Learners from Howick High have come up with a host of great ideas and easy-to-do suggestions of how to live differently to better protect and sustain our environment.
The learners came up with a total of 57 ideas which covered seven themes: saving paper, using less water, sustainable travel, reducing waste, sustainable agriculture, energy efficiency and renewable energy. Their ideas ranged from things which we all can do in our day-to-day lives, to things that the Government could do to create more sustainable living. Here are some of their best ideas:
Save paper:
- Don’t waste paper – say ‘no’ to paper statements – opt for electronic ones
- Pay bills ‘on line’ – which will also reduce transport
- Save water – put washing machines on short cycles; use rinse water on garden; put bricks in toilet cisterns, install rain water tanks
- Don’t let tap run while brushing teeth and attend to any dripping taps
- Ditch “bottled water” – use a re-usable water bottle and “in-home” filtration systems that make tap water a good choice.
Sustainable travel:
- Use public transport/share lifts/use bicycles/walk
- Cars – Lift clubs, “drive smart” – use biodiesel/biogas/smaller cars
- Have incentives for using bicycles
Reduce waste:
- Use simple/no packaging/reuse grocery bags/shopping baskets
- Recycle/reuse – glass, plastic, paper – take to depots
- Government encourages recycling
Sustainable Agriculture:
- Deforestation – cleared for cattle farming – consume less meat
- Don’t over harvest (fishing, farming and mining)
- Visit restaurants that serve locally produced foods (promote local economics)
- Use energy saving light bulbs and solar geyser and insulate geyser
- Switch off non-essential appliances – even on ‘standby’ mode they draw energy and switch off lights when not in the room (SOS = switch off something)
- Have more family gatherings – good quality time with loved ones and cooking for bigger group is more efficient and less expensive
- Use re-chargeable batteries (non-rechargeable batteries use 50x more energy than they provide)
Renewable energy:
- Use solar power, wind power, hydro-electric power
- Education of people and word of mouth example. Join organisations that campaign for a cause.
If you have any other ideas to add to this list, please leave a comment below.