October 15th--Blog Action Day --Blog for the environment

This is the day when blogs around the world who are participating in blog action day blog about the environment. I have been trying to be more environmentally friendly in the last few weeks.
1. I actually started being more systematic about recycling in the home.
2. I have started using my reusable grocery bags.
3. Rather than wishing we could move into a house I am now feeling like, as far as I am concerned, the reason we are not in a house is that apartment living is so much more resource efficient.
4. I am more conscious than ever about not buying things unless i really need them.

Great list of resources on the blog action day website

For example, you could take the ecological footprint quiz to see how many planets we would need if everyone lived like you do. We would need 6.4 planets if everyone lived like me :(

Of course what is really needed is drastic reform at the macrostructural level. This man develops a rational argument for why this seems to be the best course of action based on his risk analysis of the situation:




It strikes me that noone ever dares to actually propose any substantial structural changes in US society. The way our cities are laid out, with our traveling to megastores to do our shopping, our agribusiness farming, our miles and miles of pavement for highways and parking lots, how impossible it is to get anywhere without a car. There is no way that this institutionalized network is going to be changed without complete collapse. Who would dare suggest it? And how are you going to get so many millions of people to sacrifice house, car, convenience willingly, voluntarily? It seems to me that sustainable living would entail things such as growing our food closer to where we live in more sustainable ways, living closer to where we work in more concentrated groups so that public transportation could be more efficient.