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Thursday, 21 August 2008
Archives 2006 May/Jun Environmentally Yours: Simple ideas for the Greening of your Life
| Environmentally Yours: Simple ideas for the Greening of your Life | | Print | |
| Written by Evi Ecology | |
 Bringing a new consciousness to my life about the results of my actions and including a “living green” attitude has been a priority of mine for some time. As I do my research for this column, I am discovering that I am not alone. The number of people who are interested in improving the environment is increasing. We are being called the “cultural creatives.” (http://www.culturalcreatives.org/). In the book, Cultural Creatives: How 50 Million People Are Changing the World, the authors focus on an audience that distrusts the media, relies on targeted advertising, is looking for companies that share their vision and may compose half of the U.S. population in 10 years. Yet, we are busy people who are looking to simplify our live rather than add to them. The purpose of this column is to suggest to you simple things you can do to be a “cultural creative”. The number of books, periodicals and websites that provide advice on living green is expanding rapidly and a Google search of any category on environmental activism yields more information than can be absorbed. Here are a couple of websites I have utilized that might assist in providing information to assist you in your quest for sustainable living. 1. Los Angeles Department of Water & Power (http://ladwp.com/ladwp/homepage.jsp) has a “Green LA” program, which includes Trees for a Green LA, Energy Efficiency, Solar Energy, Electric Vehicles, Green Power, Recycling and Educational Services. For example, in the Tree program, if you are an electric customer of LADWP, L.A. City residents can receive FREE shade trees by participating in an online or neighborhood workshop and submitting a tree order and site plan. LADWP will deliver the trees to your home and you plant and care for them. 2. Co-Op America (http://www.coopamerica.org/) among other things, assists consumers make purchasing choices that are environmentally sustaining and markets businesses that adhere to their principles. They publish a nationwide directory, National Green Pages™ that advertises practical products from food to clothing to housewares that is free with membership. 3. Green Matters – The Busy Person’s Guide to Greener Living™ (http://www.greenmatters.com/gm/) provides weekly eco-tips via email, answers to specific questions, links to helpful information, and shopping links that include twenty-one different categories, including cleaning products, health & personal care, home improvement, office & school supplies and pet products. 4. Campaign Earth (http://www.campaignearth.org) has a challenge program that provides simple ways to get involved. Each month, they provide one new step a busy person can take. The challenge this month is to lessen the junk mail and catalogs coming to your house and they provide several steps to take. One of their actions is to send a short letter to: The Direct Marketing Association, Mail Preference Service, POB 9008, Farmingdale, NY 11735-9008 listing your name and request that you be removed from their national database. This removal lasts five years. 5. The Green Life (http://www.thegreenlife.org/) is an organization that organizes environmental, consumer and health issues from a large assortment of media sources. They specifically focus on “greenwash”, a program that exposes companies that promote themselves as being green when in fact they are not. Greenwash is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as “disinformation disseminated by an organization so as to present an environmentally responsible public image.” An example is a high profile gas company that spends millions of dollars a year in advertising touting their image as environmentalists while only spending $5,000 per year on the environmental program. (http://www.thegreenlife.org/greenwash101.html) Keep alert. Stay informed. Be conscious. Do the best you can in every moment. That is all we can ask of ourselves. I remain, Environmentally Yours, Evi Ecology Write me with your questions and comments: |
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