Crossposted from the Worldwatch Institute's Nourishing the Planet.
As we head into 2012, many of us will be resolving to lose those few extra pounds, save more money, or spend a few more hours with our families and friends. But there are also some resolutions we can make to make our lives a little greener. Each of us, especially in the United States, can make a commitment to reducing our environmental impacts.
The United Nations has designated 2012 as the International Year of Sustainable Energy for All. Broadening access to sustainable energy is essential to solving many of the world's challenges, including food production, security, and poverty.
Hunger, poverty, and climate change are issues that we can all help address. Here are 12 simple steps to go green in 2012:
(1) Recycle
Recycling programs exist in cities and towns across the United States, helping to save energy and protect the environment. In 2009, San Francisco became the first U.S. city to require all homes and businesses to use recycling and composting collection programs. As a result, more than 75 percent of all material collected is being recycled, diverting 1.6 million tons from the landfills annually -- double the weight of the Golden Gate Bridge. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, for each pound of aluminum recovered, Americans save the energy resources necessary to generate roughly 7.5 kilowatt-hours of electricity -- enough to power a city the size of Pittsburgh for six years!
What you can do:
(2) Turn off the lights
On the last Saturday in March -- March 31 in 2012 -- hundreds of people, businesses, and governments around the world turn off their lights for an hour as part of Earth Hour, a movement to address climate change.
What you can do:
(3) Make the switch
In 2007, Australia became the first country to "ban the bulb," drastically reducing domestic usage of incandescent light bulbs. By late 2010, incandescent bulbs had been totally phased out, and, according to the country's environment minister, this simple move has made a big difference, cutting an estimated 4 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions by 2012. China also recently pledged to replace the 1 billion incandescent bulbs used in its government offices with more energy efficient models within five years.
What you can do:
(4) Turn on the tap
The bottled water industry sold 8.8 billion gallons of water in 2010, generating nearly $11 billion in profits. Yet plastic water bottles create huge environmental problems. The energy required to produce and transport these bottles could fuel an estimated 1.5 million cars for a year, yet approximately 75 percent of water bottles are not recycled -- they end up in landfills, litter roadsides, and pollute waterways and oceans. And while public tap water is subject to strict safety regulations, the bottled water industry is not required to report testing results for its products. According to a study, 10 of the most popular brands of bottled water contain a wide range of pollutants, including pharmaceuticals, fertilizer residue, and arsenic.
What you can do:
(5) Turn down the heat
The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that consumers can save up to 15 percent on heating and cooling bills just by adjusting their thermostats. Turning down the heat by 10 to 15 degrees Fahrenheit for eight hours can result in savings of 5-15 percent on your home heating bill.
What you can do:
(6) Support food recovery programs
Each year, roughly a third of all food produced for human consumption -- approximately 1.3 billion tons -- gets lost or wasted, including 34 million tons in the United States, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Grocery stores, bakeries, and other food providers throw away tons of food daily that is perfectly edible but is cosmetically imperfect or has passed its expiration date. In response, food recovery programs run by homeless shelters or food banks collect this food and use it to provide meals for the hungry, helping to divert food away from landfills and into the bellies of people who need it most.
What you can do:
(7) Buy local
"Small Business Saturday," falling between "Black Friday" and "Cyber Monday," was established in 2010 as a way to support small businesses during the busiest shopping time of the year. Author and consumer advocate Michael Shuman argues that local small businesses are more sustainable because they are often more accountable for their actions, have smaller environmental footprints, and innovate to meet local conditions -- providing models for others to learn from.
What you can do:
(8) Get out and ride
We all know that carpooling and using public transportation helps cut down on greenhouse gas emissions, as well as our gas bills. Now, cities across the country are investing in new mobility options that provide exercise and offer an alternative to being cramped in subways or buses. Chicago, Denver, Minneapolis, and Washington, D.C. have major bike sharing programs that allow people to rent bikes for short-term use. Similar programs exist in other cities, and more are planned for places from Miami, Florida, to Madison, Wisconsin.
What you can do:
(9) Share a car
Car sharing programs spread from Europe to the United States nearly 13 years ago and are increasingly popular, with U.S. membership jumping 117 percent between 2007 and 2009. According to the University of California Transportation Center, each shared car replaces 15 personally owned vehicles, and roughly 80 percent of more than 6,000 car-sharing households surveyed across North America got rid of their cars after joining a sharing service. In 2009, car-sharing was credited with reducing U.S. carbon emissions by more than 482,000 tons. Innovative programs such as Chicago's I-GO are even introducing solar-powered cars to their fleets, making the impact of these programs even more eco-friendly.
What you can do:
(10) Plant a garden
Whether you live in a studio loft or a suburban McMansion, growing your own vegetables is a simple way to bring fresh and nutritious food literally to your doorstep. Researchers at the FAO and the United Nations Development Programme estimate that 200 million city dwellers around the world are already growing and selling their own food, feeding some 800 million of their neighbors. Growing a garden doesn't have to take up a lot of space, and in light of high food prices and recent food safety scares, even a small plot can make a big impact on your diet and wallet.
What you can do:
(11) Compost
And what better way to fertilize your garden than using your own composted organic waste. You will not only reduce costs by buying less fertilizer, but you will also help to cut down on food and other organic waste.
What you can do:
(12) Reduce your meat consumption
Livestock production accounts for about 18 percent of all human-caused greenhouse gas emissions and accounts for about 23 percent of all global water used in agriculture. Yet global meat production has experienced a 20 percent growth rate since 2000 to meet the per capita increase of meat consumption of about 42 kilograms.
What you can do:
The most successful and lasting New Year's resolutions are those that are practiced regularly and have an important goal. Watching the ball drop in Times Square happens only once a year, but for more and more people across the world, the impacts of hunger, poverty, and climate change are felt every day. Thankfully, simple practices, such as recycling or riding a bike, can have great impact. As we prepare to ring in the new year, let's all resolve to make 2012 a healthier, happier, and greener year for all.
Follow Danielle Nierenberg on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@NourishPlanet
Jonathan Weiler: Republican Nonsense on Regulation
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They use much more energy to produce, ship, package, buy and to dispose of.
If you factor in the cost to human health due to the UV radiation, mercury in our environment and the toxic radio waves they emit, CFLs are an ecological nightmare.
Ecosystems and their plant and animal biological diversity, the creators and life givers of all ecosystems, are in the very eco-nomy of all life. The little greens are shallow and meaningless if man continues to devour ecosystems for all the whatevers of the mushrooming clouds of human hordes.
To-date, man has not been capable of reinventing an ecosystem. To-date, only one percent of their life creating and supporting has been delineated and is known.
(12) Buy organic. Organic food is not only healthier, but organic growing methods improve soil health, which is more sustainable. Traditional growing methods consume petroleum in the form of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and destroy the microorganisms that sustain soil health. Traditional meat production feeds hormones and antibiotics to animals that pass through to humans and create "super bugs" that infect people and are resistant to antibiotics.
(13) Go native. Native landscaping "fits" your climate, and does not need extra water and nutrients to look great. And it is more interesting, more beautiful, easier to care for, and avoids the pollution associated with lawn mowers and weed whackers.
(14) Upgrade appliances. Energy- and water-efficient furnaces, water heaters, dishwashers, refrigerators, and washing machines can save 50% or more vs. older versions.
(15) Insulate. Perhaps the easiest, cheapest, and most cost-effective way to save energy is simply by sealing your air ducts, doors, windows, and other openings in your home "building envelope". Getting better windows and doors is a big help - double-pane is more comfortable and a better insulator than single-pane windows.
(16) Put battery chargers on a switchable plug. These little cell phone, camera, iPod, iPad, and laptop chargers consume power even when nothing is connected. Put them on a power strip and turn off when possible.
Governments: over regulation (usually state or local government), fees, and endless “permits“
Corporations: the chain of command and meddlesome boards of directors
Universities: politics, turf battles and strings attached grants .
Also, the issue of “liability” with the inevitable threats of lawsuits and the requirement of team of lawyers on board just to build a new mousetrap is also an impediment to invention and creativity.
An example of what can be done through ingenuity and thinking outside the box is the revolutionary and promising Johnson motor/generator (or HoJo motor): a device that produces more energy than it consumes through the use of permanent magnets.. It has been patented and already in use by some home owners who are saving 75% on their electrical bills. Blueprints are available on line. Plans are now in the works to adapt and develop a prototype for cars. This is clean, cheap energy. Think of how you can push one magnet with another. Now think of a circle of magnets with a rotor inside. For more information go to : http://freeenergynews.com/Directory/Howard_Johnson_Motor/
YouTube has a lot of videos that show this device actually working and how to build one.
Guthrum
Yes I see now More People would Solve all Those problems.
Better yet not even talking about Overpopulation will probably make it go away. Not putting on the 'Green List' Certainly will. After all we aren't going to actually DO any of these other things on the list as a nation why should we do that?
Ecosystems and biological diversity are life itself, and man's planet devouring forever mushrooming populations, should be at the top of everyone's list because killing ecosystems is inverse to each and all greenies. In wildness is the big green, and modern man is in the business of killing ecosystems without a clue as to all the reasons he breathes. Zero Population Growth Now!