THE GREEN INITIATIVE

having grown up in a hippie style home, i've always had a profound and deep appreciation for the environment, and respect it just as much. those who know me are probably laughing right now as they know that i don't particularly enjoy "sleeping outside" (i.e. camping) or even the mild hike up a mountain...but that doesn't have anything to do with my love and adoration for our dear sweet earth, and my devotion to hereby celebrate everything it has to offer, as well as protect what it has given us.

after completing an entire year in maine where our social studies and science curriculum has been focused primarily on "climate change" there's no denying how pressing an issue it is, and how over-due all this attention to it is. i'm not here to preach my kiddies, but i would like to share a few things yours truly does in his day to day life that has the earth and it's preservation in mind. and fyi, these are just little everyday things that you can also do at home, at work, and while outside amongst nature.

check this out; from the moment i wake up in the morning to the moment i go to bed, here are the little things i do to conserve energy/water/reduce fossil fuel emissions/protect the environment from other toxic emissions that are harming our dear planet:

1. every time i leave a room i turn off the light; it's hard in a 3-story house compared to a one level apartment, but i'm doing my best.

2. i am investing in biodegradable doggie bags with which to pick up after my pooch; plastic bags and other such unnatural sacs end up in landfill sites and never decompose.

3. i take short showers/baths, and never leave the water running when i wash my face/brush my teeth or shave. something that would be even better to get into would be to even start brushing my teeth while in the shower!

4. for my morning commute, unfortunately i cannot walk (the most environmentally friendly way to travel) but i do rely on public/mass transportation; as silly as the bus can be sometimes, it still reduces c02 emmissions by cutting down on the ammount of vehicles are on the road every morning! and most buses these days actually run on biodiesil fuel which is cleaner. people who drive by themselves to work every morning, then home and back during lunch, then home again at night are polluting our atmosphere and depleting our ozone layer...so walk a little more if possible, ride a bike every now and then, or car pool with others going your way if you have to. fossil fuel emissions is the leading cause of climate change in our society today, and it's also among the most easily preventable.

5. my family and i eat only organic vegetables; they are pesticide free and do not harm the environment when cultivated.

6. i am a vegetarian; decomposing animal flesh in the wild releases methane gases into our atmosphere. DON'T EAT MEAT!!!

7. i always bring my lunch in a reusable fabric lunch bag, instead of a plastic bag that is almost guaranteed to end up in the garbage...and then of course will gather dust in the landfill sites.

8. i try to stay away from buying food that comes in non-recyclable or non-reusable (i.e. wasteful packaging). this one is not always easy, especially since most of today's microwaveable dinners sold in the supermarkets come wrapped in plastic for days...but it's something useful to keep in mind.

9. when my family and i go to the grocery store we use the newly "trendy" greenbags to carry our groceries.

10. every lightbulb in our house (except for one or two that still haven't burnt out yet) in one of the energy saver lightbulbs that will not only reduce electricity bill costs, but also use less energy over all while still illuminating to the utmost capacity. they are a little bit delayed when you flick the switch, but beneficial to say the least.

11. we recycle and compost religiously.

12. i believe in using renewable energy sources whenever possible (although living in the city does present a hinderance to such uses).

13. we don't cut down trees; deforestation releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. planting trees and keeping plants in the house (which we do both...seriously) actually releases oxygen; plants and trees breath in carbon dioxide from the atmosphere (thus cleaning it) and releases oxygen as a by-product of photosynthesis.

14. we drive a low-emission vehicle. hopefully will one day own a hybrid or a vehicle that runs on vegetable oil.

well there you have it folks, i could probably go on but you get the idea. every one can do these things, and if we all put them into our daily routines, then we will really be able make a difference...not to sound like an after school special or anything...but i digress!

GO GREEN!!