Blog Action Day 2009

Race-goers relaxing at the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, Longchamp, Paris.  Photo by David Holmes.

Idyllic weather and relaxing afternoons like the one pictured won't be around for long, if we don't address the critical issues of climate change. Recently my friend Julie in Denmark asked if it might take a major European country such as the Netherlands to be under water before people pay attention.

The effects of climate change are widespread, touching virtually every corner of the earth. From glaciers melting in Greenland to waters flooding islands in the Pacific to temperatures rising around the world, climate change is underway. And as more and more people are driven from their homes by rising waters or worse, poverty and conflict will worsen, as the world's refugee population increases. The burden to care for these people will be for us to assume.

World leaders are meeting December 8-18 at a United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark.  Lowering carbon emissions levels, carbon trading and reducing air and water pollution are among the topics to be explored.

In conjunction with the summit, an outdoor photographic exhibit currently underway in Copenhagen shows 100 places to remember before they disappear.

While environmental problems may seem overwhelming, there are small and simple steps we can take every day for a cleaner, healthier more sustainable environment. In conjunction with the photographic exhibit, Co+Life has provided 100 examples of how we - individually and collectively - can solve or counter the effects of climate change.

Besides recycling our paper, plastic, aluminum and glass, we can take public transportation; plan smarter travel; eat healthier foods. American green-living guru Danny Seo writes a blog providing simple, everyday tips, from changing lightbulbs to more energy-efficient models, to revamping or repurposing old furniture.

In the United Kingdom, John Lewis has published a "modern reworking" of a 1943 government booklet about making the most of minimal resources: Make Do and Mend. Follow  Make Do and Mend on Twitter for useful daily household tips

Even our old computers, mobile phones and other electronic products can be recycled. The Environmental Protection Agency provides information about regional and national programs available.

My pet peeve is excess packaging. I'm contacting the manufacturers of products I purchase regularly to ask them to reduce unnecessary and cumbersome packaging. Recently I bought a portable phone charger in London. It took a good 15 minutes, using all my strength to pry open the heavy plastic surround.

What's your favourite energy-saving or recycling measure? Are there specific habits you follow to help preserve the environment?

Join me and more than 5000 bloggers participating in Blog Action Day, focusing on climate change.

Comments

[Vicki in Michigan]

I never use a dryer.

In summer we hang the clothes outside, and in winter we hang them in the basement.

[pam aries]

An excellent post Tara. I agree with you totally...it's too bad more people don't agree with you politically ! I do my best to reduce> reuse>recycle<. I worry for the future of this planet.

[Rochambeau]

Thank you for your post Tara!
Yes indeed to recycling!! And to remaking and reinventing things we already have.
One of the saddest form of packaging, was bottled water.
Simon's comment is powerful. I think he is right.

Thinking of you dear girlfriend,
xox
Constance

[Gypsy Purple-Chamara]

Hi there...I`m back in blogland and catching up on all the 100`s of fabulous posts I missed out on.....and here you are still posting about the most wonderful things...glad to be back---I tryly missed your posts...--Gypsy Purple -Chamara

[jeanie]

Compliments to the photographer -- great photo!

My favorite -- passing it on. Before things get pitched (or even recycled) I try to pass it on to someone else who might use it. Next project: A bunch of books in the basement that will either go to a collector, library sale, consignment or resale, but not in the trash!

[simon]

climate change has been occurring since the earth began and we are coming to the end of an ice age "period." By that I mean the polar caps.

You cannot halt climate change but you can shift the "rate of change"- if and only if human activity is the cause of the accelerated rate. There is also some evidence of solar flaring (on the sun of course) which has been bombarding the earth- scientists also think that this has had the potential to heat the earth.

That is not to say we must be vigilant and leave "less footprint" because its good for the environment anyway. Frankly the new "carbon emission schemes" just look like another way to tax the people. Why dont governments legislate against the stupid packaging, make water tanks, wind and solar power essential in the building of homes, factories and office blocks.

I still remember paper bags used for shopping, or and old box. I still remember a house only had a light in each room not dozens I even remember our first home which had a water tank and we were told we would be fined if we did not remove it....

BTW dont be fooled into thinking that hybrid cars are the future either- the "whole of life cost" eg the way the cadmium is mined for the batteries, plastics use as well makes these just as dirty as the average car. ( most consumers dont think about it.

frankly I dont think anything we can do will halt the inevitable. But that does not mean we should give up either...

[Gillian daSilva]

We share a peeve it seems. Heavy plastic packaging features on items shipped in containers overseas from China, because they need to be properly protected for the long journey. Hence all the packaging. Even the toys come with a thousand plastic ties holding it in place behind a thick plastic window...you are right about needing all your strength and wherewithal to open the simplest of items. If I had a nickel for everytime I cut my finger on some cheap piece of plastic...!
Potential solution: If more items were manufactured locally, creating jobs for people in Europe, Canada and the US...perhaps we wouldn't rely so heavily on the cheap labour and shoddy goods being shipped to us in this day and age of "built in" obsolescence.
My local recycling facility doesn't accept some of the plastics these things are shipped in, so off it goes to the landfill where it takes on average 1000 years to break down into soil again. It is maddening.
Hope you are enjoying the break, England, Oxford, and B&B!!! Can't wait to hear all about it. xoxo

[gemma]

Eat local food, ride your bike or walk if you can, cut down on electricity, quit using plastic water bottles and grocery bags,recycle clothing. There are alot of simple things we can do.
:-)

[Stephanie]

Thank you for opening my eyes to this blog day event...I'm a bit late. Our city is very good at recycling, they make it easy for us. I ride my bike as often as I can and have a hybrid car. Eating local....had a meal with the last of our neighborhood garden carrots and potatoes tonight.

so many things we can do as individuals.

you're the best for keeping us focused and aware.

[urbanartiste]

I recently saw an infomercial of a product specifically for opening difficult plastic packaging. The use of plastic for packaging, particularly childrens products, needs to be outlawed; it is such a detriment to the environment.

Tara, I still regularly visit your blog for the Paris features. I do enjoy the posts eventhough I may not agree with you politically.

[amber]

Me too, I hate all that packaging! Kids toys are horrible about this!

I have a laundry basket of fabric bags in my car. We really don't need all the plastic bags. It is so easy to have your own, and they are stronger!

:)

[Kay]

I like to think we do our bit but I'm sure with a little effort we could do more ... it's certainly the hottest topic around, EVERYONE is now aware of global warming, looking after our planet etc. Different to what I remember in the 70s when there was just a few hippies who cared about such things ...I've always kept an eye on things and have done my best to be good. (My latest idea is to have a vege garden again - we used to when the kids were home and little and I seemed to have more time at home.)

[christina]

Yes, that excess packaging is so unnecessary! We recycle everything. It helps to buy used too.
xo

[Elizabeth Rhiannon]

Nice post, gives us all a good think :) Hm...let's see...I did buy the grocery bags offered at the store to reduce plastic bag use. We have a recycle bin at our house that I carefully go through (which is no small task), that goes out with our trash pick up. I don't know if it helps or if it's just a strange thing I do, but I re-use many of my glass jars, some for drinking from (hubby and son think I'm crazy...yes, a little), I also try to limit my use of chemicals in the house and garden and everyone has a timed shower with strict rules of no running water unless it's being used that very second! :)

[Sheris White]

Fortunately we live by the beach and with San Diego's mild climate, we don't have air conditioning and our heater went out 15 years ago and we never replaced it. We drive a Toyota hybrid. Since we are in a mandatory water conservation program, we have drought tolerant landscaping. We get teased about our habit of tearing out the plastic windows in envelopes and recycling the paper tags on clothes. We only buy eggs in cardboard cartons. We mostly buy organic produce from our local market, where you have to supply your own paper bags. We replaced the incandescent light bulbs with the energy saving bulbs. I agree with all the unnecessary packaging and wish we could recycle more plastic than we are allowed to.

I'm grateful for your wonderful blog!

[Crafty Green poet]

Good post, your point about us not really taking note of climate change unless the Netherlands sinks under the rising seas is very soberign and scarily probably quite true.

My favourite environmental tip is reusing waste materials in crafts. My pet peeve is like yours excessive packaging.

[Marianne]

Yay for you Tara! My favorite it not owning a car - I love the train with a passion and walk everywhere. But I also have no clothes dryer, no television, no electric heaters or air conditioning. I grow my own veggies, compost my organic waste and recycle anything I can. We try not to buy things that come in plastic packaging, we've found great bulk supply places for our basic groceries. We've given up meat and have switched to only organic and biodynamic dairy products. Lots of small steps, but doing as much as I can for the moment. I am convinced that we are all going to need to change our lifestyles one way or another and I figure changing voluntarily and before we destroy the planet makes more sense than waiting until we have no choice.

[RD]

I recycle just about everything that comes in the house in my grocery bags. My recycling bin is overflowing on trash pick up days and my trash bin is practically empty. For some reason this makes me feel so good. The idea of all that plastic and tin sitting in landfills makes me ill. I too cringe at all the insane packaging that manufacturers do--especially children's toys! I also have cut down my car trips around town significantly in the last few years. I stick close to home these days.

[pam aries]

I a m a big recycler and I agree on the excess packaging..some items are absolutley ridiculous with all the wrapping, plastic, boxes.

[Marilyn]

Something I noticed traveling in Europe is the use of the clothes line instead of the dryer. This is something I am trying to do more of to save on electrical use. Even some of the hotels we stayed in hung the laundry.