With the 20th anniversary of Earth Day a month away (April 22), environmentalists say the seat of power to save the world might not be in the White House but, instead, right in your own home.
Like nearly every other human activity, waste makes waste, but you can still do your bit for the Earth. By simply putting a displacement device in your toilet tank you could save up to 5,800 gallons of water a year.
And while we`re on this roll, let`s move on to the type of roll that no one likes to talk about much-but nearly every American encounters at least once or twice a day. It`s toilet paper-specifically recycled toilet paper.
Take it easy, it`s not that gross. Recycled toilet paper is simply made from recycled pulp. It`s wrapped in recycled wrapping and promoted in catalogs printed on recycled paper stock.
It`s one of the many hot new items being showered on us like so many drops of moisture in a rain forest as ecological consciousness emerges as the theme of the `90s.
It`s everywhere
There are now Earth-conscious shopping guides, catalogs, magazines and newly published books (all printed on recycled paper, one hopes). There are ecological political parties, credit cards, bank accounts and cosmetics. There`s even Earth-inspired high fashion.
Please. Enough already.
It`s not a matter of not caring. It`s just that the Earth`s problems seem as big as, well, the world. Who wants to shoulder all of that?
And c`mon: Can these people really be serious when they say we can help save the planet by buying toilet paper made out of the right stuff?
Absolutely, today`s environmentalists answer, pointing out that while no one can save the planet alone, each individual can make a big difference. And if you multiply those efforts by millions, the Earth can be helped by choosing the ”right” kind of toilet paper or making just slight changes in your lifestyle.
Those changes don`t even have to be very radical. Books such as ”50 Simple Things You Can Do to Save the Earth” and ”Diet For a New America”
give suggestions (see accompanying list). Aurora University professor Steve Van Matre, who specializes in Earth education, also recommends ”Seeing Green,” by Jonathon Porritt (Blackwell; $9.95)-an overview of the European Green political movement-and ”Blueprint for a Green Planet,” by John Seymour and Herbert Girardet (Dorling, Kindersley Ltd., London; $17.95)-a practical action guide that includes lots of diagrams and household tips.
Cut back
”If you read just one of these books, I guarantee it will change your life,” he says. ”But you don`t have to read a book to begin. The first thing I tell people to do is look at all the ways they use energy and materials and then cut back. Our focus is toward lifestyle changes rather than issues.”
Van Matre also is the chairman of The Institute for Earth Education, an international, non-profit group that works with schools to create a comprehensive Earth curriculum rather than what he calls the ”scattered issues-oriented approach.”
These books and a free catalog of publications are available through the institute (Box 288, Warrenville, Ill. 60555).
”The most important learning of this millennium is clearly our relationship with this planet,” he says. ”And yet we only have bits and pieces of this type of learning spread out in other programs. We aren`t issue- oriented because you can get people charged up about issues such as acid rain or the ozone or the rain forests and then they forget about it in a few days. Instead, we are trying to show them things they can do in their everyday life that will make a difference.”
We mean you, U.S.
The primary change, he says, must be one of attitude, especially in the United States. The Washington-based World Resources Institute reports that Americans account for approximately 4.7 percent of the world`s population and yet use 24 percent of the energy generated on the globe annually.
”We have to get away from the idea that the Earth is our horn of plenty, and if we just clean up the mess and manage it better, then everything will be fine,” says Van Matre. ”We need to be infused with the idea of deep ecology- meaning we share this planet with a lot of other things and we need to look at how we can live in harmony with them.”
Van Matre says some Americans are awakening to this realization, but
”they are being misled” with products such as biodegradable plastic bags, which he calls a ”big con.”
”For something to be truly biodegradable it has to break down into the natural elements of the Earth,” he says. ”Biodegradable plastics just break down into smaller bits of plastic that you can`t see. The plastic is still there-only now it`s at the micro stage, getting into all sorts of systems of life and creating all kinds of new problems. The problem is not that we have things that don`t break down. The problem is we don`t have things made out of natural substances.”
Not a panacea
Van Matre says recycling is not the panacea that many believe it to be. If people believe everything can be recycled, they`ll just continue their wasteful habits.
”The trouble with recycling is that it diverts our attention from the real problem,” he says. ”The key is to reduce our consumption in the first place.”
Beatrice Briggs, the environmental columnist for the local Conscious Choice publication, agrees, pointing out that we got into this trouble in the first place because we have the idea that we live in a disposable society.
”We have to get out of this mindset that it`s OK to use something once and throw it away,” she says. ”When you look at the garbage problem and what`s happening to our landfills, you realize that there is no such place as `away.` ”
These small, everyday changes have to do with ”walking lightly on the Earth,” something aboriginal people have practiced for years.
Consumption addiction
”Native people have evolved a philosophy where we take from the environment and Earth as little as possible,” says Chris Peters, program officer for the Seventh Generation Fund, a Native American foundation not related to the catalog company. ”If we take more than what we need just for basic subsistence, then your grandkids, great grandkids and their great grandkids are going to have less. We need to look at what we really need in order to survive. Consumption is by far the most significant addiction problem that human people face today. Ask yourself this, `Can I go through a day without purchasing something?` ”
If you must go out and buy things, there are ways to do it that are kinder to the Earth.
For instance, every time you use the Working Assets Visa card, the company contributes a nickel to non-profit groups working for the environment, peace, economic justice and human rights (Working Assets, 230 California St., Suite 500, San Francisco 94111; 800-522-7759). Working Assets also has an arrangement with U.S. Sprint in which 1 percent of the long-distance phone charges of members go to the same causes (800-669-8585).
Pure products
The Aveda Corporation manufactures and distributes hair, skin and body products composed of pure distilled flower and plant essences, does no animal testing and discourages the use of synthetic ingredients. Beginning May 1, the company will make a donation to the ”Global ReLeaf” national tree-planting campaign sponsored by the American Forestry Association when consumers buy Aveda products from participating professional beauty salons. In addition, the company is starting a national recycling program in which consumers can return empty Aveda bottles to participating salons.
Just about everyone has a bank account, but some banks have better track records in rebuilding their local communities. Chicago`s own South Shore Bank, at 71st Street and Jeffery Boulevard (288-1000), has been cited by the National Housing Task Force Report (1988) as a national model for community lending. Lisa Richter, an assistant vice president of the bank who was at a networking session for local Earth Day festivities, says South Shore Bank`s
”mission is to revitalize blighted inner-city communities with the majority of our loans targeted toward low- to moderate-income minority neighborhoods.”
South Shore Bank is listed in the newly released book, ”How to Make the World a Better Place,” by Jeffrey Hollender (Quill William Morrow; $9.95). This is one of the best comprehensive guides for individuals who want to
”effect positive social change”; it has more than 100 easy-to-follow suggestions that cover everything from world hunger to money market funds.
Pocket reference
A guide you can carry in your pocket to the grocery store is ”Shopping for a Better World” (CEP, 30 Irving Pl., New York, N.Y. 10003; $5.95; 800-U- CAN-HELP). This catalog lists 1,300 household products made by companies, which are rated on 10 criteria, including environmental impact.
Even the fashion industry has taken a stand. At Norma Kamali`s spring collection show, models paraded down the runway carrying signs that read,
”Acid Rain Squad” and ”Ozone Protection.”
But while some people`s newfound commitment to the environment is simply a matter of buying an Earth Day T-shirt or preparing one meatless meal a week, others have made it a major driving force in their careers and lives.
WBBM-TV anchorman Bill Kurtis not only has developed environmental issues as his specialty but also has become a very visible presence at local Earth walk-a-thons and Earth Day planning sessions. Kurtis says he first became involved in ecological issues in 1978 when he did a documentary on the defoliant Agent Orange.
”I`ve become an urban ecologist,” he says. He has made changes in his lifestyle as well, including building a ”field of dreams” rooftop garden atop his three-story Lincoln Park home. Kurtis says he is considering even solar cells and a windmill.
”The environment interests me dramatically,” he says. ”I see it as the No. 1 story for the rest of my life. For that matter, it probably will be the No. 1 issue for the rest of all of our lives.” –
