________________
JAIN DIGEST
* Dropping your heating by one degree cuts the heating bill and the carbon dioxide emissions by 8%.
* A shower uses much less hot water than a bath.
Next time you change your heating system, remember gas condensing boilers are 15-20% more efficient than normal gas boilers and oil condensing boilers are 30% more efficient than normal oil boilers.
+ Avoid aerosols. They take a lot of energy to make and even the ones that don't have CFCs contribute to low level ozone, a greenhouse gas.
Take your own shopping bag. Every year billions of non-recyclable or non-biodegradable carrier bags are given away free and used only once.
Saving the Rainforest
Every minute of every day an area of tropical forest the size of 55 football pitches is destroyed along with the millions
ith the millions of creatures living there, so that the Western world can have mahogany stair bannisters and garden furniture, teak kitchen cupboards and knife handles (not to mention grazing land for beef cattle).
+ Avoid furniture and household items made of tropical timbers. Buy goods made from re-planted temperate hardwoods such as oak, ash and beech or soft woods such as pine and larch.
When You Travel
Over one million tons of carbon dioxide were released by cars in Britain in 1988. This is a major contributor to the greenhouse effect. Vehicle exhaust also contributes to smog and acid rain.
Have your car tuned regularly to ensure it runs efficiently.
Remember it is fuel efficient to drive more slowly. If everyone kept to the speed limit in Britain, we would produce 30,000 fewer tons of carbon dioxide a year.
* Why not buy a smaller, more efficient car next time.
* Have your car converted to unleader petrol. Lead is a major culprit in producing acid rain and also causes brain damage, particularly in children.
* A car fitted with a three-way catalytic converter emits 90% less nitrogen oxide and hydrocarbons.
Share lifts with relatives and friends when you are going to work, the shops, the temple or community center.
* There are, of course, other ways to get around be sides your car. Public transport will take you there for about one-fifth the pollution and energy of a car journey on your own.
* Walking is the ultimate form of non-violent travel and it is good for you. So is cycling.
In the Kitchen
Not only does the production of plastics, tins, glass and paper involve burning fossil fuels and the destruction of trees, but they also produce other deadly gases and effluents. Furthermore, with the exception of paper which does decay, they are piling up by the billion tons every year and will still be here in 1,000 or even 10,000 years time.
* In the fridge, use containers or recycled plastic bags instead of plastic wrap or foil.
* Find out where your local bottle banks are for recycling glass jars and bottles.
* What about paper, aluminium tins and plastics? Call your local council to find out if they provide recycling facilities for these or check the phone book for recycling merchants who will buy in bulk from your community.
In the Garden
* Start a compost heap in your garden with left-over fruit and vegetable scraps and grass cuttings. It will feritilize your soil and reduce your household waste.
+ Avoid chemical fertilizers and pesticides. They harm the atmosphere, soil, birds and animals.
* Encourage wildlife in your garden. Provide nestboxes for birds. Plant wildflowers and native shrubs and trees. A pile of dead logs and leaves is a five-star hotel for microorganisms, fungi, insects, frogs, birds and hedgehogs, who will act as natural fertilizers and pest controllers.
At Work
There is an enormous wastage of paper and energy in the workplace. Every year, Britain throws away paper equivalent to 130 million trees. Does your workplace have an environmental policy. If not, why not start one?
* Establish a recycling paper system in your office. A bin for high-grade computer and writing paper and another for low-grade newspapers and cardboard. Call your local council to collect it or sell it to a local paper recycling merchant.
* Buy recycled paper. It saves trees and the world climate that relies on them. It saves the river life from bleach effluents.
* Turn off machines that you are not using, reduce unnecessary lighting and use fluorescet lightbulbs.
* Is the workplace being cleaned with biodegradable products?
* What about hiring a green audit company to evaluate your workplace and practices and advise you on ways to make them more environmental.
When You Shop
Avoid buying products with excessive packaging. Buying in bulk saves money and packaging.
Buy biodegradable cleaners.
Do you really need all those disposable itemskitchen roll, paper tissues, disposable diapers? Generations before have managed with washable cloth.
* Buy recycled, unbleached toilet tissue, stationary, etc. You save trees and the river life killed by paper dye byproducts.
This is ahimsa, this is aparigraha. You can act and you can encourage other members in your family and community to act.
Page 26 For Private & Personal use only
Jain Education Intenational
www.jainelibrary.org
