Too Busy for Climate Change?

photo credit: felipesp

You don’t have to save the world single handed. It’s not an all or nothing proposition for each individual. It’s simply about doing the best you can in any given day. What I’m doing today is spreading the word for Blog Action Day 2009: Climate Change.

As Monika Baurlein states today in MotherJones.com, “Fix the Climate or the Kid Gets It.” (Clever title!) We need to convince “Americans that something we care about is actually at risk here. And of course something is is. Climate change poses the greatest danger not to polar bears, not to glaciers or beaches, but to our kids.”

So what’s a busy person to do? Here are some ideas that are easy:

10 Simple Ways to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint and Save the Earth for Your Children

Turn Down the Heat/Turn Up/Off the A/C.
Use Less Paper Products. Use cloth napkins, regular plates & cups, etc instead of paper ones.
Only Use What You Need. Don’t leave the faucet running. Use less water on small laundry loads. Use less paper, plastics. Turn off lights, TV’s, Computers that aren’t being used.
Use Green Cleaning Products. Especially baking soda and vinegar!
Eat Vegetarian/Vegan When You Can. Vegan (non-animal) foods put less of a strain on the environment.
Unplug. Unplug electrical devices that aren’t being used. (“Green” power strips can make this a little easier.)
Keep Tired Fully Inflated. Better gas mileage is also more money in your pocket.
Turn Water Heater Down. Try 1 or 2 degrees. A little bit that you won’t notice, but if everyone does it, it can add up to a lot.
Use Your Own Water Bottle. That’s at least 365 less plastic bottles in a landfill!
Recycle. Keep it simple. Set up your process once and then you’ll be on auto-pilot.