Getting started in 2010

Now is the time for change As we reflect on time passed and progress into the new year, have we considered “improving air quality” as  a resolution?

It’s a huge commitment we know,  just like losing weight and saving money.  But no comparison or price can be placed on protecting our environment and securing a safe future for our children.

Making changes in the way we live is key not only to our health and happiness--but to our survival as well.

So stop for a moment and ask yourself this, "Why not me?  Why not now?"  The time to go green, breathe clean is NOW.  Let's do it together.

Change your mindset | Know your impact | Continue learning

Changing your mindset Every month this year, we will take you through a series of sustainable solutions exploring the course of our everyday lives— how we work, travel and live, adjusting them to minimize environmental disruptions.

First, let's uncover some common misconceptions about environmental stewardship that inhibit many of us from taking action and the truths behind them:

Myth #1: It is too difficult and disruptive to change my habits

Changes  do not have to be immediately broad and uncompromising.  After doing something a certain way long enough, it becomes automatic. Forming new eco-friendly behaviors is simply a process of time, repetition and growth. Even in areas where you may have deep-rooted habits, rethinking the full experience and implications of those habits can reveal how unsustainable they really are. Giving up your car two or three days a week or carpooling isn't necessarily a hardship, it's just an adjustment.
Tip#1: Start making small and simple improvements and build on them.

Myth #2:  Environmentally-friendly products are hard to find
and expensive

Many earth-friendly products are as economical, or more so, than their counterparts because they often utilize recycled or reclaimed materials, require less processing and output less waste.  Some products carry deferred savings after an initially higher expenditure.
Tip#2: Retrofitting your home with Compact Fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) significantly reduces energy costs in the long run.

Myth #3:  The economy will suffer if I seek out green-minded companies

A shift in consumer loyalties is typical in a market economy.  Demands for new and different products and technologies give rise to new markets, spawning innovation,  competition, investment, market growth and jobs.  Corporations are in business to stay in business,  and under good leadership, they will change with consumer demand to stay relevant and competitive.
Tip#3: Supporting green businesses is the most important thing you can do to protect our economic future, while promoting environmental sustainability.

Myth #4: Living green will deprive my family and me conveniences and comforts

Whatever your favorite comforts and conveniences,, there are most likely substitutes that will prove to be equally or more satisfying when all the facts are considered.  Adopting a greener lifestyle doesn't have to be an exercise in deprivation.
Tip#4: What you might initially count as loss is actually a trade for benefits and much gratification—a healthier, simpler, more balanced, increasingly sustainable life.

Myth #5:  Nothing I do will make a difference if no one else is doing anything

No  one is  alone in their concern for the environment.  Your efforts and choice to walk lighter on this earth when multiplied over many days and many people, produce positive, meaningful results.  Even if those changes  cannot be seen immediately, they are still occurring.
Tip#5:  Change yourself and you will unwittingly  evoke change in others.

Now that we know the real truth, the buck stops here.  Let’s make a change today.  Let’s cultivate an appreciation for the cause-and-effect relationship between actions and the environment.  Let’s share and prescribe practical solutions.

Above all else, let’s prosper through gradual integration of new behaviors retained to sustain prolonged environmental improvements.

NOW is the time for change.

Know your impact Before looking at what's going on around you, start with a simple exercise to explore how you impact the environment. Carbon Footprint Calculator

How did you do?  Once you know your impact, the next step is to reduce it.  You may have noticed a few green tips highlighted above. Pick one.

Just do one green thing today—it will lead to many more.

Continue learning

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• Learn about other ways to go green, breathe clean

Next month: How we live at home.>>>
Learn how to get an energy audit, reduce your home's CO2 emissions, and more.