A guide for reducing your personal impact

As posted on TreeHugger.com: by Meg O’Neill, Newport RI

You probably already know that the average temperature of the Earth’s surface has risen about 1 degree Fahrenheit over the past hundred years, and that it’s mostly due human activity. In a nutshell, that’s global warming. So what can you do about? We’re glad you asked, because today marks the official launch of the Slate Green Challenge with TreeHugger, and you are cordially invited to participate.

On average, every American is responsible for about 22 tons of carbon-dioxide emissions per year. That’s equivalent to the emissions of about 4 cars. How can you change that? By joining our eight-week carbon diet. It begins with a quiz that will assess your overall carbon emissions footprint. Then, each week–starting today with transportation–we’ll give you info and tips on how you can reduce your personal impact. Come back every week between now and Dec. 11 for the other units we’ve developed topics such as food, clothing, electricity, and holiday shopping. (And don’t worry if you miss the launch date—you can begin anytime during the eight-week period.) Collectively, we’re hoping for an overall reduction of 20 percent. Think you can do it? For your efforts, we’ve got a prize: The first 500 people who complete the Challenge will receive a T-shirt from our generous friends and sponsor at I’m Organic. Now go on, get over there. Don’t you think you could stand to lose 5,000 pounds?

Click here to Participate!! 

The trend to “go organic” is gaining steam. With more and more organic products becoming available in mainstream grocery stores every day, an increasing number of people (30% since 2000) are leaning toward a more organic lifestyle and discovering what a difference it can make in their lives, and their health.

The benefits of organic foods and natural living are not new to Ocean Robbins. Ocean was born in a one-room cabin three miles from the closest neighbor. His parents, John and Deo Robbins, grew their own food and raised the family on less than $500 a year.

“Though we were probably considered “monetarily” poor, we were abundantly rich in our surroundings – clean air, clean water, and a beautiful forest,” says Ocean.

Ocean recalls his father quoting Henry David Thoreau: “I make myself rich by making my wants few.” The family’s diet was completely plant-based, and since organic cotton was hard to come by in rural Canada in the 1970s, the Robbins reused and recycled everything they could.

When he was ten years old, Ocean and his parents moved to California, as his father John began writing his international best seller, Diet for a New America (one of many revolutionary books to come from the former Baskin-Robbins heir).

The transition from living deep in the Canadian forest to California was challenging for Ocean. When he discovered just how differently the rest of the world was living, he was inspired to begin his own work to impact the world and change people’s lives.

“There was no way for me to be truly happy knowing so many people were living in misery,” said Ocean.

At 16, Ocean founded YES! (Youth for Environmental Sanity). The organization’s mission is to educate, inspire and empower young people to join forces for a thriving, just and sustainable way of life for all. Now in its 16th year, YES! is going strong, operating from the Robbins’ eco-friendly home and offices in Soquel, California.

“It’s important that we walk the talk,” Ocean says. The Robbins’ home, which is shared by Ocean, his wife Michele and their twin sons, Bodhi and River, and Ocean’s parents, is a shining example of how one can live without dependency on electricity or other fuels. The home and offices are powered by Siemens Solar panels and Trace Engineering invertors that provide reliable power of consistently high quality.

Energy efficient appliances, such as a Sun Frost refrigerator, preserve energy and the family farm provides a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. Bodhi and River are eager to get their little hands dirty harvesting zucchini or berries and are learning how foods are grown and how to live off the land in an eco-friendly manner; the same way Ocean was raised. Clothing is made from organic cotton, and though they try to grow the majority of their food, Ocean is a strong supporter of local growers and farmers markets.

Ocean and Michele both work for YES!, with Michele as the organization’s president. The Robbins and YES! staff spend a great deal of time planning and organizing the YES! Jams, which connect, inspire and empower young visionaries on a global level by bringing together groups of thirty diverse young leaders for week-long Jams to facilitate networking, skills sharing and community-building. You can learn more about YES! at www.YesWorld.org.

***5% of your purchase through November 21st will be donated to YES!

For the greater portion of my junior year of college I had the pleasure and the privilege to study in Thailand at The International Sustainable Development Studies Institute. One of my courses was Island Environments and Cultures in the Adang Archipelago National Marine Park in the AndamanSea, Southwest Thailand. The area is a breeding ground essential to the conservation of the biodiversity of Southeast Asian seas and for the sustainability of regional fisheries. The area has also become a hot spot for Lonely Planet, backpacker-type travelers that are flocking to the area for its bungalow style resorts as an alternative to Phuket’s over-crowded beaches and high-rise hotel style.

One of the most difficult tasks of the trip was to remember my role as a leave-no-trace researcher and student all while my classroom was a white sand beach and my bed was a hammock strung between two coconut trees — paradise. One thing I saw while on the islands, more than once, was one of the immediate effects of tourists on these strained islands. There was a commotion from the instructors and my classmates and a din of people in a semi-circle around something on the beach being illuminated by head-lamps. As I got closer to the object I was completely confused. Crawling across the beach was a plastic cold cream container? At closer look, I realized that this piece or trash was the home of one of the island’s many hermit crabs. It turns out, as my instructor explained, that hermit crabs’ shells don’t grow, so the crabs move out when their shell has gotten too small. So, why the cold cream container? When tourists scour the beach for treasures, such as the coveted large, undamaged conch-style shell, they are leaving many of the locals homeless.

Over my time on the beaches I also saw other pieces of plastic bottles, including the top of a 20 oz. Pepsi bottle as a makeshift home. Not only are hermit crabs not meant to live in our irresponsibly discarded trash, they are unable to retreat into the containers when in danger. I was overwhelmed with feelings of despair and guilt, I too have a collection of shells and coral from my morning beach walk treasure hunts. Everything in the ocean is part of a greater whole, and there is an absence felt when we take it home as a souvenir.

So, have I given up my ritual of sunrise/sunset walks on the beach and treasure hunts? Absolutely not. Now when I walk the beach, I collect beach glass, parts of broken glass bottles that humans have dumped into the ocean. Because it isn’t an original product of the ocean, collecting it won’t upset the ocean’s delicate ecosystem, and it looks beautiful displayed in glass jars or as a part of a mosaic. Rubbed down bricks are also a great find. Or, maybe a game to play with your kids could be picking up shells and litter that could potentially kill the ocean’s wildlife. At the end of the walk, give the shells back to the ocean and take the litter back to a receptacle where it can be disposed of properly.

Fair Trade products bear the “Fair Trade Certified” label and the “Fair Trade Federation” logo. But, what exactly does ‘Fair Trade’ mean?  According to the Fair Trade Federation, criteria for Fair Trade includes:

•Paying a fair wage in the local context.
•Offering employees opportunities for advancement.
•Providing equal employment opportunities for all people, particularly the most disadvantaged.
•Engaging in environmentally sustainable practices.
•Being open to public accountability.
•Building long-term trade relationships.
•Providing healthy and safe working conditions within the local context.
•Providing financial and technical assistance to producers whenever possible.

During the month of October, to celebrate Fair Trade Month, we’re going to explore more of the who’s, how’s, and why’s of Fair Trade.