It can seem in the busy, busy life of the Noughties, that environmentalism is just another sticking pin in the race-track of our daily schedules, tripping us up as we race around the A4 page of a timetable; expressing dismayed, disapproving looks over the shoulders of loved ones as we give them new, shiny and entirely non-biodegradable birthday gifts that we had to buy in a mad rush; or poking its exasperated head out from behind the photocopier/printer when we accidentally, irretrievably send a 150-page document to print. But let's not be negative. "Environmentalism", whether you see it as a trendy new fad, an annoying phase that will pass, or (more positively) a new, more conscious way of living that has far more advantages than disadvantages; or (if you're not a hedonist) an essential, logical step towards our long-term survival, is here to stay. Non-conscious living (fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on your position) must become a thing of the past. Becoming aware of the consequences of our actions is now essential, something that our largely secular society has lost the ability to do. Conscious living will not be a dramatic change or new concept to those billions around the world adhering to the major monotheistic faiths of Buddhism, Christianity or Islam (or even the relatively minor, smaller ones), but to do a good thing by one's neighbour, and/or participate in attempts to preserve/replenish the environment does not necessarily require conversion and/or salvation. Here are some more pedestrian, smaller and achievable 'sticking pins' that can be achieved around the household:

Composting: If you aren't already, put all your fruit and vegetable scraps in a composting bin (for apartments and households; or a composting heap for bigger places) and stick the resulting soil on your pot-plants/gardens (even public ones). Can reduce your waste output to council bins by up to 25%, not to mention give you great plants.

Organic gardening: Research shows that industrial fruit and vegetable farming accounts for up to 25 percent of carbon emissions in the atmosphere. Growing your own, while not new, can take this carbon out of the atmosphere, especially if grown organically. In an era of rising inflation, it could also save you precious pennies!. If you rent a CBD apartment that is windowless and balcony-less, community gardens can be great to join - or start. If you live in house in surburban residential zones, converting as much of your land to productive as opposed to ornamental gardens (unless indigenous/native) can be useful. While this takes time (my husband and I are still deciding what will grow where, given the orientation and therefore sun exposure of differing parts of the front and back yards), and especially as most suburban soil plots require years of rejuvenation, organic fertilisation and strengthening (see ABC gardener Jerry Coleby-Williams website www.bellis.info for the best example on how to do this), finding your local community/farmer's markets can keep you stocked with locally grown, fresh and even organic fruit and vegetables.

Dairy and meat: Reduce/substitute your meat and milk intake. Cows take more water, grain and non-renewable resources to maintain than any other livestock on earth, and then produce huge amounts of environmentally unfriendly methane gas from their derrieres. Try kangaroo (salty), crocodile (great steak flavour and texture) or rabbit meats; and try soy, rice or goat's milk. You can even make a 'cream' for cakes from soy, canola oil, eggs and sugar whipped together. Non-cow cheeses and yoghurts have a long way to come as yet, but if you can reduce your overall intake then the odd cheddar block or Ski yoghurt won't be such an issue!.

Walk/Cycle/Public Transport: We've all heard about this. The biggest excuse I hear amongst friends about not taking the car is inconvenience, when boiled down. And a lack of autonomy. Catching public transport, or carpooling, does require adherence to somebody else's timetable, and along with walking/cycling can require a bit more preparation. But, if you haven't bought a hybrid car, and you do have to travel regularly, these are the best options to reducing carbon emissions from transport. Even better, move to a place that is well-serviced by buses, trams and trains - our Nissan Maxima, whilst not hybrid (we're waiting for emerging technology to become more efficient, if not cheaper) would probably only travel up to 10km a week because of our proximity to public transport and walkways to the usual required amenities of shops and schools (plus pushing a 6 month old baby in a pram, as well as carrying several heavy bags of groceries, can be a bit tricky over the 2km return journey). 

Don't buy plastic: We've all heard about the stranglehold of plastic bags/bottles/flotsam immortalising themselves in our landfills and oceans and killing our wildlife. There's a plastic patch larger than the size of Texas floating in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California. Take our addiction to buying bottled water - if every single one of the bottles we've drunk from and then thrown away were to come back to haunt us, they would fill several houses. Shopping bags - we all know not to use them. But are the synthetic "green bags" you can purchase for use instead any better?? Being made of a tough synthetic fabric, course not!!... Plastic is not just confined to packaging (lunch boxes, cling wrap, lolly packets etc), juice and water bottles, shopping bags, credit cards or toys. It is EVERYWHERE. Cars, building materials, house accessories (kitchens, bathrooms, lights, toilets), planes, furniture, clothing. Take your harmless jumper bought from most retailers to stave off the winter chill - most likely made from 100% acrylic = plastic. Or your pantyhose made from nylon - plastic again. Or your pants/skirt made from a rayon/polyester blend - that's right, plastic all over. Mattresses? Unless you buy futons, most mattresses are polyester foam, plastic springs and cotton/polyester covering - they will live almost forever in the dump when you next decide to get a new bed and toss the old one out. Even when you buy materials made from all natural materials, such as cotton, silk, linen, wool, hemp, wood or steel; you have to be careful that they have been organically grown (cotton and wool) and that no human rights abuses have occured in its production (cotton, silk). Or that it has emitted thousands of tonnes in carbon emissions just to reach your local shops (check for made in Australia, not made in China/Egypt/India/UK/USA). Then of course you want to make sure that in its processing with dyes, dye mordants (fixers) and flame retardents that the residual chemicals aren't going to harm the environment - or you, of course!. And remember, that's just with the natural materials. Research is only just starting to show that the chemicals used to make most domestically used plastics leach into the human body. There's a lady in the US who is trying to live without plastic and is blogging about it - check out lifelessplastic.blogspot.com

Buy local: Let's take coffee and tea in Brisbane. My husband, son and I just spent a weekend in Clunes and 'discovered' Byron Bay Coffee - Rosebank, Zentveld's, Ewingsdale, Eltham Valley. Locally and mostly organically grown, with a great flavour, and only just 'down the way'. Who needs all those international brands with dodgy human rights records on their coffee plantations, especially as the heavily dose the trees in artifical fertilisers and pesticides? And I've drunk Madura Tea, from Murwillumbah (near Byron) for 12 years - Australian made and owned, though they do also supplement their tea with imported leaves sometimes, unfortunately. But they seem the best local option on the market.

Be waste wise: Ultimately, this involves asking yourself as you reach out to buy something - do I really need it? It's only in the last 100 years that we have stopped trying to find, make, grow or otherwise do without the things that we spend a large proportion of our time purchasing, consuming, sorting and storing before throwing away. Re-using and recycling have attempted to counter our consumption addiction but at the end of the day, these also cost energy/produce waste. Better to consume far less, and THEN re-use and recycle.

This summary is a very brief overview of one person's suburban attempt to make life simpler, as well as preserve the earth. But as you can see, they can involve some large lifestyle, if not ideological changes only at first. But living consciously, if preferable to wholesale religious conversion, is living simply as well.