Life Attitude of an Earth Citizen

Zhang Yue, BROAD 2009.6.5(2nd edition on Aug.15,2012)

Every era has its different problems. Pollution and climate change have become the primary problems rather than political & economic ones our planet faces in the 21st century. For our own health and the life of our next generation, we are determined to develop a positive and delicate attitude toward life.

1.

Whenever possible, travel by bicycle or public bus.
2.

If you must own a car, choose the most fuel efficient and the lightest car available.
3.

Unless absolutely necessary, do not fly.
4.

Use energy efficient light bulbs.
5.

Use less water, especially hot water.
6.

When the weather is mild, use natural ventilation or a fan to replace air conditioning.
7.

When leaving a room, turn off air conditioning, ventilation, lights and other electric appliances.
8.

Install triple paned, plastic framed windows and external window shades on your home, and do everything possible to add thick insulation to the exterior walls and roof of your home.
9.

Buy less non-local food, packaged food and frozen food, and refuse to purchase food and products with excessive packaging.
10.

Use baking soda or soap instead of detergent and chemical products.
11.

Unless absolutely necessary, do not use disposable products.
12.

Do not purchase books and newspapers that will be thrown away after reading.
13.

Do not purchase things that your home doesn’t absolutely need.
14.

Do not quickly throw away used plastic bags, boxes and bottles.
15.

Do not quickly throw away food, clothing or even a piece of white paper with writing on one side. Be strict with garbage classification.
16.

If possible, do your best to grow your own vegetables and raise your own poultry, and do not use herbicides, pesticides, fertilizers or antibiotics.
17.

If possible, in the open space near the place you live and work do your best to plant trees and grow them to maturity.
18.

Use observation, reading, writing, household work, art and time with family and friends to lead a meaningful life; do not rely on consumption and travel to fill empty spaces in life.
19.

Use money saved through environmental protection for culture, education, household services and other non-material ,consumption; also use this money to buy organic foods and long-lasting, high quality goods that future generations can inherit. Do not buy a bigger house and luxury cars.
20.

Most importantly, only have one child. This will allow our population to return to a level that the earth can bear.
21.

Every day record how many pounds of goods the family buys, and at the end of the year, total these numbers. Compare the year-end total to the total body weight of the family and to last year’s year-end number.
22.

At the end of the year calculate the family’s total reduction of CO₂ emissions and tell other friends this number. This will increase people’s interest in environmental protection. If you use the asure that one large tree absorbs 18.3kg of CO₂ to calculate the family’s CO₂ reduction, then you can make people even more excited about environmental protection. If your environmental behaviors could be converted into 200 tree planting every year, then you have become a real "earth citizen"!

You can use the following data to check how many trees you plant yearly:

Reducing air travel by 6,000 km a year is the equivalent of planting 40 trees — if for every 100 km, each person consumes 4 liters of oil, and each liter of oil produces 3 kg of CO₂ .
Reducing car travel by 600km per month is the equivalent of planting 70 trees — if for every 100 km driven a car consumes 8 liters of oil.
Changing an 8 liter engine car to a 3 liter engine car is the equivalent of planting 100 trees — if every month the car travels 1,000 km.
Using a bicycle and bus to replace a car is the equivalent of planting 40 trees — if everyday the bicycle and bus travel 40 km.
Saving 1 kWh of electricty each day is the equivalent of planting 20 trees — if every kWh produces 1 kg of CO₂ .
Replacing an incandescent light bulb with an energy efficient bulb is the equivalent of planting 3 trees — if a 60W incandescent bulb is replaced with an 13W energy efficient bulb and turned on for 4 hours per day.
Replacing a single paned aluminum window with a triple paned plastic framed window is the equivalent of planting 25 trees — if the building is located in a place where winters are cold and summers are hot. like Beijing.
Adding an exterior shade to a window is the equivalent of planting 10 trees — if in the summer the air conditioning operates for 3 months.
Adding insulation to the exterior walls and ceiling of your house is the equivalent of planting 200 trees — if a 100 m² house is wrapped with 150mm thick insulation.
Using a heat exchange fresh air unit to replace a fan or an open window is the equivalent of planting 60 trees — if a 100 m² house needs heating and cooling for 6 months.
Using a water saving toilet to replace a traditional toilet is the equivalent of planting 3 trees — if a 3 liter toilet replaces a 12 liter toilet and is used 10 times each day.
Using a shower to replace a bath is the equivalent of planting 18 trees — if the entire family saves 120 liters of hot water each day in this process.
Using natural gas water heaters to replace electric water heaters is the equivalent of planting 20 trees — if every day the whole family uses 90 liters of hot water.
Purchasing mainly local food products is the equivalent of planting 30 trees — if the family gets 90% of its products within a 100 km radius of home.
Reparing old items and reusing waste is the equivalent of planting 10 trees — if everyday the family reduces 0.3 kg of available waste and old products (including packaging).
Not having a second child is the equivalent of planing 270 trees — if the world’s 7 billion people currently emit over 35 billion tons of CO₂ . (CO₂ emissions 5 ton per capita)

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