Low-impact living by Jane Powers
One person switching off an unnecessary light isn't going to make a huge difference to the ecological health of this island. A hundred people doing so won't either. But, say one million people decided not to let a 60-watt bulb burn needlessly for an hour each day, then we'd be taking 60,000 kilowatt hours of energy out of the system. If that power were to be generated - or rather, not generated - by an efficient peat-burning station, then each day about 57 tonnes less of Irish bog would be going up in smoke (carbon, nitrogen oxide, sulphur oxide and particulate matter).
But that's not the only point in turning off the light. If you're the kind of person who has started to flick off the switch, then chances are that you're also looking out for other ways to conserve this planet's resources. Your eco-antenna is tuned in. You want to make a difference.
The reason I'm talking about this today is that this column is now in its 13th week, and I've been doing an informal quarterly review regarding my own impact on this earth. In just three months, I've changed considerably.
Not only am I now a compulsive switcher-offer, recycler and conserver, I also find myself doing things that would have seemed absurd before - but which now make perfect sense.
This morning, for instance, I followed my now-normal routine of having a shower while standing in a very large recycled rubber "tub trug" (a 35cm-high, flexible container available from garden centres for €10-€15), and using a vegetable-oil-based soap, so that the water can be re-used in the garden. I realise that this is not a possibility for time-pressed or less able individuals. But because I generally work from home, I find it a diversion to ferry buckets down the stairs and out to the garden over the course of the day. My plants are loving it, and so am I. There is a tremendous feel-good factor in using the water twice, and keeping it out of our hard-pressed sewerage system. Now, if all able-bodied folks showered while standing in containers . . . Okay, I won't pursue that one.
But, surely, some of you must have incorporated similar changes in your lives? Write to me, and let me know - especially if it's something that you could never have imagined doing previously. I've told you mine, now tell me yours.