No Impact Project

The No Impact Project is a weekly challenge, with each day being a step towards reducing your carbon footprint. It intrigued me when I read about it, because of course, it is impossible to live on this planet without having a carbon footprint, even if all you do is sit and breathe. But, reading about it, I thought that we could definitely do a week of this, and take elements from it all the time. The blogger who created the challenge actually did it for a whole year, and went a bit extreme, living without electricity for a year. I don't think I'm prepared to take my environmentalism quite that far.

Each day, a new step is introduced, to build on the previous day's step.

Here is my adapted schedule for the week of what I think we would do:
Sunday: Consumption
The basic idea: With the exception of food, buy nothing new. Make it yourself, borrow, or buy second-hand.
Here are the steps:

• Make your own beauty products. There are tons of resources online.
• Fix things that are broken instead of replacing them. This goes for clothing to: mend instead of replace.
• Make your own cleaning products. There are also tons of resources online for these.
• Shop in second-hand stores.
• If you have to buy new, look for green products and companies and things made from recycled materials.

Monday: Trash

The Basic Idea: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.

Here are the steps:

• Put together a no-trash travel kit. Food storage, beverage container for hot/cold, handkerchief or cloth napkin, utensils. All those things you usually would use and throw away while you're out.
• Use the bulk bins at the grocery store and bring your own containers and bags.
• Don't take a receipt or use it for scrap paper/lists.
• Don't buy things with a lot of packaging.
• Use rags instead of paper towels.
• Avoid printing or print double-sided.
• Recycle!
• Use scrap paper or dry erase boards to take notes instead of post-it notes.

Tuesday: Transportation

The Basic Idea: Give up your car.

Now this one is a big challenge for me. Charles already takes the train to work, and walks to and from the train station, so his impact is pretty small as far as commuting goes. But when I work and have class, the only way to get from one to the other in enough time is to drive. And in this snowstorm, we're having trouble walking anywhere. So here are our own steps. You should do your best to take it to the next level, or just do as much as you can. Anything is better than nothing. Plus, in addition to helping the environment, you get in better shape.

• Walk or ride your bike unless there is a legitimate time constraint. We have a Target across the street, and it is ridiculous that we ever drive there. Same for the shopping center a mile down the road.
• Take mass transit whenever possible, not just convenient.
• Carpool
• If you have to drive, take shortcuts and double up on errands. And keep your fuel efficiency up.

Wednesday: Food

The Basic Idea: Eat local, seasonal, and organic.

Clearly, this issue is the one closest to our hearts. We spend a lot of time talking about food and how to make it sustainable. It's why we're planting our whole yard in herbs and vegetables. It's a large part of why we want to eventually leave suburbia.

The steps:

• Decide what local means for you. Produced in this country, or within 100 miles?
• If you can't buy something local, like coffee, go for organic and fair trade options.
• Grow it yourself.
• Find farmers' markets, local butchers, and local farms to buy from.
• Limit your meat consumption. We aren't going to cut out our meat consumption entirely, but I do believe we should do our best to buy responsibly and cut out CAFO meat.
• Try substituting locally produced honey for sugar in recipes. Besides, there is some evidence that consuming local honey helps with seasonal allergies.
• Use locally produced butter instead of olive oil. You can even buy local wine in many places in the country.

Thursday: Energy

The Basic Idea: Eliminate or Mitigate

The Steps:

• Make a list of everything you have that uses energy. Figure out whether you are going to eliminate that item or mitigate its use.
• Turn things off and unplug them when you aren't using them.
• Turn your thermostat down in the winter and up in the summer. Wear layers in the winter and take 30 second showers in the summer. Or go somewhere else with climate control, like a museum. Open your windows and let in some fresh air. (Not in the winter of course).
• Use natural light whenever possible.
• Try to time your day with the light. This is harder in the winter, but be sure to only use task lighting at night. Don't leave on lights in rooms that are empty. And of course, switch to CFLs.
• Spend less time online. Seriously. Write letters, get together, and spend less time messaging on Facebook. I'm guilty here.

Friday: Water

The Basic Idea: Use Less

The Steps:

• Run water gently. Turn it off when you aren't using it. Sponge bathe, especially on sticky summer evenings.
• Only use the dishwasher for full loads. Turn the faucet off while you're soaping.
• Use leftover cooking water for watering plants. If all you did was boil water, use it to wash things. You can also use grey water for flushing toilets.
• Reuse the same glass throughout the day.
• Take shorter, colder showers
• Only order water if you are going to drink it at restaurants. That said, it's the best choice.

Saturday: Give Back

The Basic Idea: Volunteer

Sunday: Eco-Sabbath

The Basic Idea: Turn it all off.

Go off the grid for the day and spend time with your family. And by off the grid, completely off the grid. At least, that's the suggestion. We'll probably still use our kitchen, because cooking is our family activity.