This was sent to me by Edward McNally, founder of Above the Fold and one of the leaders of Inspiring Futures. I thought it was too good not to share.
Level I. LOW HANGING FRUIT:
Things that anyone can do tomorrow w/o significant changes in their lifestyle.
Buy in bulk to cut down on packaging.
Drive the speed limit and coast to stops.
Do your laundry in cold water.
Don’t run the water when you brush your teeth or shave.
Eat less meat.
Hang your clothes out to dry.
Lower the temperature setting on your hot water heater.
Shop and Pay bills online.
Shut the lights off when you leave a room.
Switch to CFC light bulbs! (aka CFLs)
Turn off your computer and other appliances before you go to bed.
Use environmentally safe cleaning products.
Walk. Walk. And walk some more.
Level II. AHAA! IDEAS:
These things require a bit more effort, but they have more positive and longer lasting impact.
Bike or Carpool to work at least once a week. (187-Ridefind)
Blog or Write letters to the editor of local and national publications….on a weekly basis.
Buy from “carbon-friendly” companies.
Buy energy from green power companies. (SACE)
Compost your household organic matter.
Integrate green building ideas into all your home renovations and repairs. (Southface)
Join a CSA (community sustained agriculture program). (Georgia Organics)
Join a carsharing program. (Flexcar)
Practice vermiculture. (Georgia Organics)
Purchase local and/or organic foods. (Georgia Organics)
Recycle.
Take the bus or the train. (Marta)
Travel by train instead of by plane. (Amtrak)
Start a vegetable garden.
Stop getting junk mail.
Use a reel lawn mower.
Level III. COMMITMENT AND BEYOND:
These steps require a more consistent effort or a real change in your lifestyle, but they offer the biggest payback and enduring impacts.
Advertise in, or contribute to, locally-owned media inc. radio, TV and newspapers.
Attend Public Service Commission meetings and speak up for cleaner energy production. (Georgia Interfaith Power and Light)
Buy undeveloped land and don’t develop it. (Trust for Public Land)
Campaign for progressive candidates.
Commit to buying local as often as you possibly can.
Contribute to NGOs working toward sustainable goals.
Drive a hybrid or bio-fueled car. (Toyota)
Get off the power grid (as much as you can) by installing solar panels, private wind mill, etc. (SACE)
Host local forums, screenings and town meetings on progressive or environmental issues. (Meetup)
Install a roof garden.
Invest in alternative energy companies. (SACE)
Mentor a child or student to consider sustainable choices in their life.
Run for office on a sustainable platform.
Participate in a community garden project. (Georgia Organics)
Partner with decision makers in your workplace to incorporate sustainable business practices.
Travel as an eco-tourist.
Volunteer regularly for a social justice or environmental organization. (Earth Share Georgia)
Friday, April 13, 2007
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7 comments:
This is great! I'm posting this on the church bulletin board Sunday morning and playing it up with my parishioners. Thanks!
Hm...a few comments:
"Drive the speed limit and coast to stops."
That'd be a pretty significant lifestyle change for some people...
Seriously, though, that's generally a better idea. At the same time, driving the speed limit in some places only makes you into a hazard for everyone else...
"Eat less meat."
Again...pretty significant lifestyle change. :-P
"Hang your clothes out to dry."
This can have other benefits, too: it seems that clothes I hang up to dry end up less wrinkled. Unfortunately, I don't really have anywhere to hang clothes up right now...
"Shop and Pay bills online."
Pay bills=good. Shop...I dunno. Shopping online kinda seems to defeat the purpose of buying in bulk. I mean...when you shop online, a shipment has to be made just for you to your house. Granted, this may offset the effect of a bunch of people driving to the store...but I'm not sure about it.
"Shut the lights off when you leave a room."
It's so simple, even a caveman could do it! Well, he could if he had electric lights...
"Walk. Walk. And walk some more."
Again, side benefits. Walk more and you won't be as fat. Which is why I'm trying to walk more.
"Bike or Carpool to work at least once a week."
I've noted in a previous post how biking can be rather dangerous in certain areas, and, honestly, in the suburbs, nearly impractical. I figure, were I to dare riding to work, it would at least double my commute time. BTW, these are not merely excuses; I was gung-ho about riding my bike everywhere for a while until reality set in.
Carpooling would be good if I had coworkers I could carpool with.
"Blog or Write letters to the editor of local and national publications….on a weekly basis."
The effectiveness of blogging is directly proportional to the visibility/popularity of your blog. I can, for instance, blog all I want about how the RIAA & MPAA are evil, monopolistic groups, etc., but it's not going to change anything because no one reads my blog.
"Recycle."
Honestly, I don't see why this isn't in level 1.
"Take the bus or the train."
My kingdom for a decent public transit system!
"Stop getting junk mail."
I think the whole world would be grateful if you could figure this one out.
Deacon:
Thanks! It was actually written by a team at Inspiring Futures.
Matt:
For carpool partners, register on 1-87-Ridefind. They will match you with other commuters who share your work hours and location (based on criteria you choose) to connect you for carpooling purposes.
For junk mail, check out the Center for a New American Dream, which has a campaign to help people get personally free of junk mail and a petition you can sign for a national "Do Not Junk" registry.
I, for one, am too unreliable for carpooling. I'd probably miss the ride most days I wasn't driving (and get a lot of my partners fired). ;-) I'll check the site out, though.
Oh, another point on the list I forgot about: taking the train instead of the plane. I looked into that recently, actually, since I'm getting sick of security lines. IIRC, it would take me 2 days to get from Atlanta to my company's main office in Florida because there is no direct line. I'd have to go up to North Carolina first. It would be a great solution...but it just isn't practical.
I'm not against any of these things, by the way. I'm just saying that, for the average, busy, working man/woman, these ideas just won't work. Now, if they could be made more practical for the average person, I would be one of the first in line to use them!
So take the advice in my original post, and do it when you can. Carpool once a week--surely you can be reliable enough to do that--or even once a month. (Incidentally, in metro Atlanta you can win all sorts of prizes and rewards--and even cash--for switching to clean commutes. Check out the Clean Air Campaign.)
For the train to Florida, yeah, it sucks, and I can't help you...except by lobbying to get more rail lines built! I'm not actually familiar with those on a national scale, but there are some great local movements for better transit options in Atlanta. Check out, for starters, my favorite: the Beltline.
Oh, and on drying clothes: get a clothes rack. They're compact and convenient and will store anywhere when you're not using them. When you are using them, you can put them anywhere--of course outside is best, but you can also hang your clothes in the living room, in the bathroom, in your bedroom...that's what we did in Romania. My husband Matt and I are also looking into getting a clothes hand-washer, which would actually be a lot more convenient as it only takes five minutes to wash a load of laundry. Not to mention saving a LOT of energy. We might even let you come borrow it if you want to, and you're really, really nice. :-)
Go car-free. (No, it is not impossible)
Have no kids (or fewer than originally planned, or adopt instead).
Let me tell you about adopting...
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