A Post-Earth-Day Entry

Yesterday, I braved the traffic jams surrounding Megamall to drive my Dad to his meeting.  He wanted to take the train, but I did not want him to walk the short distance from the station to building A in the interminable summer heat.   Summer gets remarkably hotter every year, thanks to our irresponsible way of living.  

With the news of the SM tree-cutting debacle, and the failed NatGeo Earth Day Run, I am flummoxed at how companies, organizations and individuals can be so casual with their non-earth friendly actions.

I believe that being environmentally responsible is a commitment in ensuring that our actions and way of living does not bring more harm to the environment.  It is not a PR statement that can be flaunted around to entice buyers; nor is it a fad that can be worn for popularity points, and then junked when the next one comes in.   I agree that eco-friendly living may not be easy.  But little changes in our lifestyle can at least lessen our contribution to the problem.

For Nards and myself, here is a partial list of our green commitment:

1. Always bring an ecobag.   (Always keep at least one in my bag; and a couple in the car);
2. Always bring a refillable water bottle, to avoid buying mineral water;
3. Whenever an appliance is not in use, we unplug it from the electrical outlet;
4. When no one is in a room in the house, we turn off all the electrical appliances, including the aircon ( I know of a few people who leave the AC on all day so they can come home to a cool house);
5. We use rechargeable batteries on everything: cameras, flash, wireless keyboards and mice, etc;
6. Bring our own utensils whenever we go out to avoid using plastic spoons and forks;
7. Always consider the packaging of products when we go to the grocery store;
8. Refuse plastic.  If I don't have an ecobag, tough, I shove it in my bag;
9. If possible, bike or walk to our destination.  If using a vehicle cannot be avoided, we schedule all our errands on the same day;
10. Carpool;
11. Keep our car well maintained, and to keep the tires inflated properly;
12. Buy local, whenever we can;
13. Using pedala for our courier needs;
14. We try to keep our paper consumption to a minimum, e.g. all contracts are emailed instead of printed and delivered to clients;
15. I never use wrapping paper for presents; either use recycled paper (yellow pages) or use a handkerchief;
16. Whenever we're at a coffee shop, we opt for our coffee to be served in a mug instead of the paper take-away cups;
17. We use biodegradable detergent, i.e. Plantex;
18. Buy less and try our best to adopt minimalist living;
19. Recycle and upcycle our belongings;  (I'm thankful for Nards who loves to make things from scratch using materials around the house.  He's made a bike bag--hand stitched!--from his old jackets, and he's made a kindle case out of an old useless hardbound book.) 
20. For baking, we've investing in silpats instead of repeatedly buying parchment paper and disposing of them after a few uses; and
21. In the photobooth, we encourage our clients to use fabric backgrounds instead of the customized tarpaulins.

It's not much I know.  But in our home, whatever we do, whatever we buy, whatever we dispose, we always ask the question: is this environmentally sound?   I hope you can all join us in contributing to Mother Earth's welfare.  A little sacrifice will go a long way in making sure our children and our children's children and our children's children's children still have a habitable planet to inherit.

Let everyday be Earth Day.  Let every hour be Earth Hour.