Living Gently: Taking a Political Stand

Ecology Action Alliance reminds us that our political system is an important tool we must use to protect the environment. They suggest:

Joining an environmental group,
Lobbying political representatives to make the environment a priority issue; and
Petitioning civic groups (school, business, congregations) to conserve, recycle, and consume responsibly.

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Living Gently: Tell Shopkeepers You Care

Ecology Action Alliance suggests letting shopkeepers know we care about the environment and expect them to do the same. The Alliance suggests making the following commitments:

I will support businesses that promote environmental awareness.

I will ask my grocer to carry local/organic produce.

I will ask my grocer to carry alternatives to Styrofoam products.

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Living Gently on a Daily Basis

Ecology Action Alliance suggests taking these steps to live gently on a daily basis:
I will share magazine subscriptions with friends or a library.
I will bring my own cloth or paper bags for shopping trips.
I will reduce/eliminate toxic cleaning supplies and replace them with non-poisonous cleaning supplies at home and work.

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Living Gently: for You and the Environment

Ecology Action Alliance suggests these steps to live in a way that is healthy for you and for the environment:

Enjoy moments outside each day,
Learn about the vegetation and wildlife in your area,
Study and be a resource in your community for one aspect of the environmental agenda (solid waste, conservation, the charitable network, ecology legislation, whole foods, alternative heating....)

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Living Gently: Reducing Garbage

Ecology Action Alliance suggests our taking these measures to help reduce the amount of garbage we produce:

Encourage parents to use reusable supplies for diapering and washing their babies.

Use children's artwork as stationery when writing to relatives.

Ask friends to consider natural products and materials when choosing gifts.

Living Gently: Using Appliances as Little as Possible

Ecology Action Alliance suggests our taking the following measures to keep our electricity usage to a minimum:

• I will buy/utilize hand-powered appliances and tools whenever possible.
• I will make a sustained effort to turn off appliances and lights that are not in use.
• I will contract for a home energy audit by my utility company.
• I will use natural light and ventilation (windows!) whenever possible.

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Living Gently: Reuse, Reuse, Reuse

Continuing our series on living gently to care for our planet, we provide you these suggestions on reuse that come from the Ecology Action Alliance:

• Establish a bartering relationship with a neighbor (childcare for knitting lessons?).
  
  
• Repair and reuse major appliances whenever possible.
  
  
• Donate or find a use for items you no longer wish to use whenever possible (Volunteer Action Line of the United Way is a good source for recipients).
  
  
• Patronize the used goods market whenever possible.
  
  
  Photo: Stock Exchange
  

Living Gently: Conserving Fuel and Reducing Pollution

Need to cut down on your weekly mileage? Here are some ideas from the Ecology Action Alliance that will help you conserve fuel and reduce the amount of pollution you generate.

Set a radius (two blocks/two miles?) and make a commitment to walk everywhere you need to go within that radius.

Choose one day each week to refrain from driving.

Buy/repair/use a bicycle.

Make a serious and sustained effort to carpool and combine driving errands.

I will patronize my neighborhood merchants.

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Living Gently: Gardening

Last week, this blog suggested ways to minimize the amount of garbage in landfills by considering the packaging of products as well as the products themselves when we shop. The ideas were provided by the Ecology Action Alliance, which offers these gardening tips among its suggestions on how to care for the earth in our daily lives:

• Start or expand a garden.
• Reduce or eliminate toxic pesticides in your garden.
• Stop using toxic sprays on the lawn.
• Join a gardening club.

Living Gently: More Suggestions to Reduce our Carbon Footprint

The Ecology Action Alliance suggests taking the following steps to help reduce our carbon footprint:

Become an urban livestock keeper (bees, eggs, poultry),

Order and use catalogues specializing in cotton clothing and natural materials, and

Buy/use recycled paper whenever possible.

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More Ways to Live Gently...

Last week, this blog introduced the Ecology Action Alliance and included some of its suggestions on how to care for the earth in our daily lives. Here are some more ideas:

• Choose food and other products in the most ecological packaging available (paper, cotton, and glass rather than plastic);
• Do not buy or use Styrofoam products or
  
• Use aerosol cans.

Living Gently on our Planet

The Ecology Action Alliance is a network of individuals who are committed to making the changes, large and small, in our lifestyles that will allow us to live in a compatible way with the resources of our planet. The Alliance provides the suggestions below so that each of us can live gently on our planet. We encourage you to contact the Interreligious Eco-Justice Network at PO Box 270147, West Hartford, CT 06127, for more information about the Ecology Action Alliance or email info@irejn.org.

• Recycle all my paper, including junk mail and boxes.
• Buy snacks and other foods in a degradable (paper) container whenever possible.
• Avoid buying-using clothing that requires dry cleaning.