Climatic Changes: Mark 10.10.10. A Global Day of Doing...

"The good news is we know what to do. The good news is, we have everything we need now to respond to the challenge of global warming. We have all the technologies we need, more are being developed, and as they become available and become more affordable when produced in scale, they will make it easier to respond. But we should not wait, we cannot wait, we must not wait." AL GORE

Boise Wildfire by Mark Thiessen

Wheel Line Freshwater by NG

This year, 1010Global has organized groups around the world to make this the largest day of positive action on climate change. We often talk about reducing our carbon footprint, cutting down on our contributions to the emissions that continue to poison our climate and reducing waste that feeds contaminants and toxins to our food line.

However, given the average person's lifestyle and habits, it isn't as easy to give up wasteful habits; leaving lights on, letting water run, driving gas guzzling cars that emit pollutants and even tossing out tons of food in plastic garbage bags. Are there times we can walk rather than drive for an errand that is very close to our homes?


10:10:10 A GLOBAL DAY OF DOING from 10:10 on Vimeo.

How many times do we go to the buffet table and take extras which end up in the garbage? By simplifying our lives and eating naturally sourced foods, we can, one by one, reduce the burden of waste and illnesses that spread round the world. 1010Global offered a long list of things we can do to help reduce our contributions to global waste. We need an energy diet. Below are 10 of my favorite and easy things we can do to get those carbon footprints flying out the door. What do you think?


"But climate change does confront us with profound new realities. We face these new realities as a nation, as members of the world community, as consumers, as producers, and as investors. And unless we do a better job of adjusting to these new realities, we will pay a heavy price. We may not suffer the fate of the dinosaurs. But there will be a toll on our environment and on our economy, and the toll will rise higher with each new generation." EILEEN CLAUSSEN

Utah Flood Line by Jim Richardson

Rice Electricity Bio-fuel by NG

 AT HOME
♥Make note of the day your family decides to rethink energy use. Fix leaky faucets,buy less, recycle, run dishwasher when full, buy low volume toilets and shower heads. Create a goal and reward for the family by using a portion of money saved for an outing or treat.

♥Plan your food menu before leaving for the supermarket. This is huge as a shopping list can curtail our temptation to overspend on food that gets wasted.

♥Make a family fun evening exercise of searching for draughty areas in the home and sealing any exposed gaps or holes.

♥Create a 10:10:10 plan of buying or making crafty switch-off stickers for the light switches, plugs and phone chargers in your home and have the family go from room to room placing them.

♥A very important energy saver is carpooling during the school year. Team up with other parents; your childrens' friends parents and organize outings in turn. We do a version of this at home.

AT WORK/SCHOOL
♥Start up a green library so students and staff can lend each other their read books. The recycled reads can then be donated to charity for the benefit of others.

♥Replace the vending machine with a water fountain and have shared potluck sandwich lunches where each team member brings in a different salad ingredient for a varied wholesome lunch for all

♥If feasible create a compost container for extra food remains and develop/support a local garden. Each of us produces about two tonnes of wasted food emissions.

♥Encourage energy savings and printer awareness with email messages and signs like ‘Do you really need to print this?’Then have staff compete to change the energy culture at work and give out awards to efficient teams.

♥Talk to your organization about conservation and change; talk at the school assembly, office meeting, even your congregation in a 10:10:10-themed service then create a picture, video record to show off all the great work you’ve been doing to cut your carbon at the end of each fiscal year.

What are your suggestions on reducing waste and conserving energy? Do share

PHOTO CREDITS:
All Photos: by Mark Thiessen, Jim Richardson, et al via National Geographic

Until Next Time…
Ask. Believe. Receive. ©
Elizabeth Obih-Frank