Stuff
How To Reduce Our “Stuff” and Its Impact on Climate Change
There are no two ways about it. Those of us in many, many countries have just created, manufactured, transported, housed, sold, and bought too much stuff. This has created stronger inequalities within those countries and across the world, and greatly damaged our planet. It’s time to reduce our noncritical ‘stuff’, to think long-term in designing the processing and transport of critical equipment, and to help create a different world.
Climate Steps: Stuff
Maintain your refrigerator and AC
Use a sharing library (tools, toys, etc.)
Stop receiving junk mail
“Libraries of Things are rolling together all the things people only infrequently need and bringing them together in one place, so they have something for everyone. Pay one membership or subscription fee, and you can borrow everything from camping gear to a popcorn maker.”
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About Climate Change and Stuff
Under Development!
But a nitty gritty study in 2020 found that the creation of every new product resulted in greenhouse gas emissions totaling 6 times the product’s weight!
Articles About Personal Belongings
Save a green space
We are rapidly losing shared green space to private development. These spaces are our community meeting places, nature refuges, playgrounds and outdoor gyms. They improve water and air quality while providing a variety of mental and physical health benefits. Plus they...
Switch to e-billing
It is hard to believe that hundreds of billions of bills and updates are still sent out annually around the globe. That takes a lot of trees and energy to make happen. The hurdles to e-billing are dropping away as more people embrace the technology and see the...
Install low flush toilets
How much water do you flush down the toilet each year? That depends on the toilet, but on average, each of us flushes four or five times per day, which is over a thousand times a year. Traditional toilets use roughly 13 liters per flush, so that adds up to over 20,000...
Upgrade to solar water heater
Water heating is a major energy user. As we use hot water for our showers, laundry and washing dishes, collectively, we are consuming a quarter of our residential energy worldwide. By changing to a solar water heating system you shift that energy to a clean renewable...
Use recyclable, reusable gift wrap
We usually consider wrapping paper to be recyclable, but did you know that is often not the case? Wrapping paper can only be recycled if it is not laminated, has no metallic pieces, and has no tape, ribbons, or bows. One way to figure out if your wrapping paper is...
Unplug vampire electronics
Are you paying for energy that you are not using? Up to 20% of your electricity expenses go towards so-called Vampire Electronics. These are devices that consume electricity in standby mode, even when they are off. Some consume nearly as much energy as when they are...