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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.
