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April 22, 2007
HAPPY EARTH DAY 2007!
This year we have many things to celebrate for. Never before have environmental issues been on the front pages of so many publications around the world. The word is out and it's spreading. There's still a lot of work yet to be done but I'm confident we'll get there if we just make a small effort. I'm not asking for anyone to turn their lives upside down to go "green". I'm asking them to make small incremental changes that can improve our planet's health and secure a future for the generations to follow.
I myself struggle to be "green" but here are some things I did that you can do too.
Replace all incandescent light bulbs with CFL bulbs
They're the bulbs that look like frozen yogurt squishes. If you leave now, Home Depot is giving them away for free to celebrate Earth Day! If not today, then grab these coupons from GE and do it soon. If you replace every bulb, you'll use 50 - 90% less energy. Think of the savings!
Donate a small amount of money to offset your carbon emissions
Almost everything we do emits carbon. By offsetting, your money goes towards programs to "green" our earth. Go here to calculate your carbon emissions, then offset it!
Switch to "green" electricity
Did you know your city's power municipal has access to electricity generated from clean sources like wind and solar? Not only that, but you can ask to switch a sizable portion of your monthly power to it. It cost pennies per watt more but it increases the demand for green power which means less need for fossil fuels. In some states, that portion of "green" electricity is deductible!
Use Eneloop batteries
Organically made, they're designed by Sanyo and are the best rechargeable batteries. They're ready to use right out of the pack. They hold more power than ordinary batteries and have a longer shelf life. They can be recharged 1000 times with no degradation and once they're totally used up, they can be 100% recycled. I bought mine at Circuit City.
Recycle, reduce, reuse
In most cities, it's an included service. Call up your trash utility and ask for recycling bins if you don't already. You'll save thousands of trees and spare the Earth from rising mountains of non-biodegradable plastics. For old electronics, go to Earth 911 to locate the nearest e-waste facility. Most places will even come pick it up!
Install low-flow shower heads
I always avoided this because I like lots of water when I shower but you know what? I didn't even notice it was using less water. Saving water means less heating required. Less heating required means less electricity used. It's like a domino effect. Here's the one I bought.
$5 to plant a tree
That's all it takes and you don't even have to dig a hole. The Conservation Fund will plant a tree for you to aid reforestation which can slow global warming.
Reusable shopping bags
Use natural hemp or organic cotton shopping bags instead of the plastic bags found in most grocery stores. OMG, this is the easiest thing to do on this list. Get them for dirt cheap here.
Donate $50 to the WWF
Save an animal affected by our carelessness. I've chosen the polar bear. With a donation of $50, you'll receive a beautiful glass cup with the WWF logo on it.
Spread the word
Tell one person about this. That's all I ask is for one person. Email or call them up.
Posted by tranism at 1:51 PM | Permalink
Comments
Awesome list man. I spent my afternoon picking up trash at the beach with a bunch of other volunteers. I think I may go get one of those low-flow showerheads like you suggested.
Oh and those batteries look great!
Posted by: Nickolas at April 22, 2007 2:23 PM
The Earth will be perfectly OK regardless what temp. it is at or how much ice there is. All YOU are concerned with is your own personal little habitats. Your worried that you may be personally inconvenienced, this is selfishness at its worst.
Who cares whether it is natural or man made… either way the earth is changing.
Those who live to blame this on man do so cause if they are right, in their tiny frightened minds it means they can fix it…. This is the same arrogance that got us to where we are today.
You decided to play(too much) and now you realized there are reactions to you actions. Just sit back and enjoy yourselves it appears that’s all people are good for anyway.
Know in your hearts that the Earth will be here long after we are gone and life (maybe no humans) will flourish as it always has.
Tyler Goines
4-22-07
Posted by: tyler at April 22, 2007 3:39 PM
^^^
You speak as if you're somebody immune to the effects of our "play". Unless something else has learned to read and post comments on a blog, I'll assume you're human.
These tips are for people who find it inconvienent to "go green". These are the simplest things you can do. Better to do this than do nothing at all.
The Earth will not be perfectly okay regardless of temperature. I don't know where that idiotic thinking came from. And last I checked, every species including humans are designed to SURVIVE. Sure we may not be here forever but we instinctively want to survive.
You may not care since you feel out existence is so temporary so perhaps you should just end your life now. One less person on the planet will probably help. I say get rid of all the ignorant ones first. Leave the rest of us who care about our future and children's future be.
Posted by: Jim C. at April 22, 2007 3:47 PM
There will always be people who disagree. Tyler Goines obviously has his opinion and unless he is hurting someone with it, he can think what he wants.
For the rest of us, it is important to do what we can to slow and correct the damage we've inflicted on our planet. If that means starting small with out "personal habitats" first, that's fine. The world changes in small steps, not large ones.
Posted by: electro^plankton at April 22, 2007 3:49 PM
Great suggestions! I use all CFL bulbs in my apartment, and I haven't had to change a bulb since I've moved in.
One quiick point: CFL bulbs contain a small amount of mercury, so when they do burn out, they shouldn't just be thrown in the trash. Be sure to dispose of them properly!
And in case you buy more groceries than your canvas bags can hold, check to see if your grocery store has a plastic bag recycling program. Mine does, and it's pretty neat to see things like benches and trash bins with signs saying, "This was made from your old shopping bags."
Posted by: Kelly at April 22, 2007 4:02 PM
Only when the last tree has died and the last river been poisoned and the last fish been caught will we realise we cannot eat money. ~Cree Indian Proverb
Posted by: macha88 at April 22, 2007 4:43 PM
I live across the street from the world's worst hardware store. It's no surprise they're not giving away bulbs for free today. Luckily, I got really inexpensive CFL bulbs from Ikea. They're ridiculously cheap there.
I'm also a little dubious about the WWF. For my Bar Mitzvah, I sent them and all sorts of other nonprofits 13 dollars. It's been ten years since I made a donation, and to this day WWF keeps on sending me address labels and calendars and stuff. By this point, they've gone WAY past the 13 dollars I sent them. I wish they'd put that money to better use, rather than sending it right back to me.
Posted by: ttolympics at April 22, 2007 4:57 PM
nice list, it's sad to see stories of pokemon reach the front page of digg while all the earth day stories trickle in at 3 diggs.
Posted by: Jim at April 22, 2007 5:46 PM
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