What are your acts of green? Tell us and you could WIN!
What are your acts of green?
I've seen many ads with the handsome George Stroumboulopoulos, always talking about this One Million Acts of Green. I've been dying to know how I can get in on the George action ... errrr ... I mean, GREEN action.
Here's what's worth knowing about this great campaing:
It was launched last year with the intention of mobilizing Canadians to perform at least one act of green, as each act can make a difference. Whether you walk to work once a week, change your regular lightbulbs to compact fluorescent bulbs or vow to only buy local fruits and vegetables - or decide to undertake all those acts – your actions will make a huge difference.
Once you undertake your One Million Acts of Green mission, you simply visit green.cbc.ca to register your act. A green calculator on the website will calculate the impact your act has on the environment. And, all your "acts" will be saved on the site, so you can keep track of the difference you've made.
For instance, if your green act is to do your laundry in cold water, you'll see that of the 154,000 participants that have made this change, and as a result, have saved a total of 1.8 million kg of green house gasses. All that from just doing your laundry in cold water. I hope you're tempted to make the change!
As of this morning, we've surpassed our goal of one million acts of green by over 67,000 – and the numbers continue to grow.
What are your acts of green? Why did you decide to make a green resolution? Share your answers with me and Green Living Blog readers and you could win a copy of the GAIAM DVD Simple Steps to a Greener Home. This DVD will help you turn your home into an eco-friendly haven. Environmental lifestyle expert Danny Seo will help you go green - in style!
Need some great tips and ideas on how to go green? Check out our guide to greener living!
Tags: CBC, George Stroumboulopoulos, green living, one million acts of green
February 10th, 2009 at 4:47 pm
My newest act of green is to buy all things made in Canada...instead of from overseas. Less transportation involved, easier to check-up on local companies way of doing things then it is far away companies. Products made in Canada using materials made in Canada is also good for our economy and supports our own talents.
February 11th, 2009 at 3:53 pm
If anyone is going to motivate me to commit one act of Green it's George. Everyday I make an effort to take the plastic lid off my coffee cup. Throw the lid in the garbage and the cup in the recycling bin! The plastic lids "contaminate" and make batches of paper recycling impossible! It's a simple thing I do everyday but I know it has an impact - especially when I make a show of it to try and get other people at the garbage to do the same!
February 11th, 2009 at 5:26 pm
My act of green is trying to use as much eco friendly products as possible.
February 11th, 2009 at 9:11 pm
Even though I rent and my landlord supplied a lawnmower, I have a very large yard (1/5 of an acre) and I didn't like using a gas mower so I bought a rechargeable battery operated mower. Not only is it quiet but I like not adding to the pollution in my city.
February 12th, 2009 at 12:31 pm
Last year, I got rid of my car. I walk to work every day (it's about 30 mins, and a great way to get in some physical activity), and I pack a lunch in resuable containers. I am really lucky to live near a place that is an almost-permanent famers market. I can get fresh, local, seasonal foods all year round. As well, I have become a lot more conscious about recycling. I have even put a reminder not to print my emails unless needed at the bottom of my signature! It feels good to do all of that, plus, my co-workers and friends tell to follow suit since they feel guilty about not putting in a minimal effort themselves.
February 12th, 2009 at 12:54 pm
My act of green is to also wash all my clothes in cold water. I live in a small town and only take my car when it is near 40 below, otherwise I walk my kids to school.
February 12th, 2009 at 1:40 pm
I've started making an effort to seek out organic or bamboo clothing after reading about how many pesticides are used on conventional cotton and also that many clothes are treated with formaldehyde to prevent wrinkling. I feel better about what I'm putting on my body, and that it has a more positive environmental impact before it gets to me.
February 13th, 2009 at 2:58 pm
I got my drivers licsense when I was 16 years, bought a car (with my parents help) shortly after and have not gotten on a bus in almost 30 years. So when I told my family, in the fall, that I was going to start bussing it to work, they were a little surprised, and probably thought I would never make it. But, here I am, almost 6 months later, wondering why it took me so long to do this! I have also made a more conscience effort to buy local, either in food or other products as well. I am slowly trying to go more green, having lived in a "throw away" world, and hopefully I can pass this on to my kids, to save the earth for their kids...
February 14th, 2009 at 1:51 pm
I compost! And I have the best garden in the neighborhood. We use all our old vegetable, fruit scraps and eggshells in our compost and also lint from the vacuum and dirt swept from the floor. We have two composters going all year around. I love the fertilizer and I am doing my part to cut down our family's waste. we don't use any chemicals on our lawn, except vinegar for stubborn weeds, so we also compost all our grass clippings and leaves. Its the way to go!
February 15th, 2009 at 10:37 am
I do alot of acts of green without even knowing it as it's just a part of my daily life. I taught my kids to be gentle with the earth and it will be gentle back.
I have a compost at home and as an alternative to throwing out at work I've just purchased composting worms for the office. I think municipalities should make these worms available to those that live in apartments and to others that don't have the space for an outdoor compost. I air dry my clothes, I wash in cold water, I walk to work most days, I buy "green" cleaning products for use in our office, I recycle everything I can. Luckily our municipality recycles plastic bags and such. I also bring my own bags to the store.
I also reuse anything I can. I grew up in the era that if you can fix it then fix it, don't buy another. If you can't fix it, what else can you do with the item. Can you make it into something that is useful? I've made some pretty cool things in my time
I also am a member of "Freecycle". Its a great way to find homes for things you can't use or to find something you need as well.
I try to be green as much as possible and I hope that my small step will show others to follow that concept. thank you!
February 15th, 2009 at 1:23 pm
WOW! What great answers so far. It's great to read that a lot of people out there are trying to go green ... in such a variety of ways! Keep sharing your answers with us here at the Green Living Blog, and I'll post a winner here on Tuesday!
Keep giving me great ideas!
February 16th, 2009 at 6:05 pm
Lately when my son and I are out for a walk, whether out to play or on the way home from the bus; we will pick up garbage. We bring a bag along and just pick up bits and pieces as we see them. When we get home we dispose of it properly, recycle it if we can, or into the bin.
February 18th, 2009 at 10:20 am
I make sure that the lunches I pack for my kids and husband are green. I make sure that everything is "compostable" and if I do have something that has packaging, it is recycled afterward.
February 19th, 2009 at 7:19 pm
My newest act of green is reading online versions of magazines such as Glow, Chatelaine, Now, Sweetspot.ca and divine.ca. This helps to reduce paper waste and also helps me personally to reduce clutter!
February 21st, 2009 at 1:20 pm
I love this idea of our country going green. This is something that seemed to have gotten lost over the last few generations.
My parents were enviromentalists without even knowing it. We'd watch as our Dad planted trees around the vast property. We were aware of how he composted old food, how he re-used bottles and other containers. My Mother washed in cold water (for 10 children) and she re-used all the bread bags. We were always made aware that when you leave a room turn out the lights, don't waste the water and tear paper into small pieces.
Sometimes we would see our Dad go down from the house with the garbage and burn it in an old drum. You couldn't do that today. He believed in no wasting and no cluttering.
Also, instead of buying canned fruits and veggies we did gardening every summer. There's nothing better than a fresh garden tomato or a delightful corn roast.
I must admit I put aside some of these teachings as I raised my family, however now that they are on their own I am more aware of what I do. Yes, I often think of my Dad when I empty a jar of applesauce..."hmmm....maybe I could use this for something." I guess we all have a little of our parents wisdom tucked away and it's great to see it being put into action today.
Smiles,
Dorothy
March 12th, 2009 at 4:34 pm
My latest act of greener living is to give all gifts in a recycling shopping bag. That way I'm not wasting paper wrapping or bag, and I explain that the bag is part of my gift to encourage everyone to live greener and use re-usable shopping bags for their own personal shopping. You can find many cute and colorful ones for all your gal pals and even get some at Home Depot and Rona for the guys in your life. Live Green!
March 15th, 2009 at 3:33 pm
I've been replacing my plastic storage containers in favour of using glass-- mason jars or large mouth glass bottles (used, not purchased new). Takes up less space in the fridge and in the cupboard. I also use mason jars as freezer containers (just have to be careful not to fill them too full or they will crack). The half gallon jars are great for putting soup in, and the very smallest jars are great for storing herbs and spices. Other sizes are great for storing leftovers in the fridge...
March 18th, 2009 at 2:00 am
Our new home is about 35 years old, and it has lots of room for improvement. We have started by getting an energy audit, and are now in the process of getting quotes/information to replace all of the windows to increase the efficiency of our home. This is our big plan for the year, as well as caulking and investigating insulation options to increase what we have. Before upgrading our furnace, we want to strengthen the envelope of the house so we don't leak out all the heat.
I'm also the proud owner of my very first garden. I will have a little vegetable garden, lots of flowers/plants etc and am looking to garden without any fertilizers/weed killers etc. to be as organic as is possible in a suburban environment. I've been using newspaper over the winter to cover the vegetable garden to suppress the weeds and I'm searching for a vinegar based weedkiller as it's safe for our little boys and our dog. I used boiling water and vinegar in the fall and it worked where I put it.
I've been saving eggshells to mix into the dirt, both for plant food and for slug deterrent, and have put all our yard waste out for pickup as our city composts it. I'm going to get a composter of my own from them this spring and later a worm composter (so my son can help and enjoy it)
Around the house we are replacing our incandescent bulbs with cfl's, our cleaners with gentler products like Seventh Generation, and wash in cold water everything but the diapers.
I'm not perfect, but I'm using cloth diapers when we are at home and many of these I got from freecycle and craigslist and will pass them on when we are done with them. I wash these in hot water, but hang them to dry in our laundry room.
We do lots of little things all the time, but we still have a long way to go. (like remembering to bring those cloth bags into the store - they don't work well from the car!) For me, it became more important when our son was born, and now with a new baby, it just magnifies it all.
March 18th, 2009 at 10:57 am
My biggest green act is applying for a transfer to the city where I live instead of commuting. I love my workplace, and I already commute, but I hate that I'm polluting the environment every day so this is one way to make a huge change!