Reduce your Own Carbon Footprint Today

There is so much talk about carbon footprints. How much CO2 we produce from how we continue to live through our daily routines does matter. This is not just market talk. This is real and is calculated on a daily basis by environmentalists, by responsible governments and by caring communities. We may always see it as a topic to be discussed over coffee and view it only as a policy to be carried out by our governments in the long run. We may view it in the third person and feel detached from the idea of being responsible for our own carbon footprints.

How much do we individually produce anyway? I ran a simple test through an internet based carbon footprint calculator and found that I alone produce 4 times more carbon than what is expected of me! Let's do this together and each of us can reduce the emission of CO2 a bit a day but enough to save this planet.

Let's do these simple acts individually:

1. Switch off all our electrical appliances when not in use. Do not even leave them on standby because invariably, that habit still emits CO2.

2. Don't buy the clothes dryer you've been thinking about getting although your neighbours will think you're cool. Hang washed clothes out in the sun. I know the rainy season in Malaysia robs us from the freedom to leave our clothes out on the clothes' line the whole day but I'm sure we'll be able to overcome this minor setback.

3. Don't take a long bath unless you're dying to have one. Take a quick shower instead and save water.

4. Walk to your lunch. Most people have their lunches at restaurants or stalls within walking distance from their offices. Do that and save on your car's carbon emissions. Otherwise, car pool to lunch.

5. If you have to drive, plan your journey. When was the last time you had to drive down the same road twice when it was supposed to be a quick dash to the neighbourhood grocer?

6. Plan your menu - don't waste food. Buy food that you are sure to cook and don't buy merely to fill up the refrigerator. Don't buy on impulse either. More often than not, the vegetables or perishables you bought on impulse will find their way to the bin upon expiry because you failed to find time to cook them.

Shall we start today?

Organic Food, anyone?

If you are into organic food, you would know that nothing organic comes cheap in KL. If you live in the outskirts or in the 'kampungs', the probabilities of getting pure organic food would be higher, although  commercialism is slowly pushing vegetable growers in those parts of Malaysia to aim for quicker harvest and nicer looking vegetables, thus, the popular usage of chemical-based pesticides and fertilisers. Those who frequent Cameron Highlands in Pahang would soon realise that most of the farming activities in this supposed vegetable haven are carried out using extremely harsh and earth-polluting methods. There are but a few growers who have recently turned to more organic practices in view of the more expensive prices tagged for organic food but the majority of growers still practice the conventional methods of farming.

Go to any supermarket, and you will find that organic vegetables or any other organic-labelled food items are always tagged at a higher price than those produced under the conventional food-producing practices. Why? Demand and supply comes to mind. Less people demand for organic food and therefore, there is no initiative for food-producers to supply these items into the market.

Today, even the supposed Pasar Tani found in most towns sell vegetables which are planted in the harshest of practices and which hurts the earth in the long run. The South East Asian Nations have come up with a standard to be conformed by producers to obtain the 'organic' certification. In Malaysia, Sirim Berhad has established a certification process named MS 1529:2001 for the adoption of organic food growers and processors. They too, recognise that the prices of organic foods are higher as the growers have to comply with the standards set to achieve such certification. Avoidance of usage of synthetic materials in the processes, for example, is a definite must.

Anyway, for those who wonder if turning to organic food does help the environment, the answer is YES! Other than the usage of chemical pesticides, conventional farming use a lot of nitrogen compounds in the fertilisers which slowly enter our water-system through rivers and contaminates our waters and when used as fertilizers, breaks down into nitrate that promote faster and more harvest for the plants. The sad part is that excess nitrate enters the soil and pollutes the surface water-entries. Now, nitrate causes serious illnesses in human beings, ESPECIALLY younger children. Do you ever wonder why sales of water filters have grown tremendously in recent years? There is a unmistaken recognition that our waters are being polluted but rather than nipping it in the bud, we have chosen to simply filter out the probabilities of it affecting us. Something like, shoving it under the carpet?

How to do your part? It might hurt your pocket a bit today, but if overall demand gets higher, the farmers will have to change their methods and flood the market with organically-grown vegetables and prices would be averaged out in the long run. Remember when handphones used to be a luxury item and cost almost RM6k each? Today, you can own 60 of the same handphones with that price! The more people want it, the more producers will cater for that demand and the market will thus be flooded with these items and kapow! the prices will average out. So, save the environment - do your part!