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New year, new chance to conserve resources A button reminds consumers to consume less. Furnished photo Wednesday Jan 11, 2017 at 8:53 PM Jan 12, 2017 at 5:27 PM By Risa Buck For the Tidings Here we are in a new year and opportunities certainly abound. Human nature tends to enable us to more comfortably critique what others ought be doing differently. It can be more effective and even challenging to point no fingers and begin to regularly observe our own actions and reactions. In that spirit I found myself trying to follow my daily activities with a renewed awareness to find opportunities to work toward improvements for 2017. I did not have to look too hard to land on one of my areas to stop being wasteful. One of our sustaining life sources is an area of great appreciation and protectionism, water. I drink it and swim laps in it most days, collect over 9,000 gallons in tanks off my rooftops for irrigation in the summer and was involved with marking storm drains a few years back. But what is also true is that I waste water when showering. So, I have started reducing my shower time for the new year. In today’s column I will offer ideas you might wish to consider embracing for the new year. The focus is things we can do to conserve and preserve our natural resources. Conservation through behavior change is one of the most cost effective and powerful actions we can take as humans. It’s harder to quantify the electricity you don’t use or the food you don’t waste because you ate it all or took less on your plate. It’s not sexy like purchasing solar panels for roof tops, but conservation efforts offer critical, affordable contributions we can make every day toward reducing our human impacts. This commitment to become more aware of wasteful behaviors and decide to make changes is a lifelong process. We need to be willing to stay aware and continue making tweaks to chip away at those areas where we can achieve reductions and even eliminate waste. 1. Water: Reduce shower time. Pledge to not let water run down the drain without a practical purpose. If you are waiting for dish water to heat up, collect in glass jars and use to drink or water plants. 2. Reduce or eliminate idling. This is relevant in summer and winter. This saves money and reduces pollution. Reject idling as a lifestyle! 3. Be prepared. Leave home with a water bottle, cup, to-go container, utensils and stockpile bags inside of bags in car. These items are every bit as useful as fuel in the tank. 4. Reduce car trips. Coordinate outings. Include non-driving transportation. 5. Eat what you buy. Don’t let it rot in fridge. Eat what is on your plate. 6. Pick up your dog’s poop. Protect storm drain run-off. Only rain down the storm drain. It flows into our creeks! 7. Turn lights/ appliances off when not in use. 8. Investigate ALL the services at the Ashland Recycle Center. 9. Give up wishful recycling. Learn what goes in the blue lidded (commingle) recycling cart and stick to it. 10. Buy in bulk (olive oil, honey, grains, teas, spices, nuts, cereals and much much more). 11. Be kind to yourself and others knowing we are all on the learning path (whether we are aware of it or not).  Consider some resolutions for the new year that involve a change in your behavior. It’s a bit retro in our high tech world and still completely worthwhile. Creating new habits takes time. Just because you forget doesn’t mean you have failed. It’s what you do with it the next time that counts. Conserving/saving our resources is something we can all do if we choose. The result is saving money and resources. If you don’t succeed, try try again. We have to think it's worth the effort. Humanity is counting on each of us jumping up and jumping in and doing what we can — and maybe a little more. Risa Buck has served on the Ashland Conservation Commission and in waste prevention education for more than a decade. You may reach her through [email protected]. Find past WasteNot columns online at bit.ly/rbwastenot.