Sustainable Living in an Apartment with No Backyard
by michael on Oct.16, 2008, under Chit-Chat
It’s a challenge to live sustainably if one owns an arable plot of land — growing one’s own food, generating as little trash as possible, recycling every shred or drop of waste, developing home-grown energy sources. On Amazon.com the other day, I found several books that help struggling landowners take strides toward sustainability.
But what constitutes sustainability when one lives in a yardless loft that is built atop brownfields?
That’s my predicament at the moment. I moved to the city this summer to conserve fuel and land, to get some exercise, and to refrain from contributing to sprawl and the destruction of farmland, wetlands, and forest. (OK, I moved here to be within an easy walk to Starbucks, a Mongolian grille, and a Cheesecake Factory, too.)
Sure, I can recycle, I can join the Sierra Club, I can attend hearings in support of public transit, I can draw neighbors’ attention to the polluted river out front, and I can wean myself off of bottled beverages.
But what then?
October 18th, 2008 on 1:40 am
It is amazing what you can do with container gardening on a balcony!… composting, growing, etc…. on top of that you can use discarded buckets and bring your plants indoors when the night may get too cold, thus a growing season lasting 2-3 months longer than if you had a more typical garden
December 2nd, 2008 on 7:16 pm
Thanks for the suggestion — I’ll remember to get a balcony with my next home
December 11th, 2008 on 9:49 pm
well trying to reduce your ecological footprint on this planet should be your main agenda. Like you said will your neighbours really care about the river?
save your electricity bills go for some alternative for the lighting system, save water by replacing the shower heads with low flow heads and twin flush comodes.
but then it up to you if u really want to try and make a difference..