Jacob Kaessinger

I convert all of my bills, where possible, to electronic delivery. It is more secure, more flexible, and gives me the ability to respond to issues at my own leisure. 

I would like ensure that any interactions I have with government, such as filing my taxes, registering to vote, and eventually even voting, are securely encrypted and paperless. There are obvious concerns about privacy, but the technology to address these concerns already exists - we as a society must drive the requirement that it be implemented.

I absolutely do make trips that are a single mile or less. We allow for waste when we can rationalize it as "saving time," since we are, by and large, stuck in a mindset that any travel time or unproductive time is "time wasted." 

It's important to break away from that rigid philosophy once and a while (or maybe every day!) and just enjoy a quick walk to the store instead of driving.

Working from home can be a terrific way to lessen our environmental impact, but consumer internet products and commercial communication products both have to become more affordable and streamlined before working at home can be seen as the norm. 

Consumer internet is not often available at adequate speeds (100-1000 mbps) and latencies (less than 30ms ping) in most housing areas, in order to allow fast, seamless work from home. This type of internet is often only available to consumers who already live in high cost of living areas, and is often priced at the top of the range for high income earners, making working from home for lower income earners completely infeasible. The practice of capping consumer internet to a maximum amount of data per month also presents a severe roadblock to users who must upload, download, and host video conferences while working from home.

The most fundamental roadblock is the infrastructure of US internet itself. Without strong internet neutrality laws that explicitly require all traffic to be treated equally, employees may end up footing an unreasonable bill for working from home, simply because their internet service provider will have the option to throttle (or artificially slow down) their work-related traffic, unless the employee or company pays for faster internet. 

Specialized recycling companies may provide recycling for large electronics, batteries, and scrap metal for free (they may even credit you!). These types of larger, more complex items aren't accepted in standard recycling and are often thrown out (or stuffed away in someone's basement) instead. 

"Organic farming" must take on new meaning. Can we feed the world worth of food without using pesticides, chemical treatments, or highly processed foods? Yes, I believe we can.

On the other hand, can we do so without changing our eating habits, and without using modern farming techniques and new technology? Not likely.

Turn off lights when you leave the room!

Weather patterns at all scales - global, regional, even locally - are becoming less and less predictable due to humanity's effect on the world. We all owe it to ourselves to prepare for unpredictability, but the issue reaches beyond increasing our immediate efficiency.

Keeping lots of emergency water storage in your household or apartment isn't always practical. However, keeping enough for a brief water shortage (1-2 days of drinking water per person) can be accomplished with a reusable water storage container. This can alleviate the immediate need for drinking water distribution in an emergency. Using reusable containers means water can be filled and treated locally at home in a reusable container, and that water can even be reused (for example, to water your lawn!). 

Consider limiting the number of always-on electronics that drain power in the background while not in use, or use a smart power strip to disable them when not in use.