PERONAL PLAN for a GREEN RAMADAN

GRE - Green Ramadan Educational Guide

ThinkAsGreen.com  - TAG, You’re IT!

By Faraz Khan

7/1/11 work in progress

5 Steps towards a Green Ramadan

Personal Plan

1.      Adopt a Sunna Wudu.

It is reported that the Prophet Muhammad would perform the entire wudu from a bowl two-hands full together (approximately 0.5 liter) and he warned against excess in performing ablution (israf). Repair leaky faucets and toilets immediately. About six gallons of water in a day is wasted when a leaky tap drips once per second. A typical wudu that lasts 5 minutes results in 5 to10 gallons of water down the drain.

 

2.      Reusable Water Bottle/Coffee mug – Reuse before Recycle

The Prophet and his companions did not practice disposable culture. It is a simple fact that tap water is cleaner, safer, cheaper, and more regulated than bottled water. Plastic bottles are the most prevalent form of pollution found on beaches and 75% of plastic bottles end up in trash. Consider reusable bottle/mug as a smart green investment because “every square mile of the ocean has 46,000 pieces of floating plastic in it.” (UN, 2006)

3.      More Fruits & Vegetables - less Meat

The Prophet’s diet consisted mostly of grains, dates, water, milk, honey, vegetables and fruits. Meat was not daily part of his diet. Unlike modern livestock factories, the Prophet instructed his nation to treat animals humanely even when they slaughter an animal. Excessive meat consumption is implicated in heart diseases and various cancers. Consider the fact that high meat demand is responsible for about 20% of the world’s greenhouse gases even more than transportation.

4.      Green reusable bags and cutlery – avoid plastic and Styrofoam 

Styrofoam plates and cups are non-biodegradable. Plastic should be minimized because of harm related to global warming and health. Styrofoam is unrecyclable and non-biodegradable which means that it will persist as garbage even a thousand year after its use. Statistically speaking, Americans throw away 25 billion Styrofoam cups each year. This Ramadan make a pledge to reduce if not remove all of disposable items from your parties and save money while doing so.

5.      Quick shower

An average American uses between 100 - 150 gallons of water daily compared with 5 gallons of water used by folks in the developing world. A longer shower does not translate into a cleaner person. On average a shower of 10 minutes uses 50 gallons of water (2.5 gal/min). The Prophet advised to not waste water even if there is plenty of it and the Qur’an compares people who waste as Satan’s brother.

BONUS:

-         Unplug unused electronic appliances or use smart power strip to stop energy loss.

Take a Green Pledge to promote environmental stewardship.  

"I pledge to MAKE A DIFFERENCE to be environmeally conscious, socially responsible and compassionate to those around me". 

You can write down some of the items listed above and IMPLEMENT your pledge while being tagged as a Green Being.

TAKE A PLEDGE and WRITE your name in the Comments Section below