Arizona Explorers - Lifestyle

Low impact living is a loaded term at best. I try to live a life that has a low impact on the environment, whether I am outdoors or at home in the city. I have made a personal decision to "Tread softly and carry a big stick." It is my OPINION that many people do not think about the long term impact of their actions. Here are a few examples of little things I do to minimize my destruction of our beautiful planet.

Reuse Before Recycling
I try to reuse things rather than recycling; recycling is my second last resort (last being trash). When I get groceries I save the plastic bags. I use the plastic bags for trash, storing food in, and putting weeds in which I do not compost. I can not accept that it is better to expend resources to remanufacture plastic bags that someone else is going to throw away. By using them twice I double the duty cycle of the bag and eefectively reduce the resources to manufacture and deliver the bag by 50%! When I start getting a stockpile of plastic shopping bags, I ask for paper bags at the grocery store. These I use for crafts, giftwrap, cards, starting campfires, etc. There are a million uses. Food scraps can be turned into compost, potato skins can be turned into potatoes. The possibilities are endless.

Downsizing
I used to drive a full size GMC pickup. Now I drive an 87 Honda Civic Hatchback. I invested $300 into awesome Dunlop tires and have the car properly tuned. In the city I average 40 miles per gallon. On the highway I average 45 miles per gallon and have averged 51 miles per gallon on long drives (1000 miles). I will admit my car is no chick magnet, but I feel it is worth driving it to help offset the emmisions produced by the pendejo SUV people that try to run me off the road every day. Like most US households, we have a second car. It only gets 20 MPG. But, we only drive it 38 miles a week and 8 months a year. During the winter my girl rides her bicycle to work.

Existential Living
To us, the most important things in life are our family and friends. The most important things in our relationships are experiences that we share. Our buying decisions are based on two major questions:
"Will this purchase enhance or hinder us having shared experiences."
"Will this purchase wisely utilize resources."
Example: Should we buy a new car.
Decision: No.
Reason: Our cars work fine and we would have to work overtime to pay for New Car which would cut into camping and exploring. Additionally, it's probably a waste of natural and manmade resources since our vehicle has not blown up.
On the Lifecraft page you will find some great ideas for low impact living.