All Rise for the Pledge
« Back to Spring 2008 Issue
Four years ago, to the month, we issued a challenge to the Natural Body community, to make a Pledge to Be Green; that message deserves a reissue, along with some updates. To our original request, we received over 1,300+ responses, agreeing to make over 4,600 changes in personal habits to help support environmental efforts. That's an amazing amount of relatively small changes that add up to some significant results. It proves that our community is committed to making thoughtful choices about how we consume energy and natural resources. This past year, water scarcity in the Southeast has driven home the point that careful consumption is extremely important for our personal and home needs; lunchroom stories now routinely mention water barrels, judicious toilet flushing, and creative water reuse (catching shower water for use on plants is a great one). We're seeing local agencies creating incentives for upgraded plumbing and conservative water use. Here then is our Pledge to Be Green, 4 years later, and even more relevant.
Skip a car trip each week
The average American drives over 250 miles each week. Replace a weekly 20-mile car trip by telecommuting, biking or combining errands, and you'll reduce your annual emissions of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide by nearly a thousand pounds!
Measure your ecological footprint
Based on the current population of the world, there are 4.5 acres of biologically productive land per person. The average ecological footprint of U.S. citizens is 24 acres per person. Visit www.earthday.net and take the online quiz to find out what your ecological impact is.
Use recycled paper towels from Seventh Generation™
If every household in the U.S. replaced just one roll of 70 sheet virgin fiber paper towels with 100% recycled ones, we could save 544,000 trees, 1.4 million cubic feet of landfill space equal to 2,000 full garbage trucks, 196 million gallons of water, and avoid 33,400 pounds of pollution. Seventh Generation products can be found at Whole Foods and other natural grocers.
Replace four standard light bulbs with energy-efficient compact fluorescent lights (CFLs)
Want a hundred bucks? Replace four standard bulbs with low-mercury CFLs, and you'll reduce your electricity bills by more than $100 over the lives of those bulbs! More importantly, you'll prevent the emission of five thousand pounds of carbon dioxide.
Use non-toxic lawn and garden pesticides and fertilizers
Americans directly apply 70 million pounds of pesticides to home lawns and gardens each year and, in so doing, kill birds and other wildlife and pollute our precious water resources. Order a catalog from Gardens Alive by calling (513) 354-1482 or visit them online at www.gardensalive.com where you can find environmentally friendly herbicides, pesticides and fertilizers.
Install an efficient showerhead and low flow faucet aerators
Of all natural resources, water is the most essential. But available supply is diminishing rapidly as human populations swell and inefficiently drain precious aquifers. For every 1,000 of us who install faucet aerators and high-efficiency showerheads, we can save nearly 8 million gallons of water and prevent over 450,000 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions each year!
Plant a tree
Pollution and urban sprawl are threatening our forests and thus air quality. How can you help? By planting a tree. Most local nurseries and lawn and garden centers sell trees or saplings that are pretty inexpensive. If there isn't enough room in your yard, get involved with a local tree planting group. Contact your local parks and recreation office to see how you can get involved.
Make a contribution to an environmental charity like GreenPeace, Georgia Organics, Earth Share of Georgia, or the Nature Conservancy.
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