Affordability of a No/low Impact lifestyle

1. Affordability of a No/low Impact lifestyle

2. No Impact Man's Top Ten Eco-Lifestyle Changes . 1. Stop eating beef. Worldwide, beef production contributes more substantially to climate change than the entire transportation sector. Plus, a diet with no or less beef is better for you anyway.2. Give up bottled water. The production of plastic water bottles together with the privatization of our drinking water is an environmental and social catastrophe. Bottled water costs more per gallon than gasoline. Plus, the health consequences of drinking water from plastic are not clear.3. Observe an eco-sabbath. For one day or afternoon or even hour a week, don't buy anything, don't use any machines, don't switch on anything electric, don't cook, don't answer your phone, and, in general, don't use any resources. In other words, for this regular period, give yourself and the planet a break. Keep your regular eco-sabbath for a month. You'll find that the enforced downtime represents an improvement to your life.4. Tithe a fixed percentage of your income. Currently, many of our societal health and welfare services, at home and abroad, are tied to consumer spending which, in turn, depends upon planetary resource use. But the idea of buying stuff to help people is crazy, especially when you consider that our consumption is harming the habitat that we depend upon for our health, happiness and security. If you want to help, don't go shopping. Just help. Commit to tithing part of your income to the non-profits of your choice.5. Get there under your own steam. Commit to getting around by bike or by foot a certain number of days a month. Not only does this mean using fewer fossil fuels and creating less greenhouse gasses, it means you'll get good, healthy exercise and we'll all breathe fewer fumes. A city with pedestrian and bike traffic is a lot more pleasant to live in than a city filled with vehicles.6. Commit to not wasting. Wasting resources costs the planet and your wallet. Don't overheat or overcool your home--a few degrees make a huge difference. Let your clothes hang dry instead of using the dryer. Take half the trips but stay twice as long. If your old cell phone works, consider not getting another. Repair instead of rebuy. The list goes on and on.7. Build a community. Play charades. Have dinners with friends. Sing together. Enjoying each other costs the planet much less than enjoying its resources. Let's relearn to joke around and play in ways that cost nothing to our pocketbooks or our planet.8. Take your principles to work. The old adage "the cost of doing business" can no longer hold true. We must act as though we care about the world at work as much as we do at home. A company CEO or a product designer has the power to make a gigantic difference through their business, and so do the rest of us.9. Dedicate a day's worth of TV viewing to eco-service each week. The average American watches four and a half hours of TV a day. Take one day off from the tube each week and joining with others to improve our planet. Voluntary eco-service is a great way to find community who support your values and also a great way to learn about environmental issues and the quality of life issues that go along with them.10. Believe with all your heart that how you live your life makes a difference to all of us. We are all interconnected. We make a difference to each other on many different levels. Every step towards living a conscious life where we consider the consequences of our actions provides support to everyone else--whether you know it or not--who is trying to do the same thing. We are the masters of our destinies. Let's act as though it is so.

3. As of 2002 the average annual wages for a Texan was $36,248, with the median disposable income falling around $2,750 according to the United States Department of labor

4. Doing the math the approximate median cost of living in the state of Texas is about $33,498

5. Beef: Beef production is significantly more impacting on the environment than chicken production, while chicken is healthier for you and cheaper than beef by more than 20% typically. Other alternatives to beef such as some types of fish and non-meat foods are even cheaper than chicken and even healthier for you. Savings in one year=varies but 20% of price payed for meat if beef is taken out your diet

6. Bottled Water: The average American drinks 28 gallons of bottled water a year according to an organization called the National Resources Defense Council, and the average liter of water cost around a dollar so Americans spend about $106 per year on bottled water. Filtration systems cut cost by a factor of about 1-10 so by purchasing a filtration system and drinking 28 gallons of water from it you would pay around $10. Savings in one year=$96

7. Electricity: Central Texans spend approximately 4% of $33,498 or roughly $1340 a year. Cutting back on your A/C, not using hot water unnecessarily, turning off lights during the day, using power strips that can be turned off when not needed, reducing TV watching by half an hour a day, and not using your dryer on light, quick drying items such as t-shirts, underwear, and shorts can save well over %10 on your electricity. Savings in first year=$134

8. Gas: We know that driving and producing gasoline is destructive to the environment, but without reliable alternatives it is hard for us as Texans who often live further from our commuting destinations than most populations around the world; it is difficult to cut gas consumption. Also with rising prices, a wide varience in gas use per person, and extremes in gas efficiency of vehicles it is difficult to calculate a savings amount for. The easiest way to put it is, the more you cut gas use, whether it’s by driving less, carpooling, driving more fuel efficient vehicles, the less money you will spend and the less impact you will have on the environment. Savings in one year=numerous

9. Garden: According to the venerable seed company W. Atlee Burpee & Co., a home vegetable garden “...will result in a 1 to 25 cost-savings ratio.” In terms I can understand, that means $50 in seeds and fertilizer can produce $1,250 worth of groceries purchased at a supermarket. Where else can you get that kind of return on your money or your time? • Bush Snap Bean ‘Heavyweight’ • Lettuce ‘Burpee Bibb’ • Bell Pepper ‘Home Run’ • Carrot ‘Big Top’ • Garden Pea ‘Super Snappy’ • Large Round Tomato ‘Steak Sandwich’ • You can construct, plant, and grow a 20’X20’ garden in Central Texas for around $200 including seeds. One year’s worth of the above vegetables can translate into $300 plus savings. Savings in first year=$100

10. Savings on a lower impact lifestyle can easily be over $330 a year but by cutting bottled water out of your life, cutting electricity, and starting a small vegetable garden you could easily saver that much.