Your Carbon Footprint & Home Schooling
This year I started to work my business around home-schooling my son, and while looking at the topic of global warming we did a comparison exercise.
- We save on petrol and car wear and tear and thus pollution by not having to get to school every day (whether by car or public transport). I also don't have to travel to school for teacher meetings, nor waste their electricity providing me a meeting room.
- I don't have to buy school uniforms or bags, etc. or replace those that go missing. Imagine the saving on our carbon footprint by cutting out the need for production and selling of such items.
- I don't have to buy school lunches, either to pack or to purchase at the school tuck shop. Reducing our need for packaging, our need for freezing ice-bricks to keep lunches cool (due to global warming). Wasted uneaten food is not brought home due to the ice bricks not doing their job. Making lunch at home ensures a healthy diet and nothing is wasted. Scraps are put straight into the compost or worm farm.
- The vegie patch, compost bin and worm farm have become part of our 'home schooling' curriculum. My child sees a direct correlation, and he loves being involved.
- Paper isn't wasted, it's reused or shredded immediately. Shredded paper is then either taken to the pet shop, put in the compost, worm farm or mouse cage, or used to pack fragile parcels for posting.
- I don't need to wrap school books in plastic or contact to preserve their life. Our resources are sent to us via mailed workbooks - as are resource library books and audio/visual materials, which are then returned after use. We save space. We save money. We don't need to 'resell' anything at the end of the year or feel dreadful if we're unable to 'resell' these items and consequently see them ending up in landfill because no one, not even a charity, can use them (ditto for uniforms).
- We have our school day and no further homework, thus we don't need the power at night to light our 'homework battle'. (Can the lack of negative energy for homework battles count as a saving?) If it gets too hot in the house we go and work at the local library. Reducing the use of one air-conditioner (ours) and our need to hike up our power bill. The library is close enough to catch a bus and leave the car at home.
- The school has one less child using their water supply, sewerage, and power and one less child contributing to the school rubbish ending up in landfill.
- We save on Doctors bills and we are healthier, both physically and mentally. We don't need as many medicines to get through a school year or visit the doctor as often (nor do we need head lice treatments)! If you think of the footprint required to make medicines and head lice treatments, including their packaging together with the amount used to run doctors surgeries. It all adds up, and of course again we don't have to 'drive' to get or use any of these things.
- Lastly, we use Mac computers, which, (with each new year) use more and more eco-friendly components.
As you can see home-schooling has reduced our consumption. It means we can now afford to go and do other activities with other home-schoolers (a growing community). Of course there are other personal benefits as well.
If you're a woman and you want to reduce your carbon footprint - why not click here to visit 1 Million Women, whose goal is to empower 1 Million Women to collectively cut 1 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2), the main greenhouse gas pollutant triggering climate change.
© Angela Miller-Davis
For more tips and ideas subscribe to the Less Equals More newsletter. Angela Miller-Davis is a Professional Organiser who helps people to find solutions for an organised lifestyle through her consultancy Less Equals More, Brisbane. Click here for Angela's Blog. Angela is a member of NAPO (National Association of Professional Organizers).
