Earth Day 4/22/2013

WorldClimateChange

 

This year, earthday.org is focusing their theme on facing climate change.  To draw attention to the fact that climate change impacts us all, a global mosaic is being built.

Organizers are asking folks to upload photos that include a face with a sign that says “The Face of Climate Change.”  Make a difference and personalize your message to the world.

You can also take the  footprint calculator quiz to measure your ecological footprint.  The calculator measures how much land it would take to support your lifestyle based on the country’s average consumption profile.

How does the US rate as a whole?  Sadly, the gap between our ecological footprint and the planet’s biocapacity to sustain us has only widened in the past two years. So we all have a lot of work to do…

Here are a few ideas to reduce your own footprint:

  • Purchase products that use less packaging and those you do purchase should be made out of post-consumer recycled materials.
  • Take less vacations involving air travel.
  • Carpool and purchase vehicles with better fuel economyecofootprint2
  • Buy locally produced food (less packaging, trasport costs and the like mean a smaller footprint).
  • Plant a fruit/vegetable garden and compost organic materials (zero packaging or transport costs).
  • Plan the week’s meals in advance to cut down on food waste, trips to the market and impulse buying.
  • Buy second-hand items and donate or sell your unwanted appliances, clothes, books and furniture.
  • Lower your thermostat by 4 degrees (and program it to stay low!)
  • Recycle (list of recyclables from the EPA).
  • Use the green option from your public utilities provider.

Here are even more ideas for living green.

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