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I recycle everything I can
Actually animals do not produce B12; it comes from microbes in soil. Animals generally concentrate it though. B12 is a complex issue; there are people who do not take supplements and have been strict vegans for decades and theoretically should be B12 deficient but aren't while there are people who eat meat every day but are deficient because they lack the intrinsic factor needed to utilize it. Some think that our higher level of hygiene removes the B12 that used to be in our diet when we ate unscrubbed root vegetables grown in rich soil instead of sterile root vegetables from chemically treated dead soil. Anyway, only vegans need to be concerned; vegetarians who even occasionally eat eggs or cheese should be fine. Iron is another concern because the iron in leafy vegetables isn't as easily utilized as iron from meat. Vegetarians tend to have lower iron levels (esp women) but it is usually sufficient. Vitamin D is probably the biggest concern. People who do not eat seafood and do not get much sun usually are low on vitamin D. I figure I'm ok because I drive a convertible (probably the most fun way to get your vitamin D). It is true that vegetarianism doesn't have to be an all or nothing proposition but it is also true that you don't need meat to be healthy and we would be healthier without meat than eating the standard highly processed Western diet.
I have solar panels on my roof, so the sun makes my hot water. Works fine, even in wintertime.
I walk or bicycle short distances, I use public transport if possible, I organize car sharing for long distance car rides if possible.
I buy the most energy saving electric devices available.
I dry my clothes on the line, in the attic if it rains - and not in the electric dryer.
I buy "eco" power from my power company. It's more expensive than regular power but they use the extra money to finance renewable energy power infrastructure. Like windmill power plants, cow-dung heat power plants and the like. They now have plenty of those things around here.
I recycle everything that can be recycled. I use old things as long as they work, even if they are ugly or outdated. (My computer is a 2003 model, but acceptably fast on Linux.)
I don't buy things that come in excessive packaging. I refuse to buy things that are known to be produced in any way that unnecessarily damages the environment. I refuse to buy things that pollute the environment unnecessarily after they are out of use. I inform myself about that sort of stuff. I also buy local products rather than imported ones if I have the choice.
After all I want to have a world to take over, when I become your evil overlord.
Most of it is pretty common in my country. All houses have 3 or 4 differently colored trash bins here. So you just need to sort the garbage and put it in the right bin. All electrical devices have "energy efficiency ratings" that you can see in the shop. One out of 5 houses has solar panels. You see many people dry their clothes outside. Eco power is offered by our local power provider. Well, the "smart consuming" is a little of an effort to make. Especially as you need to keep all the stuff in mind when shopping. But then, you just need to read the packings, read where the products come from and what they contain, and just know some basic chemistry, geology and biology and watch the news. Buy eggs from farms where chicken are kept outside and on the ground. Buy rice from regions where water is plenty, not from countries that suffer droughts. And so on....
Don't unneceserely spend electricity. Replace a regular ligt bulb with a compact fluorescent light bulb. Drive less,use a bicycle,public transport,by foot. Use less hot water,unless you are all on solar panels and stuff that provide you with electricity for free. Plant a tree and take care of it,make sure it grows and forfills it's purpose.Plant as many trees as possible,the more the batter and no one can deny that. Unplugging stuff helps aswell.Modems,Dryers,Computers,Speakers use vampire energy when they aren't used.Those light bulbs you see that shine red when it's off and shine green when it's on,those spend electricity,actully you can infact save a few bucks a month if you unplugg stuff..try focusing on the machines that have the most shiny bulbs.
I do what i consider reasonable...which is not a lot,what difference can it/we make..none.China and India Alone will pollute in there industrialised growing nations so much ,that our pathetic costly efforts are just a waste of time in most cases and a hindrance to our own stability...all our recycling does is take more money from our pockets in the way of taxes,and it creates a well needed modern industry and jobs which are in short supply.And our own developed nations industry's are suffocated with environmental restrictions that our products cannot compete with the no rules developing countries.Helping the planet to me is.... destroying us to make them what we was and are....it may buy time,20 years max i reckon....so f it ,and do as you need.
Technically, there are some nutritients in meat that you need. But filletofspam is still right. The amounts of meat that people usually eat today are unhealthy. You can also get some of the nutritients from veggie product such as iron from lentils and you could get others from substitutes. But you don't need to be outright vegetarian to make a difference. You could just eat vegetarian on most days, have fish on friday and meat on sundays. Pretty much like probably everyones ancestors did in past centuries. That would be totally sufficient for your proteins, iron and vitamin ingestion (yes, there is vitamin B12 in meat and you can't get that from plants).
Probably the one thing you can do that would most help the environment is to become vegetarian. Raising livestock is an ecological nightmare. While everyone worries about cars contributing to global warming raising livestock actually produces more greenhouse gasses than all forms of transportation combined. It takes about 10 lbs of grain protein to make one pound of animal protein. If people ate lower on the foodchain tremendous amounts of energy and water could be saved and agriculture would only produce a fraction of the pollution it does now. Not eating meat is better for you, better for the planet, and better for animals.
Most of thing I do that end up being somewhat consensions about environmental are more to save me money, and less environmental impact is just an added bonus.
I try to be very sparing with my driving, and plan my routes ahead so I don't have to back track.
I don't crank the heat up.
I try to keep any lights not needed off.
At work we recycle our paper, cardboard, and aluminum cans - but that's mostly because the recycling place is closer than the dump :P.
Also don't use AC in the summer - just open the windows at night and keep the house closed up during the day. I use a couple fans to circulate air. All my appliances are Energy Star rated at a decent rating, but again that saves me $$$ on the electric bill :P.
I use natural gas for my water heater and heater. I never litter. I hate when people do. I just started recycling cans. I Preserve my water for sure, got to in texas right now.
. I recycle a lot more than I can. . ..... I can is hardly anything .
i recycle & turn all the switches off... drive my family mad ^_^
I feel like i need to do more though
not eating meat is better for you?
Those r very good ways
I recycle. Sometimes.
saves watuh' CHA'KNO.
That's awesome!! =D
eat less food :*(
I don't shower .
Very nice :-)
Interesting
lol
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