EASY ACTION #1
Skip a car trip each week.
Transportation—overwhelmingly in automobiles—is responsible
for one-third of American greenhouse gas emissions. Skipping
a weekly 20-mile trip, which represents less than a 10 percent
decrease in the average American’s driving, can reduce
weekly CO2 emissions by more than 18 pounds. If just 1,000 people
do this, it will prevent nearly one million pounds of CO2 from
being released into the atmosphere each year.
EASY ACTION #2
Eat one less beef meal each week.
Meat production is extremely resource-intensive—livestock
consume 70 percent of America’s grain production. Their
grazing accounts for 800 million acres (40 percent) of U.S.
land; 18 percent of all water consumption goes to produce their
feed. Feedlot beef is particularly wasteful. If just 1,000 people
do this, it will save more than 70,000 pounds of grain, 70,000
pounds of topsoil and 40 million gallons of water each year.
EASY ACTION #3
Don’t eat shrimp. Nearly
70 percent of the world’s fisheries are fully fished or
overfished, and about 60 billion pounds of fish, sharks and
seabirds die each year as “bycatch”—animals caught
accidentally as a result of wasteful fishing techniques. If
just 1,000 people do this, it can save more than 12,000 pounds
of sea life this year alone.
EASY ACTION #4
Declare your independence from junk
mail. The world’s forests are feeling the strain
of unsustainable demand for wood and paper. By weight, paper
products comprise nearly one-third of all waste going into American
landfills. Bulk mail—a substantial chunk of our paper waste—is
especially troubling because it is often unsolicited and thus
leaves citizens to dispose of materials they did not choose
to consume. If just 1,000 people halve their personal bulk mail,
it will save 170 trees, nearly 46 pounds of CO2 and 70,000 gallons
of water each year. Begin to declare your independence by using
the on-line form at www.newdream.org/junkmail/junkmail.html
to get yourself off junk mail lists.
EASY ACTION #5
Replace four standard light bulbs with
energy-efficient compact fluorescent lights (CFLs).
Electricity production is the largest source of greenhouse gas
emissions in the U.S.; and in America, lighting accounts for
about 25 percent of it. If just 1,000 people do this, it can
prevent the emission of five million pounds of CO2 and reduce
electricity bills by more than $100,000 over the lives of those
bulbs.
EASY ACTION #6
Move the thermostat three degrees Fahrenheit.
Heating and cooling represent the biggest chunk of home energy
consumption. Just by turning the thermostat down three degrees
in the winter and up three degrees in the summer, you can prevent
the emission of nearly 1,100 pounds of CO2/y. If just 1,000
people do this, it will save over a million pounds of CO2/y.
EASY ACTION #7
Eliminate lawn and garden pesticides.
Americans directly apply 70 million pounds of pesticides to
home lawns and gardens each year and, in so doing, pollute precious
water resources. Only 1,000 people doing this will protect the
environment from 950 pounds of toxins each year.
EASY ACTION #8
Install an efficient showerhead and
low-flow faucet aerators. The available water supply
is diminishing rapidly as human populations swell and inefficiently
drain precious aquifers. Only 1,000 people doing this it can
save nearly eight million gallons of water and prevent more
than 450,000 pounds of CO2/y.
EASY ACTION #9
Convince two friends to join you in
your effort. This is an easy way to triple the positive
impact you are making with these nine actions. Just pass a copy
of this list to receptive friends or tell them to get their
own personal workspace at www.newdream.org. |
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