Low Impact and Environmentally Sustainable Living?

[Trevor_S]

I'm curious- what do we all do to minimize our impact on the bush? Here's three things I can think of off the top of my head I/we (my family) do to reduce our impact.

1) Always pack out more trash than we came with (always easy to do)

2) Always be respectful of noise in the bush- especially at night

3) Never feed the wildlife, no matter how pathetic, tempting, cute or otherwise they may be.

So what are three things you do?

Admin edit: This topic has been split off from a leave no trace topic. The above quote from the original topic was added for context.

Long time bush-walker and only recently found this forum..

I thought this was an interesting thread, and litter etc on the trails is something I find mortifying. We were up the top of Mt Warning last week and there is rubbish scattered everywhere, quite sad, we picked some up on the way up, Mars Bar wrappers etc but gave up in the end as there was just too much.

I am wondering in the scheme of "minimal impact bushwalking". whether any thought is given to the provenance of the gear used and more importantly food consumed in the trips ? eg if stuff has been manufactured overseas and shipped to Australia, on ships that are the huge polluters etc. Is exporting our damage okay ?
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/e ... 078386.ece

and on a similar topic, what about getting to an area ? eg if you drive a Car 500km to go for a walk etc

[walkinTas]

Low impact walking is a good place to start. True low impact living is a long way off for some of us (me for example). I love my SUV, but maybe one day there will be a more environmentally friendly alternative with good ground clearance.

Ships are another story altogether. Huge amounts of environmental damage has been done by shipping.

[north-north-west]

I love my SUV, but maybe one day there will be a more environmentally friendly alternative with good ground clearance.

Solar powered helicopter.

[Liamy77]

bio-diesel or alcohol powered car?..... might be "outta gas" with the booze-mobile.... if ya get syphoned ya just have to look for a drunk bugger near by tho?..... hmmmm

[Area54]

Low impact walking is a good place to start. True low impact living is a long way off for some of us (me for example). I love my SUV, but maybe one day there will be a more environmentally friendly alternative with good ground clearance.

There is a mode of transport that pre-dates the motor car - a bicycle.

Not the answer for some applications but could be a greener option if willing to make a compromise here and there.

Low impact living - best place to begin.

[Trevor_S]

Low impact walking is a good place to start. True low impact living is a long way off for some of us (me for example).

Seems perhaps a little "*&%$#! backwards" ? Surely looking after the environment is more important then looking after a piece of wilderness, the ecosystem is interlinked, Planet wide. Killing "the Wilderness" from the outside in (with pollution, using renewable resources recklessly etc) is simpler slower then from the inside out, the latter is what most people are (rightly) mortified about here. Doing both will surely leave us with none. Wanting to save a small piece of Wilderness to enjoy, (whether selfishly or for future generations) while wrecking the Planet seems nearly bizarre

Please don't misunderstand, it was only a couple weeks ago it had me wondering, we drove 4 hours to walk for a day up Mt Warning.



We saw all the rubbish up there and I thought perhaps I am the greater vandal, doing all that driving... and then I thought about the gear I was wearing and using, it's provenance etc

[walkinTas]

Seems perhaps a little "*&%$#! backwards" ? Surely looking after the environment is more important then looking after a piece of wilderness, the ecosystem is interlinked, Planet wide

I'm not saying don't do it! I'm not saying it isn't a good idea! I think low impact living is a great goal in life. I just think TRUE low impact living it is a long way off for most people.

We are told the big five contributors to global warming are: Big energy, Transport, Live Stock, Petrochemicals and deforestation. We nearly all own and use a car. We are all dependant on shipping (imports). A lot of us eat meat, drink milk, use leather etc. (livestock). All of us use paper and timber products daily. We nearly all draw power from the national grid for both domestic and business purposes - daily. Every single one of us use multiple products derived from the petrochemical industries (plastics) daily. Even your mobile phone is a contributor to child labour, poverty and war. When most people talk about low impact living they talk about token efforts like recycling their milk cartons or daily newspapers - some sustainable practices - and some people are much better at it than others, but I personally don't know of anyone who is anywhere close to 100% sustainable living with very low or no impact.

On the otherhand, when we talk about low impact bushwalking we are talking about totally sustainable practices. Low impact walking is doable - today - every walk. Low impact living is a long way off for most of us.

[sailfish]

Further to the comments about washing, I was talking to my son who is completing his degree in animal and veterinary bioscience. Apparently fish like many animals do most of their communication through scent. Scent is what holds a school together. Very small traces of detergent destroy the scent and so disperse the school. This is of course disaster for fish survival. Having kept aquarium fish, I think the issue of water quality is by far the major cause of fishery decline. Whatever other efforts are pursued, this is the bottom line for fish survival and everything ends up in the water.

Regards,
Ken

[crockle]

..when we talk about low impact bushwalking we are talking about totally sustainable practices. Low impact walking is doable - today - every walk. Low impact living is a long way off for most of us.

Yes, that man .