Waste to Resources, Not Resources to Waste!

We keep hearing about climate change and global warming as something that will happen in the future if we don’t act. But in reality, it is happening today, and affecting millions. A new report out from the global Humanitarian Forum, headed by former UN Secretary Kofi Annan, tells the story of the over 300 million people who are already being affected by the impact of climate change. People in sea level communities and in arid areas are being displaced by rising seas and crop failures. 300,000 deaths yearly are attributed to climate change. The report finds nine out of 10 of these are linked to "gradual environmental degradation," and more people die from climate-related malnutrition, diarrhea and malaria than directly from weather-related disasters. This is happening today, not just in remote islands and poor nations in semi arid lands but in places like Australia, suffering the worst drought in living memory.

As a parent, anytime I see children anywhere being impacted like this, I want to help. But the problem seems so huge - where can I begin?
Here’s where the small things each of us can do to transform waste to resources can help prevent both human and natural resources from being wasted. They may seem like drops in the bucket- but the drops are what fill the bucket up1

10 things you can do today –

Turn off. Turn off all lights, electronics and so on when not in use. Use power strips that can be switched off so appliances don’t draw “phantom loads” when not in use. Replace one incandescent bulb a week with switches-strips power

Tune up- your car, your furnace, anything that runs on energy. Replace your furnace filter and clean your refrigerator coils and condenser.

Drive fewer trips and shorter distances. Combine trips and carpool. Take the train- or-

Turn “waist” into resources! Walk or bike whenever you can instead of using the car. Make it part of your routine. You can even use an indoor bike to charge batteries and run the TV. You‘ll get fit, your wallet will get fatter, and the planet will be in better shape.

Unpack the packaging – Buy things with less packaging, and recycle whatever you can at curbside, at your local transfer station, or at GreenOps tracking stations at Whole Foods.

Offset the rest. Buy high quality carbon offsets from folks like Native Energy, Terra Pass, and Carbon Fund. Buy from companies who offset their “carbon footprint”

Do the write thing-write a check to organizations working on climate change like the Carbon Fund.org.

Plant it for the planet. Planting trees helps sequester carbon, create shade and reduce cooling bills and lots of other benefits. Plant it locally or help protect rain forest.

Buy rain forest products. Help preserve the planet’s lungs- the rain forest- and prevent this essential resource form being wasted.

Share the journey. Tell friends about what you are doing. Buy The Low Carbon Diet and form an Eco Team in your neighborhood.

Write about what you are dong!

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