This is the start of this experiment.
I am going to start on January 1 2009 to be a zero footprint animal. It is going to take some radical shifts in thinking and perhaps some extreme changes in the way I live. I am going to attempt to do this whilst maintaining my work schedule which will take me across the country and indeed across the world (boat travel anyone???).
I hope that by Dec 31 2009 that I can say that i am as close to being zero carbon as is humanly possible.
This has come about by coming to a realisation that I have the ability to do it – that I am not burdened by mortgage or other debts, that I live in a city where bikes and public transport are possible modes of movement and also that I am already half way there as I live in a household that has such minimal waste anyway that going that extra step is ok.
I am currently in Perth, Western Australia on an art residency at CIA Studios. What seems to be a more simple concept when you are at home and you have set up the infrastructure to be able to deal with waste and sound purchases is more difficult when you don’t have immediate access to those things because you are in a foreign place.
This will be a challenge next year as I attempt to go zero carbon even when I am travelling – arggghhhhh.
ZERO MARTYN RULES
Waste
- Zero waste - 100% of what I purchase; recycled, composted or reused
- Don’t buy products that can’t be recycled or aren’t biodegradable
Food
- Buy only organic
- Buy local (from Victoria or if away within 300kms of the purchase point)
- 100 % Vegetarian
- Don’t buy food that has non-organic preservatives, additives or colours
- Plant herb garden and plant vegetable garden
- Food bought at cafes/restaurants etc needs to be organic and local
Water
- 2 x 2 minute showers (in line with target 155 Victoria)
- No watering the garden unless it is greywater from shower/kitchen/laundry
- Drink tap water, not bottled
- Cold water only for laundry
Clothing, House Items, Cleaning
- Buy local
- Don’t buy wood products from countries who don’t use re-usable timber
- Buy organic where I can
- No chemicals in cleaners
Transport
- Don’t use a car
- Offset car travel, when using a hire car or borrowed vehicle
- Use a bike when I can
- Use public transport and offset it
- Rethink plane use – can you get there by train?
Energy
- Use green energy sources that use the grid
- Move towards portable solar or a kinetic energy source throughout the year
- Offset Gas use
- Use more daylight hours
Work
- Record electricity use throughout the daytimes and offset each project
- Offset web pages/blogs
- Don’t use material that can’t be broken down
Other
- calculate carbon use and offset it either with tree planting or paying for it
