibility - by Roy Chatalbash

Environmental responsibility means making decisions in our own lives that limit our impact on the planet. Keeping in mind the simple phrase: reduce, reuse and recycle can go a long way in helping us choose ecologically sound options. For example, in an earlier column, we urged readers switch to compact fluorescent bulbs. In doing so, many of us in the Weston Climate Group have reduced our energy consumption and seen substantial savings on our electric bills.

In this column, we suggest two other recommendations: First, buying canvas bags is a good way to reduce the need for paper and plastic bags at the grocery store, and reusing them week-after-week will ensure a continuous impact. These bags are generally available for $3-$5 at local grocery stores such as Wholefoods, craft shops such as Michael’s and online at amazon.com and reusablebags.com. Many supermarkets will even reimburse up to 5 cents per bag.

Another step that is easy to do and reduces consumption is to cancel delivery of unwanted catalogs. Simply call the toll-free number in the company catalog or visit the website and request that they remove you from the mailing list. It only takes a few minutes and you will limit the amount of unwanted mail you receive. Keep in mind that companies constantly buy mailing lists from each other, so you may find that you have to cancel a catalog more than once in a year.

For further information about practical ways to tackle global warming, please visit our website westonclimategroup.org.

(WCG thanks The Weston Town Crier for printing this article)