Last Wednesday I woke up to my alarm at my usual 7:40AM. It was very disorienting as there was an orange glow permeating through the blinds. Upon opening the blinds, I realized it was entirely orange outside.
I felt like K waking up in his apartment in Bladerunner 2049. It was also very disorienting as the orange lingered and I had to turn on the lights during the day due to the darkened skies. Day felt like night with an eerie orange glow.
It was around 11AM that it got even darker and that was when I decided I need to go outside and walk a block to capture this below as I will likely and hopefully never see this again in my lifetime despite the terrible air quality.
Friends of mine from elsewhere thought I Photoshopped the orange into these photos. It wasn't until they saw Obama's post of images in the SF Chronicle that they then realized that I in fact did not and sent me messages from all over.
Climate change is real. How are you being more green? Please vote to elect officials in that will work toward preserving our world rather than personal interests.
Here are a few things I do in case this gives you additional ideas for greening:
- Refusing it is always the greenest as a rule of thumb.
- I donate for more than my share through Carbon Fund and I also regularly donate to Rainforest Trust.
- I recycle and compost religiously. If I am out and about, I will carry with me my recyclables until I get to a recycle bin. At home, I store my compostables in the freezer in a brown paper bag (from my produce purchases) and take it down to the compost bin when that is full so it's not disgusting and rotting in room temperature.
- I am quite a minimalist and live in a studio apartment so my ethos is always waste not want not. I avoid buying as much as humanly possible in general.If I buy anything, I try to avoid online shopping as much as possible to reduce on transport and packaging waste.
- I always have at least 2 cloth totes in my bag for purchases so I do not waste additional bags while out shopping. I also reuse all my produce plastic bags as well.
- I have never been a fan of fast fashion/anything. I tend to buy things that are well made that I love that lasts forever instead. It's both better for the environment and better quality. Since they last forever, you end up spending less in the long run.
- I bring my own water bottle and thermos rather than wasting a paper or plastic cup. Sadly due to COVID, this is not so doable currently. But we will get there again. I also have a metal straw in my bag in its own cloth tote so I don't waste disposable straws.
- Since I never finish my food when I eat out, I always bring my own deli cups in my bag to avoid more packaging to bring my food home.
- Currently I am working hard to phasing out as much plastic out of my life as possible.
- I turn off all my lights and electronics if not in use.
- I replaced all my lightbulbs with LED energy saving alternatives.
- In lieu of a heater/fan, I dress appropriately and use my radiator. It's nice to cozy up in a thick bathrobe and add another throw under the comforter when it's chilly anyhow.
- Did you know that you are pulling energy by plugging in the electrical outlets in general even if they are not in use?
- I use these surge protectors with master appliance control so that all my peripherals will only turn on if my master appliance is on. For instance, if my laptop is on then I can turn on my monitor/printer/harddrives. Or if my TV is on then I can turn on the Apple TV/Bluray/etc.
- I have these timed outlets around my home for appliances that only need limited charging. Because you don't need your phone/toothbrush/etc. plugged in the entire time to fully charge them. You can even change them from .5/3/6 hours.
- For appliances that are used rarely, I plug them into these energy saving plugs and turn them on only when I use them and off when I am done. I use this for my toaster.
- Instead of buying new candles when they are done, I buy beautiful glass candles and refill them with my own soy wax instead.
- I have implemented a new rule for acquiring new items of clothing: I must donate the equal number of items before acquiring new ones.
- When I travel, I always bring all my own toiletries so I do not have to use the single use options offered to me at my hotel. I also reuse all my towels.
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