What Can We Do to Make a Difference?
Our 'ecological footprint' is the measurement of what we consume and the 'footprint' it leaves on the earth. A person who drives 50 miles to work everyday and eats at fast food restaurants 5 times a week has a larger ecological footprint than a person who takes the bus to work and cooks vegetarian meals at home. If all of us lived like the first person in our example, we would need roughly 7 Earths to support us sustainably, or forever. So, let's take an honest look at our level of consumption:
- Americans make up only 4% of the World's population yet we consume nearly 26% of its resources.
- Americans spend more annually on the purchase of garbage bags than the combined GDP of 90 of the World's developing nations.
- Begin thinking of ways to reduce what you consume: bring canvas bags to the grocery store, buy yourself a travel mug and bring it with you to the coffee shop. Buy locally. If just ten percent of us where to take these simple steps we would make a substantial difference.
Break your bottled water habit!
In October 2007, nearly 14,000 New Dreamers took the pledge to break their bottled water habit, reducing more than 46,000 pounds of carbon emissions in one month...
Paper or Plastic... NEITHER!
You see them lying on the side of the road, caught in a nearby tree branch, or taking a swim in a nearby lake. You also see them lining wastebaskets, carrying lunches to work, and adorning the arms of happy shoppers. Plastic bags are everywhere and have become a part of our everyday lives but at what cost? Here are a few facts about plastic bags: ~ Each year, an estimated 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide, only a small fraction of which are recycled. Billions end up as litter each year.
~ Plastic bags are made from ethylene, a petroleum byproduct. In the United States alone, an estimated 12 million barrels of oil is used annually to make plastic bags that Americans consume.
~ Plastic bags don't biodegrade, they photodegrade-breaking down into smaller and smaller toxic bits contaminating soil and waterways and entering the food web when animals accidentally ingest them. It may seem that the age-old "paper or plastic" question may finally be answered! However, paper bags have their own environmental cost as well. According to the American Forest and Paper Association, 14 million trees were cut down in 1999 to produce 10 billion grocery bags for Americans.
The real answer to the "paper or plastic" question is neither! By now you have probably seen those bright green bags hanging around grocery and department stores and maybe even seen a few patrons packing their goods into them. They are usually around $1 to purchase and are extremely sturdy and actually a bit bigger than your standard plastic bag. True, they may not match your outfit, the may seem a bit too "tree-huggerish," but when you consider the costs to continue using disposable bags, the pros should outweigh the cons. However, if after all this you're still a diehard plastic user, please remember to recycle these bags. Residential recycling services in our area have started accepting bags in your normal recycling but if your service does not, many stores will accept bags for recycling.
Buy Energy Star rated appliances and electronics!
Visit These Websites that are Dedicated to Renewable Energy and Living Green!
Minnesota Renewable Energy Society: Connecting Minnesotans with Renewable Energy Resources
Initiative for Renewable Energy and the Environment: IREE's mission is to promote statewide economic development; sustainable, healthy and diverse ecosystems; and national energy security through the development of bio-based and other renewable resources and processes.
White Earth Land Recovery Project: WELRP’s Sustainable Communities Initiative reflects our mandate to protect the land, which we inherited from our ancestors. This Initiative is about the process of sorting our what is good value from both Anishinaabeg and European society, and restoring our community from this foundation. Ours is both conceptual and on the ground. It is about advocacy, education, and developing the sustainable alternative; Mino bimatisiiwin, the good life.
The Alliance for Climate Protection: The "We Campaign" is a nonprofit, nonpartisan effort founded by Nobel laureate and former Vice President Al Gore. Our ultimate aim is to halt global warming. Specifically we are educating people in the US and around the world that the climate crisis is both urgent and solvable.
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