What are *you*doing to save the planet?

a reply to: Look2theSacredHeart

I only 'recycle' at this point and 'fart' less.

originally posted by: Look2theSacredHeart How are you saving the planet?

Dying.

I am a severe asthmatic and the CFC's in the inhalers that I used were deemed to be having too great of an impact on the ozone layer, so they switched to HFA's; which don't deliver the medicine as efficiently and even further, some asthmatics (such as myself) have a negative reaction to which can actually exacerbate an asthma attack.

Never mind that a jet airplane in one flight can put out more CFC's into the atmosphere than all of the inhalers that I would use in my entire lifetime. But I get to take one for the team I guess.

I win.

Well...some pretty airy fairy stuff in here....the planet does not need saving...once it kills us off, the planet will rejuvenate ...the only thing that needs saving is us....we have to quickly save ourselves from our selves...so I have done my part...I have raised other peoples kids and did not produce any of my own...thanks to dead beat dads whom consume the air I breath....so simple...get rid of people who produce kids and fail to step up to the plate.
Once you do that...I am sure population growth slows down...if you chop off the penis of those whom do not comply then yet one more population problem solved...dead beat dads.....take responsibility for you sperm or lose it...same goes for the moms whom think it is OK to have children time after time with man after man....snip goes the ovaries....not being harsh here...losers take responsibility and it solve a plethora of problems.....have to start somewhere.

a reply to: Look2theSacredHeart

I haved always tried to avoid pesticides and now do not use them at all, working on reducing my use of chemical fertilizers. As well I have started to grow native species, to improve plant diversity and give food for the bees. Try to get organic and free range food when possible. Also Im in a biological sciences class hoping to do conservation work one day.

You know, I started thinking about it, and I'm a little ashamed I don't do more. But I do try to contribute...

1) We save all of our plastic bags and reuse them

2) No pesticides. I just mix a little bit of Epsom salt with a spray bottle of water and mist the leaves of the plants - keeps the bugs from eating my food!

3) No chemical fertilizers. This is key for anyone who wants great looking flowers or veggies. Start keeping a fish tank. Hell, get a couple of big ones; put them in each room of the house. The point is, when you do the water change and suck out all that dirty water and fish poop, make sure it ends up in your plants' soil. Doesn't matter how you do it - I use a big clear plastic hose and run the hose out the door to the plants, suck on the hose and siphon the water out. Sounds kinda gross, and yes, every now and again you may get a mouthful of dirty fish tank water, but I promise it won't kill you

4) I feed the wild birds and squirrels in my yard. Particularly, when I empty my parakeets' food dish, I toss it into the back yard for the wild birds. My birds' food dish is so deep, they never get all the seeds at the bottom, anyway.

And this year, with the extreme drought in my area, I won't be planting anything outside this season, as we are on very tight water restrictions and are not allowed to do any watering outside, whatsoever. And it sucks. Digging in the dirt is my form of therapy

* use water cautiously when using the tap
* run the washing machine on correct settings for the correct amount of laundry to save water and power
* line dry our laundry
* use the dishwasher when full
* feed the birds esp. during winter time when food is specifically scarce, with semolina, corn, rice, whatever is at hand
* feed stray cats and dogs and place a large bowl of water esp. in summer and where the weather is warm and dry
* avoid putting used and drained batteries into the thrash but deliver them to collecting sites instead
* collect used frying oil in separate bottles and deliver them to recycling facilities, never pour them down the sink
* use energy saving light bulbs

thus far.

great thread btw = )
*

Absolutely nothing. The earth doesn't need us to save it, no matter what we do to this planet, it will eventually return to a natural state. We can fight nature as much as and as hard as we want, but nature will anyways win. When humanity dies, or leaves earth, the planet will begin repairing itself, for it is a self regulating organism.

The damage weve caused in our short time here is merely cosmetic.

I wanted to comment on a couple of things that people said they were doing to do their part. I'm not critizing but what to bring up food for thought on them.

1) Fish tanks encourage 'harvesting' of decoratie fish in the wild, they are not 'farmed', especially for salt water tanks. I love aqaurians (have had both fresh and salt) but after many years - decided it was destructive to ecosystems and not worth the guilt. It was mostly the salt tank (beautiful - sigh) that turned the tide for me - the corral sand, and live corral, plants all had to be harvested from our rapidly (due to global warming) declining corral reefs. Fish based fertilizers are abundant and very inexpense.

2) Feed birds in winter disrupts their normal behavoir. They become dependant on 'easy' food and will die without the handouts. Feeding strays can also disrupt the delicate balance between predator and prey - I think most of us would prefer that strays hunt vermin.

3) Energy saving lighting now requires more raw resources to produce, particularly compact fluorsecents, then the electrical savings to the consumer. Electric and hybrid cars are in the same situation. Until battery technology improves drastically, it will continue to be true. That said I do drive a second hand hybrid. The longer you can keep an old car running conventional or electric the less gross damage to the bioshere.

Nothing.
We are experiencing normal climate change.
Who cares?
The world will be here, we aren't that significant, geologically speaking.
The eco-weenies need to get over themselves.

I have an aquaponics setup growing vegetables with fish in a couple ponds. Mostly tilapia and catfish. Fish crap fertilizes the veggies really well! Still setting up a greenhouse to use for various growing. I have the main supplies but finding the time is hard. I take things slow and do the research before pulling the trigger on projects. I am putting in solar panels to get off grid and make my own electricity. I buy what I can as I can afford it. I don't drive much anymore. I conserve the best I can. I recycle as needed.

The problem is that I'm not doing it for the reasons everyone thinks. I'm doing to to be left alone and feed myself and the family. At least I know what I'm eating and don't have to speculate. The seeds last 5 to 7 years (A big plus). Canning is also a good skill. Growing food for the animals is also a good cheap way to keep things going.

It's really a good hobby to have. There's nothing like being able to feed yourself in any situation. Well, except a nuclear war and I don't want to be here if that happened anyway. I enjoy it and makes me feel human. I guess we came together after all.

a reply to: Look2theSacredHeart

Using the dark ATS theme to conserve power usage by the pixels in my mobile display.
Also, I recycle my Styrofoam waste by using it as croutons in my dinner salads.

a reply to: Look2theSacredHeart

I just read your introduction in another thread. Welcome to ATS SacredHeart

There are more than a few of us who see the world like this - even if we come at it from very different places. A twins from different mothers kind of thing :-)

Here's a woman I admire very much. She is no coward - that's for sure. Thought maybe this would fit nicely in your thread

The highest ranking woman in the Anglican communion has said climate denial is a “blind” and immoral position which rejects God’s gift of knowledge.

“It is in that sense much like the civil rights movement in this country where we are attending to the rights of all people and the rights of the earth to continue to be a flourishing place,” Bishop Jefferts Schori said in an interview with the Guardian. “It is certainly a moral issue in terms of the impacts on the poorest and most vulnerable around the world already.”

In the same context, Jefferts Schori attached moral implications to climate denial, suggesting those who reject the underlying science of climate change were turning their backs on God’s gift of knowledge.

“Episcopalians understand the life of the mind is a gift of God and to deny the best of current knowledge is not using the gifts God has given you,” she said. “In that sense, yes, it could be understood as a moral issue.”

She went on: “I think it is a very blind position. I think it is a refusal to use the best of human knowledge, which is ultimately a gift of God.”

The sense of urgency around the issue has been deepened by Pope Francis forceful statements on global warming, which he is expected to amplify in a papal encyclical in June and during an address to the US Congress in September.

It's going to be a struggle - and it's going to take a lot of people saying the same things over and over again. But - change is possible

Like I said - welcome to ATS

:-)