Monday was Blog Action Day, and bloggers across blogland posted about environmental issues. In honor of the occasion, here are seven tips for the pursuit of happiness with a green twist:
1. Walk a mile instead of driving. Walking means you're not adding gas fumes and rubber particles to the air, and at the same time, studies show, even a 10-minute walk lifts your mood and gives you a burst of energy.
2. Skip the bottled water. Fact is, there is no evidence that you need to drink eight glasses of water a day--this is a myth, folks! And you CERTAINLY don't need a fresh plastic bottle each time you want some water!
3. Pause before you buy anything. Do you really need that gadget or gizmo? One study suggests that the average household could cut back on 40 percent of housework by cutting back on clutter, which almost certainly would boost your happiness considerably. And by not buying, you save resources that would be spend in production, transportation, and disposal.
4. Buy a gas-efficient car. Because of the hedonic treadmill, you quickly adapt to changed circumstances. Although you may fall in love with a gas-hog in the showroom, once you've had the car for a while, you'll take it for granted--but stopping for gas is annoying every time.
5. Carpool. Unfortunately, a bad commute is something to which people never adjust; it's a pain every single day. Studies show that we enjoy activities more when we do them with other people, so carpooling is better for your happiness as well as for the environment.
6. Pick up other people's litter. Do good, feel good is a happiness truism that really is true. Act like a considerate citizen of the world, and you'll boost your self-esteem.
7. Work in your garden. Research suggests that working with soil may boost mood by strengthening your immune system and flooding your brain with serotonin.
If you'd like to read more about happiness, check out Gretchen's daily blog, The Happiness Project, and join the Happiness Project group on Facebook to swap ideas.
Follow Gretchen Rubin on Twitter: www.twitter.com/gretchenrubin
Hey, she heard it on Rush Limbaugh, so it must be true!
We have adapted the way we live in certain locales, over hundreds of years, so that we can live in more-or-less harmony with the land as it is. Now, not only is climate changing world wide, but it is changing in a way that will make it very difficult, if not impossible, for us to adapt to the changes.
What I am trying to communicate is this. We got used to the climate in the south east (as an example) being a certain way. Today, we may be seeing a fairly consistent pattern toward drought in the southeast. But, in a few years, as we continue to change the green house gases (and other pollutants) in the atmosphere, who knows what the climate in the south east will be like 10, 20, or 30 years from now. Perhaps it will turn subtropical! And it may change again, soon after that.
To adapt to a world in which there is constant change over most of the surface of the planet, constantly, may be something that we can not do and maintain the standard of living that we have become used to in the developed world.