Ten Tips for Sustainable Living

by Heather Pabiou

The Sustainable Clonakilty Group  would like to encourage you, our fellow citizens, to join us in transforming our local area into a sustainable community, for the sake of ourselves, our children, their children and all future generations.  Consider adopting some or all of these ideas for a way of life more beneficial to the natural world, and all its inhabitants, including us humans.

1.  Be frugal. Rediscover the economical benefits of: ‘waste not, want not’, ‘use it up, wear it out’. Buy what you need, buy second-hand if possible.

2.  Recycle your waste, your unwanted furniture, clothes, household goods to reduce the strain of excess consumption on natural resources and the difficulties of waste management.

3.  Use smokeless fuel or renewable heating sources to preserve air quality and reduce excess dependency on fossil fuels.

4.  Save energy in your home: install low energy light bulbs in frequently used areas, turning them off for absences of more than five minutes. Use appliances sparingly.

5.  Consider making sustainable changes to your home: install insulation, renewable sources for heating etc., or choose environmentally friendly options when building a new home.

6.  Grow fruit and vegetables, using your own compost. Why not plant some trees too?

7.  Buy from your local community where possible to reduce the transport of goods and encourage sustainable independence.

8.  Walk, cycle and share cars if possible. Use car parks on the edge of town to improve air quality and give a peaceful atmosphere to the town centre.

9.  Support the local farmer’s market behind O'Donovan’s Hotel on Thursdays from 10 am to 2 pm to encourage local food production and reduce food miles.

10.    Buy organic occasionally or always for personal health, and to reduce dependence on chemical substances that accumulate in nature.

We are focusing on local, practical and sustainable steps for short and long term benefits to the community and environment of Clonakilty.  We aim thereby to make a real difference to the world we live in.