Category: healthy
Wishing you Hope, Harmony, Kindness and Joy
“Small acts when multiplied by millions or people, can transform the world!” Greenpeace
Here is the Actions for Happiness calendar for January. Also, add acts of Earth kindness everyday!
Plastic bags are choking our Earth
Dear Target. Please ban plastic bags, or charge 25 cents per bag. Putting a cost on bags would make individuals value them, and hopefully reuse them, not just let them fly onto the streets and landscapes.
I get so tired of seeing plastic bags blowing on the street and fields, hanging from trees, left in bus shelters, and stuck in street gutters. These bags can last for hundreds of years, and then might only break into tiny pieces of plastic. They are made to last! It is time corporate America, Target and others, to step up and take leadership on our plastic problem. Also, each of us needs to take responsibility and always bring reusable bags shopping.
Retailers think they are doing enough by offering recycling of plastic bags. In fact only 5% of plastic bags are recycled, but according to my local recycler there isn’t much of a market for the recycling of plastic bags.
The best thing you can do is bring your own reusable bags!
Some states and cities have banned single-use plastic. Read more here
Good News from 2019
And from Future Crunch 99 good news stories:
https://futurecrun.ch/99-good-news-2019
Good news gives me hope and I hope these stories give you hope for 2020!
The two stories from 2019 that give me most hope are the leadership of Greta Thunberg, climate activist, and Jacinda Ardern, prime minister of New Zealand.
Consumer Power
A consumer is powerful. The choices we make, and what we purchase changes marketing and products, and as consumers we can make a big difference by the choices we make. The choices we make can make a positive change on the environment creating a more sustainable world.
The Arctic is melting, and much of the earth is experiencing record hot temperatures, our children are demanding change. What choice do we have?
As a wise consumer you can help to reduce your harmful impact on our earth by increasing your shopping awareness and taking your consumer power seriously. If everyone does a little it can add up to a lot!
Being sustainable consumers are priorities for our household. These are our suggestions for ways to use your consumer power:
- Heighten your awareness of packaging and waste, choosing products with minimal or no wasteful plastic packaging.
- Always shop with reusable bags.
- Never purchase products with glitter or Styrofoam. They can’t be recycled.
- Shop reuse stores. Some of my favorite clothes and items come from consignment stores.
- Shop bulk items.
Buying in bulk is a good way to manage food waste, and plastic waste. Bring your own bags or containers. - Shop retailers that pay living wages, and are local over big box stores.
- Buy nothing and reuse what you have!
- Purchase items that will last instead of cheap junk.
- Avoid all single-use plastic
- Make your own choices, don’t be owned by corporations like Apple, Target, Amazon etc.
Save 100%
How can we be sustainable consumers? We have another die warning from the UN on the climate crisis we are experiencing. Buying more stuff does not help the earth. If you need to purchase items, do it in a more sustainable manner. See below.
We don’t need to purchase to be happy. I went to see the new Fred Rogers movie. The messages are subtle, but say a lot. Rogers was a master at helping children to feel important. and to feel good about themselves. He thought television was an excellent educational tool, but had been ruined because it tried to turn children into consumers demanding things they didn’t need. As we enter the holiday season and a time of extreme consumerism read more about Fred and his philosophy here
Consumerism and saving money is on our minds. Unfortunately, we have become a throwaway society. Do you use an item for a short time then throw it away, and even worse we raise our children to get bored quickly from that item they just had to have. Again, we don’t need to purchase to be happy. This holiday, how can we be more sustainable and honor the season at the same time?
- Join or create your own Friday climate march #FridayforFuture
- Always shop with a reusable bag and avoid all plastic.
- Shop reuse stores. Some of my favorite clothes come from consignment stores.
- Give gifts of help, time and outside events.
- Shop retailers that pay living wages, and are local over big box stores.
- Buy nothing and save 100%. Reuse what you have!
- Purchase items that will last instead of cheap junk.
- Plan a day outside instead of shopping, REI.
Happy Holidays! Pause, Enjoy, Reuse
Does Black Friday promote “resource waste and overconsumption?” Read at France.
Reduce the waste you generate!
“I only feel angry when I see waste, when I see people throwing away things we could use.” Mother Teresa Only 9% of recyclables are recycled in the United States compared with Germany and Norway that recycle in the 60% range. Plastic manufacturers continue to create more plastic and push recycling. Unfortunately, recycling is not a sustainable option. I hope you will work hard to recycle your bottles, containers and paper waste because making things from recycled material is awesome and saves lots of energy and natural resources, but as consumers we need to also purchase items made from recycled materials.
A new paradigm is needed, we all need to reduce the waste and recycling we generate. Wasteful packaging needs to stop! Make it a priority in your life to reduce the waste you generate. Here are some simple ideas to get you started:
First, cook at home instead of take-out. Yes, it is some work, but organizing to have a few meals made ahead or in crock pots can reduce lots of waste and be fun at the same time.
Always carry your reusable water bottle and reusable bags.
Be a smart shopper, always think how you can purchase less waste, especially plastic waste. Don’t purchase plastic or Styrofoam trayed produce. Many stores have cloth bags you can purchase for produce.
Shop in bulk and refill any bottles your grocery store makes possible. Food coops have lots of refill options.
Choose products out of recycled material if you can find them.
Never put plastic bags in your recycling cart, recycle them at your local stores.
