New Start
Many thanks to Kathryn for her thoughts…
By Kathryn Macduffee
This January, for most of us, has been the ultimate ‘out-with-the-old, in-with-the-new” experience. A Gregorian New Year, a Chinese New Year and an historic changeover in the American administration all in the same 25 days is about as sweeping a change as we can expect.
New starts are always filled with hope and promise. Success is about hanging on to that feeling when the going gets tough. I love it when we get Chinese New Year close on the heels of our traditional January 1st celebration. If your sights were a little too high, your resolutions a little too enthusiastic, and the going a little too tough, just adjust and make some‘more achievable’ promises to yourself on January 26 when the Chinese Year of the Ox rolls in.
May I suggest a few that will not only benefit you and yours, but also the entire planet? One Million Acts of Green has some very achievable standards set out for Canadians that may sound small, but when multiplied by a community are huge.
One Million Acts of Green is presented by The Hour, in partnership with CBC and Cisco, with the idea that one small act can make a difference. They call it ‘the human network effect’. Here is their list:
Use a stainless steel water bottle and refillable coffee cup. Styrofoam cups can end up in landfills and take approximately 20,000 years to degrade. Paper cups can add toxic chemicals to the environment and contribute to deforestation.
Eat a vegetarian meal at least once a week. It requires significantly less greenhouse gas emissions to produce, and is a healthy alternative to add to your diet.
Drink tap water instead of bottled water. A lot of energy and chemicals are needed to get that bottled water to you.
Walk or bike to work instead of driving, reducing emissions, saving money and staying healthy.
Reduce your printing at work, using both sides of the page or not printing at all.
This is a beginning. For more ideas visit www.OneMillionActsofGreen.com where you may also register your acts toward that million mark.
Goals rooted in what really matters are easier by far to keep than facile resolutions that roll off the surface. What do you care enough about to make you push up your shirt sleeves and spit out “Yes I can!”? A phrase which brings us back to the new U.S. president.
In his speeches he repeatedly calls on the American people to work together . . . to use the power of one and watch it exponentially increase that act of green, or act of compassion or act of courage. Together, he pleads, we can change the world. And we believe in that moment that it’s true.
Related Posts - Is water becoming ‘the new oil’? Public fountains are dry in Barcelona, Spain, a city so parched there’s a €9,000 ($13,000) fine if you’re caught watering your flowers. A tanker...
- Bush Legacy Gone But Not Forgotten It has now been three months since President Bush and his family boarded their plane back to Texas and handed the reins of power over...
- Wall Street set for higher open NEW YORK–Wall Street appeared headed for a strong open Thursday after IBM Corp. reaffirmed its profit outlook and investors hoped that the panic selling that cascaded through global markets a...
- Obama’s bind over aid to banks The Obama administration faces a difficult test as it prepares a plan for restoring America’s banking system to health: The cost estimates keep rising even as public mood is...
- How Much Oil Do You Eat? Over the past few years, as the green movement has grown, more attention has been paid to our food system. Pollution is rampant, we've become removed from knowing how or...
- Ubisoft to Open Toronto Studio By Stephen Chua - Ubisoft, the French based video and computer game maker has been coming up with winners the last several years and they seem to have scored a...
Related Websites - Staying Safe while Swimming [/caption]Swimming can be fun for a lot of people, especially on a hot summer day. Most children enjoy swimming in a lake, at a water park, at a beach or in a pool, as they can splash the water, paddle or even waddle in the water, as they have fun.......
- Interesting Facts: Volume 1 [/caption] WORLD FACTS Who Made The Marree Man? facts 60 km out of the town of Marree in South Australia, there is the figure of a man etched into the ground that is more than 4 km long. This geoglyph, popularly known as the Marree Man, is not only Australia's......
- Be prepared Last Friday, I was informed that the wife of a friend I work with passed away in her sleep unexpectedly. She came home from work not feeling well, went to bed and never woke up. It reminded me of just how quickly your life can be taken from you.......
- Guide to Buying a Home Water Softener If your home’s water is excessively hard, it may be time to think about purchasing a water softener. If you are not sure if you have hard water, there are a few easy tests that will help you determine this. First and foremost, you can send a sample to a......
- Working Overtime - A Blessing Or A Curse? What would you do if you were asked to work overtime? Jump at the opportunity? Protest adamantly? How do you decide if working overtime is worth it? It may not be an easy decision to make. Here are some factors to consider when arriving at a decision. Pay This is......
- 8 Ways To Earn Money With Digital Photography Are you a shutterbug? If you like to snap pictures at family events or just out in the neighborhood, put that camera to good use in ways that will earn you money for your pictures. This article mentions eight ways that you can earn money with digital photography. The world......
Short URL: http://www.internationalnetworknews.com/?p=1468
Posted by John Malloy
on Jan 25 2009. Filed under Uncategorized.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0.
You can leave a response or trackback to this entry
