NO IMPACT CHALLENGE

So what has changed because of this week?

1. CONSUMPTION/TRASH: This week made me want to reduce more the amount of trash and recycling coming out of my house. A) We need to buy less packaged items, ask stores we frequent to provide items without packaging, ex: in bulk, and put pressure on the companies buying large volumes of packaging and Styrofoam trays to ask their suppliers for compostable packaging. Ex: cardboard printed with natural instead of toxic dyes. B) I am starting to refill bottles I already have with cleaning products, shampoos etc bought in bulk or homemade. There are a surprising amount of recipes online for easy-to-make and healthier alternatives to store bought cleaners/soaps.

2. TRANSPORTATION: A) Why are more kids not walking to school? Some can't because they live too far away and need to be bused, but many others can. If we think back to our own childhood, wasn't walking to and from school some of the most memorable times? B) I want to help more people get biking in Hudson. I am going to look into setting up a workshop for people to maintain, repair, add baskets / trailers and customize their bikes to make them better modes of transportation for short distance travelling around town when there is no snow.

3. FOOD: I am going to try to eat vegetarian at least one night a week and am making plans to grow more in my vegetable garden this summer. If you want to grow interesting heritage species not available from garden stores, order your seeds now. (www.cottagegardener.com is one of many places to order). If you want to eat more year-round from local producers, sign-up for the Marché de solidarité Vaudreuil-Soulanges by sending an email to demarche@cldvs.com - I'll see if we can put a link to download the pdf form on our site.

4. ENERGY: Didn't change much, put up retractable clothesline in basement for winter drying.

5. WATER: The only thing I came up with was to put bottles filled with water in the tanks of our two toilets to use less water per flush. I am also going to look into cost of collecting rainwater and/or grey water to reuse in our home, if feasible I'll try to implement in the future.

6. Joined RAN (Rain Forrest Network) www.ran.org because trees are so important to environmental health. Sent information to see if I could become part of the Water Analysis by Volunteers Network and start testing the local waterways for dangerous pollutants, waiting to hear back.

Christine