Green Resolutions for 2009

Happy New Year; it's time to break out the organic champagne!  Looking for a way to go greener in the coming months?  Here are a few resolutions to consider:

1. Eat local.  Join the movement popularized by books such as The Omnivore's Dilemma and Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, and do what you can to buy and eat local foods.  Eating locally also means eating seasonally, since the produce of any region varies throughout the year.  For some help planning menus, check out the cookbook Simply in Season, (although even better resources are probably available in your own area). 

2. Offset your carbon emissions.  Use a carbon emission calculator like this one to calculate the yearly emissions of your family or business, then purchase offsets from a reputable seller such as Native Energy.  Offset companies should use your funds to clean up environmental problems or create alternative sources of energy.

 

3. Replace your light bulbs with LEDs.  These super-efficient bulbs fit in normal fixtures, consume a negligible amount of electricity, and should last over a decade with normal use.

4. Freecycle.  When you do your spring cleaning, what happens to things you don't need anymore?  If you don't donate them already, consider using Freecycle to find them new homes.  Freecycle helps connect people with used items they need, reducing the demand for new products.  

5. Go for a year (or more) of zero waste.  It sounds almost impossible, but pioneers like No Impact Man have shown us that it can be done, even if you have a family and live in New York City!  If that's a little too extreme, do what you can to reduce, recycle, reuse, and compost your way through the new year.

creative commons image by Gaetan Lee

Virtual Green

Getting out into nature is best, but for the times when you just can't tear yourself away from the computer, here are some widgets to help make your virtual life a little greener. The Green Groove Goal Tracker, available for Yahoo! Widgets or Mac Dashboard, lets you select environmental goals and track your progress by week and month. The Endangered Animal Calendar is another nice-looking Yahoo! Widget, with monthly wildlife photos. There are lots of green options for blog widgets, too. Choose the Search the Green Web application, the green blog network widget, or the Eco-Calculator for your blog or Facebook page. If you spend more time with your iPod than your computer, don't despair! With the new A Real Tree application, you can help plant actual trees in tropical regions while installing a virtual tree on your phone.