Eco tips are not about just economy or ecology. They can help with everyday life and allow people to simply live better, smarter, safer and more responsibly. This issue, I am going to talk about something that is on my mind: summer, and some ways of improving your summer life to reduce waste.
Regardless of your summer activities, one thing you cannot escape is the sun. It doesn’t always shine here in Victoria, but when it does it’s hard not to take advantage of. The thing to remember is that it also requires a lot of hydration on your part. Water is the key and cold is what you crave when the sun strikes high on you brow. One great way to make sure you have got plenty of cool H2O is to pack a couple different water stores. Pack one with plenty of ice cubes and bring along a secondary container of water that has been pre-frozen. This second pack will do more than keep your snacks cool on a long hike or afternoon at the beach; when it’s thawed you will have a fresh source of cold water to replace the one you already downed after your last game of volleyball.
For those of you out in the wild west of British Columbia’s parks and lakes, surrounded by fellow campers, miles from supermarkets, it will be important to keep your stores from spoiling. In this case, we are keeping our peepers on our pop. Carbonated beverages are the thing, and we want them as fizzy as the day we cracked that seal. To keep large bottles of pop or similar from going flat, be sure to squeeze in the sides of the bottle before twisting the cap back on. Reducing the air in the bottle will ensure that all those precious bubbles don’t float away overnight.
Finally, beer. Soft drinks are a big part of summer, but so is beer, and it is arguably far more precious. Have you ever poured out your cold one only to end up with your glass full of foam, or had a tragic can detonation that left little if any actual liquid left to quell your thirst? What you need is olive oil. Now hear me out on this one. Just a few drops of olive oil in your pint and any foam fighting you back will disappear. If you are dispirited and don’t have any olive oil handy, you could also try a dap of earwax, but I wouldn’t recommend it.
If you have some good tips of your own, let us know at edit@gmail.com.
Pictures of Eco Tip realizations are also welcome.
