It is my belief that we do not have a fundamental right to pilfer and plunder our natural world, and that what we do have is a fundamental responsibility to do what we can to protect our planet's waters, soils, air, and the diverse wildlife that we share these resources with. The former does not ensure economic prosperity for all; the latter does. When one learns that certain actions have consequences--say, that morning coffee ritual from a business that heavily uses styrofoam cups, a product that simply and effectively trashes the earth--is there not only one ethical and moral thing to do? To start buying coffee from a business that does more for the environment? Change is necessary if we care about all the generations behind us--human and wildlife alike. But change is a complicated thing.

Therein lies the conundrum.

My pledge: to embrace change, and to find solutions to the conundrum.


Friday, February 19, 2010

Got Links?

The following tried and true list is the first in a series of collected websites that I suggest you peruse in your quest for green resources (by all means, a partial list!)

Personal & Home:

Find out how consequential YOUR consumerism is:
http://sustainability.publicradio.org/consumerconsequences/

Eat right! (aka, your dollar counts!): http://www.seacoasteatlocal.org/resources.html and http://www.slowfoodseacoast.org/ and http://gimmetheknife.blogspot.com/

Co-Op America’s (now known as Green America's) Responsible Shopper link: http://www.coopamerica.org/programs/rs/

Ever heard of freecycling? http://www.freecycle.org/ Or Craigslist? http://www.craigslist.org/

To stop receiving all those ValPak coupons, fill out their removal form online at: www.coxtarget.com/mailsuppression/s/DisplayMailSuppressionForm and for specific removal of all unsolicited mail, go to: https://www.dmachoice.org/MPS/mailpref1.php?consumerid=35499&status=

Reusable cloth tote bags made from Ecospun® (post-consumer, recycled plastic soda bottles) or unbleached, 100 percent cotton canvas can be purchased at http://www.clothbag.com/ All of their bags are made in the USA!

Use a water filter to reduce plastic water bottles. This is an excellent reference for comparing prices and features of water filters: http://www.waterfiltercomparisons.net/


Global exchange sells fair trade coffee, tea, chocolate, and other sustainably manufactured products online: http://store.gxonline.org/ I personally love Larry's Coffees!

For a green gift alternative, consider a company that plants a tree in honor of any special occasion/person, to be planted in the county, state or country of your choice: http://www.treegivers.com/

According to the U.S. Dept. of Energy, a higher temperature setting is the best setting for your air conditioner. Initially setting the temperature very low does not cool your house faster, it just uses more energy: http://www.eere.energy.gov/consumer/your_home/space_heating_cooling/index.cfm/mytopic=1242

All the ways your home uses energy: http://www.eere.energy.gov/consumer/your_home/

Formula for estimating appliance energy consumption: http://www.eere.energy.gov/consumer/your_home/appliances/index.cfm/mytopic=10040

Sixteen ways to green your home: https://www.usgbc.org/ShowFile.aspx?DocumentID=2121

Energy Star program: http://www.energystar.gov/

Energy auditing, rebates, etc.: http://www.nhsaves.com/

Another link for do-it-yourself home energy auditing:
http://www.eere.energy.gov/consumer/your_home/energy_audits/index.cfm/mytopic=11170
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