Sunday, 24 February 2008

How to be GREEN even when you 're dead!


I just found this list of GREEN do's and don'ts on The Telegraph web-site including what and what not to do when you die!
How green are you?

DO'S AND DON'T'S

Going green is not just about recycling.

DO

• Fit energy-efficient light bulbs (see Telegraph offer, below)
• Insulate your house
• Wash your clothes at low temperatures
• Use rechargeable batteries
• Buy local, seasonal food
• Share car journeys
• Recycle as much as you can
• Fit water-saving devices to your loos
• Invest your money responsibly
• Include a green funeral in your will
• Buy products made from recycled materials
• Check for FSC certification on wood and paper products
• Take up cycling and walking
• Print on both sides of a sheet of paper
• Get a reusable shopping bag
• Switch to a "green" electricity supplier
• Buy top energy-rated appliances
• Have a shower rather than a bath
• Repair rather than replace products
• Buy an energy monitoring device
• Turn lights off when you leave a room
• Put an insulating jacket on your boiler
• Re-use gift-wrapping paper
• Buy organic produce
• Eat wild food
• Ask fashion retailers what they're doing to cut pollution from dyes and chemicals
• Reduce or eliminate your air travel

DON'T

• Buy bottled water
• Buy food or goods that come by air
• Buy too many clothes
• Leave your computer, TV and other equipment on stand-by
• Buy gold or diamonds
• Fly to your holiday destination
• Eat too much meat
• Buy black-listed fish
• Drive a gas-guzzling car
• Use a tumble dryer
• Install air-conditioning
• Throw away unwanted gifts
• Make your lawn look like a carpet
• Worry about weeds (too much)
• Bother with air fresheners
• Get an Aga if you haven't yet got one
• Buy gas log or coal fires (fake fires)
• Upgrade your mobile phone too fast
• Buy disposable cameras or barbecues
• Buy incandescent or halogen bulbs
• Drive fast and erratically
• Use peat or buy peat-grown plants
• Buy over-packaged products
• Get cremated
• Leave your car engine running
• Overheat your house (or office)
• Buy cut flowers

10 GREEN DEATH TIPS

Horrible as it may be, it's very important to make plans for your death while you're still compos mentis - even more so if you're concerned about green issues. Here are my 10 top tips:

• Donate your organs
• Say no to embalming
• Remove all jewellery and gold teeth before burial or cremation
• Dress minimal in death and choose natural fibre clothes such as hemp
• Select a "green" coffin (those made from recycled newspapers are best)
• Give cremation a miss
• If you want to be buried, chose a natural burial ground rather than an overcrowded graveyard
• Re-use graves after 20 years and put bones in an ossuary, as they do in Europe
• Choose not to have a headstone
• Don't waste valuable resources on elaborate pet coffins, urns and caskets

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