ten fold increasing what is termed our - PDF document

ten fold increasing what is termed our Ôecological footprintÕ or the landrequired to support each of us. As the population increases along with the also diminishes, creating a kind of double jeopardy.Since 1950 our global population has more than doubled while the eco-productive land globally hasbeen halved due to increased consumption of an exponentially growing population.http://www.worldometers.info/. Fortunately for our species, most of the world does not live as we door the game would be over. Unfortunately however, the rest of the world is striving to attain all thepleasures we enjoy and have so successfully marketed. Should the population of the entire worldattain the current U.S. lifestyle, we would need another TWO EARTHS, which of course puts us in abit of a predicament.1Clearly some drastic changes will certainly be required in order to change the course of events and tosuccessfully market another lifestyle in the global context. WE must make it work at the smallestscale. Individual actions by each of us, large and small, are required. Small actions can, and in factdo have large repercussions rippling out like waves from each little raindrop landing on the surface ofa pond.So, where do we begin? It turns out that we have a away at these numbers incrementally, one room and one choice ata time!LetÕs start with the bathroom. It is one of the smallest rooms in a it to get hot.3. Use dual plumbing for shower/sink/washer if tearing into bathroom walls, harvesting thegreywater for landscape irrigation. You might even consider greywater flushing to save 1.5 gallonswith every flush.4. Insulate hot water pipes if access permits. This keeps water hot as it goes through the pipes,reducing water use waiting for hot water, and reduces energy consumed making hot water.5. Use recycled, reclaimed, FSC wood, bamboo, or biocomposite alternatives for cabinets,shelves and other built-ins. Recycled wood, reclaimed wood from local urban forestryhttp://pacificcoastenterprises.com/ , or Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified wood guaranteesthat forestry practices ecosystems;Bamboo (actually a fast-growing for walls and counters. Made from various percentages of post-consumer researched and developed over the last ten years byHabitat Studio, is a tool for making