Riding with Strangers in Perth, West Oz

For around 6 months of the year, I am one of the sheep in business shirts you see entering their rectangular working receptacles in Perth CBD, Western Australia. Every morning traffic is backed up over the narrow bridge that crosses the river into the city.

I watch the people talking on their phones, picking their noses, and swearing at the cars in front of them as I look up from the book I'm enjoying on the bus. As I walk over the pedestrian overpass I see them circling the carparks and oneway streets looking for the ever dwindling parking space.

I feel a little bit smug as I calculate that parking for one day in the city is $12, while busfare is about $5. Nevermind the fuel and running costs of your average 6-cylinder family wagon.

Watching a bus pass me while walking down the terrace, I notice that it is running on gas not diesel, and I am reminded that the 30-40 other people on the bus with me have saved a heap of carbon monoxide being pumped into the air.

Cameron
Perth, WA

Green Living by Merry

A few things I do:

Live TV-Free
-save energy (big screen TVs can use more energy than a refrigerator)
-save money (no cable or electric bill)
-save your sanity

Bring my own water bottle
-less garbage, save money on buying water (next step is bringing my own
coffee mug)

Buy local food, in season
-supports local farmers, sustainable farming
-while specialty foods can cost more at the farmer's market, most in-season
produce costs just as much, if not less than the regular grocery store. And
buying local, even organic, and cooking at home is still cheaper than going
out to a restaurant.
-less transportation required to ship the goods
-fresher, healthier, tastes better

other stuff:
Use eco-friendly household products (check ingredient labels)
Line-dry laundry
Walk or ride bike whenever possible
Buy/sell used stuff (craigslist)
Share a small, fuel-efficient car
Go camping...enjoy the outdoors

Plus, I work for The Green Guide, so I'm always learning new ways to make a
difference. Check out www.thegreenguide.com ,
a huge resource for environmental health and green living information.

-Merry, Santa Barbara

Do Paperless Banking!

I would also like to share with you some of my little efforts on paper/trees saving...

Most banks are offering a "go paperless" option on getting your monthly statements.
I've gone paperless some time ago.
And what seems like "my little effort" seems huge when I think what HUGE savings there would be if LOTS of people also went paperless, only by not receiving their monthly statements in the mail.
Statements that they probably put away in a drawer or simply throw away without even looking at them as you can check everything online much faster.

GO PAPERLESS!

1. Improves our quality of life because we don't have to spend time organizing and trashing stuff.
2. Helps the environment because of obvious saving of trees
3. Increases the wealth ... of the banks system! Oh well... idealistically, someday it might come back to the customers somehow...

Susie Beadle

Living without a Car

Living without a car has improved my life. I have lived without a car for almost four years now. The initial reason for my transition from car dependence to freedom was financial. I could not afford to buy a car, pay for insurance, maintenance, or the increasing price of gasoline. After selling my car I realized that there are many other benefits to not owning a car, including minimizing my ecological foot print, feeling healthy and fit, and the exciting possibility of meeting a cute guy on the public transit system, or on a kayak!

Katiyana Williams

Greywater Garden

One thing I love is gardening. do as little work as possible, but give the soil some love, and either the right seeds or starters, and leave it go! Out in arid santa barbara, though, our gardens are artificial creations, illusions of a more temperate reality. So do we pipe in more water still from where it rightfully belongs? Why do we use culinary water, with all the energy intensive pumping and treating, to provide moisture from plants and soil with zero interest in mega-filtered, treated water? There's not much that's local about stealing water to keep food gardens not native to this climate.

So why not use greywater? When I wash dishes and rinse veggies, I use a ton of that culinary water, but it certainly doesn't need to be swept away to yet another energy intensive treatment facility. No, best would be to put that water to an appropriate use, and it seems to me that my little veggie garden is a perfect one. Save energy, save water, grow veggies. Here are my rules:

- Don't use chemical dishwash soap- I use oasis, designed to degrade to plant food

- Don't let the water sit for a long time, it needs to go straight to the soil!

So what I do, since I rent and am not a master of plumbing, is close the drain of the kitchen sink, wash my full batch of dishes, which about fills the sink. I use a 3 gallon bucket to transfer that water out to the garden. I don't do it every night, but every few days. By knowing that I'm not using any toxics, I have no problem putting the water in the garden, and with compost-rich soil in the garden, the extra nutrients of the greywater are getting eaten up by the soil microbes. I can't wait to eat some of those greens and tomatoes!

-Ed France

Raked Leaves

Don't trash your raked leaves.
They will become a wonderful fertilizer if you let them decompose on their own, even better if you give them a little booster, adding some manure, compost activators, whatever.

I save everything that can decompose and I get incredible results in just a few months.

1- you're recreating Mother Earth's natural process instead of just adding volume to dumps.
2- you don't have to spend your $$ in costly fertilizers.
3- your plants will respond by looking their best!

Susie

Walk the Talk

Photo is the beach where I live, the Peninsula de Marau, in Brazil.
I walk or bike it every day with the dogs. Probably 5-6 miles a day.

It doesn't help a lot. But every little bit helps. A few bits that score.......

* Exercise increases adrenal gland activity which in turn reduces food intake. For both dogs and me. Score 1
* Dogs sleep after exercise, which helps keep them awake at night. Discourages night prowlers. Score 2
* Walking is a good model for everyone. An alternate to driving, carbon emissions, repairs. Score 3
* Increases quality of life, health and life expectancy. Decreases doctor's bills. Feels good, too! Score 4
* Replaces for several hours the vacuuos distractions of modern life. Encourages thinking. Score 5

Walking seems, at first, boring. Then migrates into a healthy craving. And like the effects of the stroke of that apocryphal Amazon butterfly wing, it positively affects much more than we can know. In the individual, his community, and the world.

Bob
Peninsula de Marau, in Brazil.

Canvas Always Trumps Paper

"I'm doing something about it" every day when I go to
Trader Joes.. And yes, I do sometimes hit the market
daily... I have a few canvas bags of varying shapes
and sizes that I hang on my front door handle and keep
in my car, so that I always have my own vessil in
which to take home my goodies! If I somehow forget a
bag, I am not above stuffing my purse with said
purchases, or walking out of the store with goods in
my arms and a reciept precariously balancing on top.

At Trader Joes, they are used to people bringing their
own bags, and actually encourage them to do so. When
you bring your own bag, they give you a raffle ticket
for a monthly drawing for free stuff... however, when
I try my "oh, I don't need a bag" line at the local
Ralphs, I often receive curious looks and perhaps a
bit of perplexion from the bagger. It always makes me
smile ;-)

I have gotten so used to never getting a paper bag at
grocery store, that I feel confused when I see someone
accept one.

One last bonus is that I do not have a drawer full of
paper and plastic bags, but have a doorhandle
decorated with really cute canvas ones!

So... that is how "I am doing something about it"!

Krista- Santa Barbara

Freeloading can be green

For the last 2 years I've avoided expensive rent prices in the town of Santa Barbara, CA, by living 20 minutes away on the top of an 1,800 ft mountain pass (keep in mind that SB is nearly at sea level). Considering that SB now hosts some of the most expensive gas prices in the nation, which are on the rise as summer approaches, and my social and business life exists in town, the commute prices almost equate to the difference in rent. On top of that my four banger subaru is starting to fall apart after 130,000 miles of carbon farting. I've suggested installing a cable car from the corner of State and Carrillo to the top of 154 but the city didn't like my idea for asthetic reasons. WTF. If Chamonix has the Telepherique why can't I have my own form of public transportation here in Santa Barbara? Plus, it would be good for tourism and I'd be able to host more parties promoting green stuff. Alright, I'll stop now. As an alternative, I've resorted to making some personal changes. Not only am I looking to move down into town so I can commute by bike, in the meantime I will be freeloading off Ed and Kristian, the founders of Imdoingit, and parking my carcass on their couch for the nights that I leave town late, only to drive back early the next morning. As a result, my personal carbon footprint and gas expenditures decrease, and Ed and Kristian are graced with my presence as I help myself to their breakfast supplies. Thanks guys, I'll make it up to you when I buy my eco-dome condo on the Riviera.

Malcolm - Santa Barbara

Car-free, Bike-rich

Being car-free saves me money:
~$50/month on insurance
~$60/month on gas
~$50/month on repairs & maintenance
Not to mention the cost of the car and depreciation.

I bought a really nice, used mountain bike on craigslist for $250. I ride to work everyday, sometimes a 8 minute ride, sometimes a 20 minute ride, depending what office I have to go to. I was lucky enough to find a job close to where I live.

I get there feeling refreshed in the morning - on warm days I might get sweaty, but I'll change into a different set of clothes. The PR/marketing CEO doesn't seem to mind; in fact, she thinks it's great that I ride. The trip is even better on the way home - doing exercise gets me out of the "funk" of working all day. It's a two birds, one stone type of deal: exercise and transportation at the same time.

The bus system in Santa Barbara works really well, my bike goes on the bus rack in front, and I can get anywhere in town. Schedules are available at www.sbmtd.gov.

The major downside of not having a car is flexibility. I can't go surfing or visit the ladies whenever I want to; and I can only take 2 canvas bags worth of shopping at a time (balanced on the handlebars - I need to get a rack!). But the bike keeps me fit, and forces me to carpool with my friends when I want to hit the beach. And as for the ladies, well... that forces them to come to me :)