Treehugger

One of the most difficult parts about breaking in to “eco-action” and incorporating environmental ideals into your daily life is being able to contextualize planet-wide problems down to an individual level. Live more ethically [www.sundancechannel.com], we say, or think about your carbon footprint [www.sundancechannel.com]; that all sounds good, and are good goals to have, for sure, but aren’t as easy to practice as we’d like, sometimes. Fortunately, when it comes to “ethical” living, at least, there’s a superb example of how to do it, from a guy who calls himself “Ethical Man.”



It all started when the BBC asked Justin Rowlatt to live as ethically as possible for one year, and write about it. He thought he and his family were doing pretty good on their own. To wit:

“We get organic fruit and vegetables delivered each week (by an LPG powered vehicle, the company assures us). The same company supplies us with locally sourced eggs, bacon and milk. Other food and household supplies we get from the supermarket and I'll pick up a few extras from a convenience store on the way home from work. By the end of the week our council recycling box is usually full. We do have a car - a two litre petrol estate - but we hardly ever use it; just for shopping and trips on the weekend with our two young daughters, Eva and Zola. My wife and I take public transport to work and the girls walk to school. We usually have two foreign holidays a year but, since the girls were born, more often than not these will be in Europe.”

Not bad, eh? Well, as it turns out, this lifestyle was responsible for a carbon footprint of about 10 tons per year, which is about 3 tons more than the average Brit. Eek.




As Justin learned, “ethical” is really about thinking through the ramifications of every action, every day. The important part is not to make the perfect choice every time, necessarily, but to think about it; if you’re okay with eating eggs from a chicken raised in a small cage, okay, but don’t just gloss over it and move on. Learn more about what Justin learned by reading his blog [www.bbc.co.uk].

Another good example on this side of the pond comes courtesy of the Toronto Star [www.thestar.com], which gives us and “hour by hour guide to being a model citizen,” from the ringing of the alarm clock, which should not have batteries but should be powered by renewable energy from your local utility, throughout the rest of the day. Shower in cool water. Don't flush the toilet. Drink fair trade coffee while you poach your free range organic eggs. Getting the idea?



For further inspiration, New Consumer [www.newconsumer.com] has a list of the top 100 Ethical Heroes: “these are the people who we think have made the biggest contribution to ethical consumption over the half decade.” Al Gore checks in a number four, and TreeHugger’s very own Graham Hill makes the list at number 58. For inspiration and leading by example, there’s something we can learn from every one on the list.