Perhaps when our government officials (nationwide) start walking the walk and talking the talk, the example they set will positively influence the rest of the country to doing more, using less and living more consciously. That’s why I would like to ask the presidential candidates the following two questions:
- When will all US government employees (including the president) be required to drive a hybrid or energy fuel efficient car or limo?
- When will the US government enforce within their day to day work week the guidelines for Energy Star @ Work released by the EPA last month?
- Replace the bulbs in desk lamps with Energy Star qualified compact fluorescent light bulbs. These light bulbs use about 75 percent less energy than incandescent bulbs and last up to 10 times longer. Energy Star qualified lamps and light fixtures also are available for even more energy savings.
- Use a power strip as a central "turn off" point when you are done using office equipment to completely disconnect the power supply. Even when turned off, electronic and IT equipment often use a small amount of electricity when plugged in.
- Remember to turn off your lights when leaving conference rooms and your work space, especially at the end of the day.
- Use Energy Star qualified battery chargers or power adapters which, on average, use 30 to 35 percent less energy than conventional models. Don't forget to unplug battery chargers or power adapters when equipment is fully charged or disconnected from the charger.
- Get involved! Create a Green Team with your co-workers, help reduce office waste, and set a goal to earn the Energy Star label for your building.)
What would you ask the presidential candidates?
Just slow down for a moment and you can you hear the collective groan and occasional sob from our ever expanding toxic environment. Just when the masses had finally begun to think twice about our dependence on oil and the real need to create alternate fuel efficient systems and just when composting was no longer a word that prompts us to use the dictionary to determine the definition, and just when individuals, schools, and businesses had begun to embrace a renew, reuse and recycle mantra, the bottom fell out of the financial markets. Man, just when we had admitted the need to get our compulsive over spending issues in check! The recent buckle down progress was a necessity for people struggling to put food on the table, but for others, the time could not be better to follow through on a renewed commitment to the conservation movement.
There is no way to hide the current state of affairs; it's time to get past the do nothing and worry stages. By tightening our financial corsets and following the “green” brick road, we can help stabilize our future. There could be no better time to shift the way we spend our money toward more self-sustainable industries that support the environment rather than tear it down and deplete it. There are well tested game plans available if you are open to changing your lifestyle. (See the websites below.) Can it be easy? Maybe, maybe not. How much you are willing to give up and how fast you are willing to change is really the determining factor, but it will definitely be far less painful than the repercussions of doing nothing. People will change when the pain of not changing is greater than the change itself. The time has come to fully embrace the concept of conservation in all areas of life. Conserving cash for basic living expenses and adopting a no frills existence for couple of years will certainly help ride the storm of this horrendous mess.
This is a hard blog to write, but one that was coming for a long time. Quick fixes are a thing of the past. We have outdone ourselves and are now paying the price for the song-and-a-prayer mentality that we all bought into. Let’s face it
Buy local, grow a garden, and support local businesses in any way you can. Shift your spending to help protect the planet. Knowing you are not alone in this may take the sting of "doing without" less of a harsh reality and more of a collective journey. Some level of healing may even be achieved by acquiring less and making more healthful choices. Let’s clothes swap, invest in a windmill, lower our thermostats and wear lots of layers for warmth this winter. Let’s skip the impulse to buy, buy, buy. Walk more, drive less, and smile as if you're enjoying it all. If we step outside of ourselves and accept responsibility for what we have gotten ourselves into here and create a conscious shift for change, there is nothing that can stop us. Good creates good. Green creates wealth of mind, body and spirit.
Today is a new day. It’s time to embrace a greater good, for ourselves, for our children and for their children to come. If we don't do it, who will?
Please take a few minutes to check out a few of the websites which have greatly helped me:
Now is the perfect time to embrace the “renew, reuse and recycle” movement in order to conserve. There really is no way around it. We have no choice but to hold back, budget, "do without", curb our appetites and hunker down for the sake of the financial crisis we all are facing. Despite the very scary reality, we can find a bright side if we look deep enough: we have the opportunity to help those less fortunate by clearing out all of that "stuff" that’s really awesome but that we no longer need and hand it right over to those who are really feeling the panic of the punch. Now, more than ever, will your second hand gems be appreciated by new proprietors. You may even be enticed to push it even further to see where else you might conserve. Can you carpool more frequently? Become more innovative with leftovers instead of tossing them? Compost your veggies? Clothes shop out of necessity not boredom? Donate your time to a soup kitchen or shelter?
We can also conserve our own hard earned cash by cooking in more. I bet most of us could benefit from eating in a bit more often. Watch FoodTV for some ideas if you’re being held back by a lack of innovation. What will blow you away is the amount of money you will save by adjusting your lifestyle here and there, with minimal effort. You may not go back once you see how nutritious, economical and good for you a home cooked meal can be!
It really boils down simply… going through tough times will lead to one of two things: pull a family together or tear them apart. What distinguishes one from the other is gratitude. Gratitude for what one has, what one has to offer and what one does with it. What better time to step up and answer both the call of the environmental movement to conserve and the call for dignity, grace and generosity from a nation facing job insecurity, weak investment institutions and uncertain times?
Let’s choose to pull together and be proud to be American!
Hold on for a real doozie...did you know that Hummer owners in Texas and Alaska among other states have been given tax breaks for owning the large gas guzzling cars? What the heck is going on here? Have I missed something as I struggle through the current gas crisis and the most recent explosion of information about our current state of environmental affairs?
Dumbfounded after hearing about this during a casual conversation in Texas, I immediately researched to find out if this could possibly be true, and if so, which loop hole this snuck through. Well, wouldn't you know it, until about a year ago, Luxury SUV buyers were able to take advantage of an obscure glitch in a 1970's tax code that was designed to benefit small farmers and self employed workers when buying heavy farm machinery and trucks by exempting them from paying the luxury car tax that was in effect at the time. The intent of the exemption makes sense right? But the real news is about the abuse of the exemption by high end SUV purchasers.
I could go on but the point here is...
We need to make important well informed decisions today for tomorrow. And we need to look at the cost effectiveness of those decisions. What may appear to be a money saver up front, may end up costing much more in the end. Please for the sake of our future, our children, let's force ourselves to adjust our need for immediate gratification in favor of a cleaner, more life affirming lifestyle. Turning a blind eye or convincing ourselves that it is someone else’s problem, will not help our grandchildren and future generations.
Buy or lease a hybrid when you next need a new car. At least read up on the issue before you make your decision on what to purchase.
You won’t regret it. Better yet, your future will thank you!
Now that school is getting into full swing again, do you have concerns about what the USDA provides children through various school lunch and milk programs as well as federally assisted nutritional programs? Well we should and now there is a forum. Parents, school officials and other concerned individuals are gathering together to express themselves at "Listening Sessions" being held across the country as the USDA prepares for the 2009 reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Program. With the national success of the program, action groups are now pushing for more disclosure and input on what is being fed to our nation's children.
There are several issues that will likely be raised and might pique your interest to take action:
• Parental consent before serving genetically modified food;
• Preference for grass-fed meats from small, sustainable farms;
• Elimination of hormones, antibiotics, and steroids from school food;
• Increased use of fresh, locally grown produce;
• Affirmative action on behalf of family farms & ranches;
• Junk foods removed from schools;
• Stop using school nutrition to push the unpopular National Animal ID System (NAIS) ("an expensive and unnecessary federal program that requires owners of livestock to tag animals with electronic tracking devices. The intrusive monitoring system amounts to nothing more than a tax on livestock owners, allowing the federal government access to detailed information about their private property." Congressman Ron Paul-R -Parental Rights in Food Choice
This is your chance to be heard! Add your two cents about the lack of nutrition and levels of toxicity in our children's food! The remaining sessions will be:
Chicago, IL FNS Midwest Regional Office
GSA Conference Center Room 331
77 West Jackson Blvd. 20th Floor
Chicago, IL 60604-3507 Sept. 10, 2008
1 pm - 4 pm
For more information, call 312-353-1044
Denver, CO The Colorado History Museum
1300 Broadway
Denver, CO 80203 Sept. 11, 2008
9 am - 1 pm
For more information, call 303-844-0300
If you are unable to attend either session, you can still submit your concerns and /or general comments about the program management to the Food and Nutrition Service.
Please visit http://www.fns.usda.gov/cga/Sessions/default.htm or write to them at:
Food & Nutrition Service
3101 Park Center Drive
Alexandria, VA 22302
Change does not happen through complacency, it happens when enough people come together, use their voices and push the mass to lean one way or the other. How can we step up for all kids when it comes to having the healthy and nutritious foods necessary to live and grow? We can express our opinions through our votes, but also simply by using our voices!
