If, like me, you’re concerned about the state of our world from an environmental standpoint, you might be pondering a New Year’s resolution that has more to do with making a change on a global scale rather that on your bathroom scale. Implement some – or all – of these ideas to make a positive impact with your commitment to change and teach your geeklings to be responsible residents of this Earth.
1. Read Eaarth – Making a Life on a Tough New Planet. It will open your eyes about why it’s imperative that we make changes now. My review is here.
2. Paper NOR Plastic. Somewhere between 500 billion and a trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide each year. Those free bags that your grocery store and shopping mall provides for your convenience are smothering the earth in plastic. Not to mention the fact that plastic bags are a petroleum product and thus unnecessarily depleting our oil supply. While there are plenty of reusable bags to choose from, I find that the ones that fold up and tuck into my purse are always there when I need them. You can also get reusable produce bags for fruits, vegetables, and bulk food purchases.
3. Skip the zip tops. If your lunch is littered with single use zip top or sandwich bags, consider trying something a little bit different. The reusable Kid Konserve Food Cozy is made from recycled (and recyclable) bpa-free plastic and closes with Velcro. Or try a zero-waste bento-style lunch system or the PlanetBox.
[Read more of Kris Bordessa’s geeky ways to save the planet in 2011 over at GeekMom!]
