Life Kit - Our favorite ways to live sustainably

Episode Date: April 21, 2022

Climate change calls for long-term, systemic solutions, but that doesn't mean we can't all strive to live more sustainably. Life Kit is here with solutions from your kitchen to your closet.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

This is NPR's Life Kit. It's Earth Week, and let's not dance around it, being an Earthling isn't easy these days. Flash floods and devastating earthquakes, extreme heat and shrinking ecosystems and rising sea levels and raging forest fires. No matter where you are on the planet, the effects of the climate crisis are vast and real. They're a constant source of big worry and fear for most, and big struggles for many. It can be easy to feel hopeless amid so many compounding disasters, or frustrated by the snail-slow pace of change. And it's true, individual action has its limits. But it's not too late to come together and make a real difference.

According to a recent report from the UN, the world can still avoid the most extreme dangers of the climate crisis if, collectively, nations can work together to embrace the solutions and technology needed to cut emissions rapidly. Again, to be clear, we're not putting solving the climate crisis on you, listener. That's done by governments and policies. But we know that our decisions matter. Using less energy at home, choosing to live and work in walkable areas, composting, upcycling, all of

these individual choices can add up and help tip the scales towards progress. And the good news is there are endless ways to start. I'm Andi Tagel, one of the producers of this show, and in this episode of Life Kit, our team is here to help you get going on your green living with tips from some of our favorite sustainability episodes. We've got a list of ideas as big and green as your favorite tree, so don't you leave. Up first, producer Sylvie Douglas. Hey, Sylvie. Hey, Andy. So my tips are about food waste. We all know it's a huge contributing factor to the climate crisis. But I learned from our episode about combating food waste that 8% of greenhouse gas emissions come from wasted food. And roughly half of food waste occurs during the consumption stage, meaning waste from food service, restaurants, and households.

That is a lot. Yeah, it's something we all know that we can work on by being more thoughtful and realistic when grocery shopping. Or for me, it's really just resisting the urge to order takeout when I've got fresh groceries just waiting to be used. But there's a few tips that I want to share, and they both have to do with one kitchen appliance. Can you guess what it is? Could it be the fridge or the freezer? Yes, it's the freezer. Make the freezer your best friend. So that's Tiffany Derry. She's a chef in Texas and she's a huge proponent of using your freezer to cut down on waste. I freeze anything that I'm not going to use quickly. Berries, pineapple,

I mean, all of those fruits are things that people buy already. Why not get it while it's in the peak of season and then pop it in a bag and just have it in your freezer ready to go? You know it's delicious. You know what time of the year it was brought in. And freezing food is healthy, too. Freezing stuff locks in flavor and nutrients, and it's better than letting groceries languish in the fridge. Oh, my poor groceries. So many have languished. And I hear you have another freezer tip up your sleeve. Yeah, my freezer is not that big, but I'm putting it to work with another way that I tackle

food waste, which is composting. So I started composting in the past couple years, but I live in an apartment. I don't have any outdoor space, so I compost in my freezer. And then once a week, I take this sort of alien looking popsicle of frozen peels and pits and rinds and coffee grounds, and I drop it off at my community garden. And it's kind of fun because you get to meet other people in your neighborhood doing the same thing, and you get to spy on their eating habits too. I would not be mad at that. And bonus, if it's frozen, it doesn't smell right, because I know that's what a lot of people have a problem with when it comes to composting. Yeah, no smell. And then it gets turned into rich, healthy soil. And last summer, they gave me a baggie of the soil from our community garden to bring home and use in my houseplants. Wow, a full loop. I love it. Yeah,

it's great. But I've also learned about some ways to compost that rely less on the trusty freezer. There's vermicomposting, which is where you take a big sort of five-gallon bin, order some worms online, and compost indoors. And then there's also the Japanese method of bokashi, which is essentially fermenting your food scraps. So there's a lot to look into. Worms and bacteria. What fun. Thanks, Sylvie. Thanks, Andi. Up next, producer Audrey Nguyen. Hey, Audrey. Hey, Andi. What have you got for us today? My tip comes from an episode I worked on last summer with Rebecca Davis about plastic. I got to say, when I sit down and think about the plastics problem for too long, I get really overwhelmed. Like, I know we're not going to recycle our way out of the climate crisis, so I've definitely questioned how much my actions, like, as an individual, can make an impact. But working on the piece helped me recognize on a very emotional level that some action is better than none.

I feel you. Overwhelmed is the right word for sure. There are so many plastic products in our life. They all have different numbers. I just, I don't even know where to start. Well, in the episode, Rebecca interviewed Yvette Arellano, the founder of an environmental justice organization called Fenceline Watch. The group is based in my hometown, Houston, Texas. And they advocate for marginalized communities that are concerned about the long-term effects of pollution from petrochemical plants. Why is it so important to use less plastic anyway? Because it affects children's lives.

It increases cancer rates. And it hurts people. You know, why would we want to participate in something that is actively oppressing and hurting people's health? Before working on the episode, I hadn't fully appreciated the relationship between fossil fuels, plastics and public health. Yeah, actively oppressing and hurting people. Wow. What more can we do about this, Audrey? So we've all heard the phrase recycle, reduce, and reuse. And lots of folks say we should put more emphasis on the reducing and reusing part of that instead of just maintaining the same level of consumption and just recycling. Now, full disclosure, I've gotten a lot worse about using single-use plastic

during the pandemic with all the takeout I've been eating. You're not the only one, I'm sure. Also guilty. So I've been thinking about something another expert did. What I started doing was literally taking an inventory of all of the plastic in our apartment. That's Shilpi Chotre. When we talked to her, she was the global communications lead from Break Free From Plastic. Shilpi tallied up the different types of plastic packaging she had in her home, which gets me to the tip I'm here to share today. Do an audit of the plastics in your home.

It'll help you understand not only how much plastic you're using, but also how you're using it. So you can make an actionable plan about how to cut back. It was a wake-up call for us because a lot of the plastic that we thought could be recycled, we learned they're actually not getting picked up by curbside recycling. Oof, auditing the whole house sounds like a huge undertaking. Imagine you want to go room by room, right? I know there are a lot of plastic bottles in my bathroom right now, for example. That's exactly right. Go room by room. Take note of all the plastic and don't forget to check the trash. Shilpi says that the two main areas you're probably going to see the most plastic are in your kitchen and like you noticed yourself, Andy,

the bathroom. After you finish your inventory, think about ways you can reduce your use of those plastics. Okay. Are there any sustainable swaps that you've tried? Any that you recommend? Any favorites, Audrey? I think one of the easiest things I've done is switch from body wash to a bar of soap. I also recently discovered that there's a shop down the street from me that lets you bring in your own containers and buy hand soap and dried goods. So I'm going to check that out later this week. I also tried switching over to toothpaste tabs at some point, but my partner hated the texture and like hard vetoed that swap.

So those are out. I am team veto on that. We tried. I can't, I just, I don't, I can't do it. But definitely lots to consider this Earth Day or perhaps Plastic Free July. Thanks, Audrey. Thanks. Hey, Andy. Hey, Megan, managing producer of Life Kit. What do you have today? Well, Andy, before we get started, I just want to say that's a really nice top you have on today. How many times do you think you've worn it? Oh, thanks, MK, this whole thing.

I picked this up last spring maybe and have just brought it back now that the weather's a little warmer. So maybe 10 times. Okay. All right. The reason I ask you, uh, it's not to shame you, I promise, but rather to get us thinking about how often we really wear the clothes we have in our closet. You know, trends move so quickly these days, uh, and I'm on ticked off enough to know that the youths are going to make fun of anything that I own that was in fashion before like the year 2016. And it's very tempting to just buy the cheap stuff and, you know, wear what's ever the micro trend right now. People are so quick to, oh, it doesn't fit anymore. Trash.

Oh, this doesn't look anymore. Trash. That's Symphony Clark. She goes by the thrift guru on TikTok. I know her. She was in our sustainable closet episode. Sure was. We live in this generation now where people won't even get caught dead seeing people like

wearing the same outfit twice. That's the lifespan of their clothing. Once a picture is taken, it's done. Now, I'm not quite at that level, but I have been known just to buy a new piece of clothing simply because I wanted it and not because I needed it. And that leads to a bigger issue, right? Because so much of used clothing just ends up in landfills. Yes. And it's estimated that only 1% of clothing actually gets recycled. You know, making textiles is a very water-intensive process, not to mention human labor issues. I mean, there is just so much wrong with how clothing gets manufactured.

It's overwhelming. But as a consumer, you can think about, you know, buying more thrifted clothes. And this is my tip for you. Before you buy, ask yourself this question. When you go shopping, when you look at an item, will you wear this item at least 30 times? And that alone will get people thinking like, what? Why would I want to wear something 30 times? That's really the key. You want to actually extend the lifespan of clothing. That's a really nice mindset shift. You know, you're creating a speed bump for yourself to see if this is something you're going to keep out of a landfill. Plus, think about money, right? Cost per wear. Exactly. And I would even go further and recommend people think about a 60 or a 90 wear test. If you get a stain on it,

how are you going to take care for that piece of clothing so you just don't toss it out? So my tip is to think of your clothes not as disposable and use this 30-day rule before you bring something new into your closet. I love it. I'm going to see how many wears I can get out of this shirt now. Thanks, MK. Thank you. hi andy beck our wonderful visuals editor hello hello so i want to kick us off with a little trivia oh gosh you ready Go for it. Okay. What percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. would you attribute to buildings? Okay, I have had to guess a lot in this episode.

Am I on a secret game show? Okay, what percent would I attribute to buildings? Maybe 10%? Ooh, Andy, I'm sorry. You're not going to win that brand new electric car. No, no, not a bad guess, but it's more. Buildings in the United States are responsible for 30% of greenhouse gas emissions across the country. If you want to do something about climate change, your home is among the most important places to look. That's Danelle Baird, the CEO of BlockPower. While we don't

have control over all buildings, if we start where we do have some control, our homes, there's definitely something that we can do to reduce emissions, even if you're renting. So in a lot of states, if you pay your utility bill, you may have some control over the source of your electricity. Here's Baird again. The very first thing you can do is you can call your local utility company and you can let them know that you want your electricity to come from 100% clean energy. Wow, this is huge, Beck. I had no idea this was an option for renters. Yeah, it's exciting. It's called consumer choice. And while your utility company stays the same, you can sometimes choose the supplier of

your energy. So I rented a room in a group house in DC for many years, and my housemates and I did this. Our utility company was Pepco, but we had an option to choose who actually supplied that energy. All in all, it took about 30 minutes to make the switch, and then boom, every month, you're just automatically getting electricity from clean energy. Wow. This is a great tip, Bec. But 30 minutes, is it that easy? I'm assuming you want to look at rates and read all the fine print, of course. For sure. Yes, absolutely do your due diligence. But in terms of environmental impact for time spent, this is a really good return on investment. Yeah, absolutely. Sounds like a super easy and efficient way to reduce your carbon footprint. Yeah. So just call your utility company or set

aside a little time with Michael Guglielmi to see if this is an option for you. And I know that spending time on the phone with your utility company is no one's favorite pastime, but I'm very bad at life admin, and I promise that this is actually pretty painless. And if you find out that it's not an option for you, there are tons of other ideas about how to green your home in our episode, from switching out your light bulbs to insulating your windows. Really sexy stuff here, I know. But it does make a difference. So just search LifeKit, climate change, and home, and it should be one of the first results.

Yes, please. And there's a lot more where that came from. The planet will thank you. And so will we. Yes, we will. Thanks, Bec. Thank you. And that brings us to the end of our episode.

We hope we inspired you to start being more sustainable in your corner of the planet. But if these tips don't do quite enough for you, don't forget about the two very powerful tools already in your toolbox. Your voice and your vote. Run for local office. Write to your politicians and demand more climate action. Tell your favorite companies what green practices you want to see from them or divest from ones that don't have them. Amplify the work of climate scientists on your social media or voice your support for sustainability bills.

We can all make a big impact with our words, our wallets, and the ballot box. The time is now. You can find the full version of all the episodes we talked about today at npr.org slash life kit. And if you love life kit and want more, subscribe to our newsletter at npr.org slash life kit newsletter. And now a random tip from one of our listeners. My name is Chris Mahaffey. I make a lot of hummus, but cleaning up after hummus isn't actually not that fun. So what I've started doing is putting soap and water into the blender and pressing pulse multiple times to get it cleaned on its own. That way, you pour the water right out, do a little scrubble, and you're fine. If you've got a good tip, leave us a voicemail at 202-216-9823

or email us a voice memo at lifekit at npr.org. This episode of Life Kit was produced by Sylvie Douglas with engineering support from the fabulous team at NPR West, Robert Rodriguez, Gilly Moon, and Maggie Luther. Megan Cain is the managing producer. Beth Donovan is the senior editor. Our production team also includes Audrey Nguyen, Claire Marie Schneider, and Mansi Khurana. Our digital editor is Dalia Mortada, and our visuals editor is Beck Harlan. I'm Andi Tegel. Thanks for listening.