[Vision2020] 50 Green Tips for Earth Day and Beyond

Sun Apr 22 23:42:53 PDT 2007

Debi et. al.

Well, I doubt that extinction of the human race will result from our assault
on Earth's biosphere, though it is possible.  Gaia is resilient, and has
bounced back from other massive natural assaults in the past.

There is no realistic place to go to live off world totally self sustaining
for large numbers of people for probably centuries.  The moon or Mars are
probably the next logical places for humans to live, though how many people
could survive on these worlds sustainably is unknown.  Water is a big
problem with mass numbers of humans living off world.  If I have my facts
correct, Mars and even the moon has significant amounts of water.  Some
futurists think the Kuiper belt towards the outer solar system, with its
comets and asteroids that contain water, might make a place for humans to
settle.  Maybe fusion power will become practical to power off world
colonies. Heck, we need this right now to substitute for fossil fuel
energy.  Good luck to ITER in France!

Eventually, though this does not keep me up at night, after some hundreds of
millions of years go by, the sun will begin to expand into a red giant, and
Earth will heat to unlivable temperatures.  It is sobering to ponder that
the life span of the Earth's biosphere is into its old age now... Far more
time has passed with life on Earth than is left for the Earth to sustain
life, if I have my stellar evolution data correct.  The human race, if we do
survive, will be long gone before the sun goes red giant.

What seems likely to happen in the next few centuries is that we will make a
terrible mess of things, millions if not billions of people will perish, the
human population will be downsized, and those remaining will be living in a
seriously degraded world.

We can't be that stupid to let this happen, right?

Ted Moffett

On 4/22/11, debismith at moscow.com <debismith at moscow.com> wrote:
>
> Thanks, Ted. As someone who has taken a lot of flack for my philosophy of
> Use Everything At
> Least Three Times, I appreciate it when others support the greening
> ideals. I'm fascinated with
> the ingenious ways folks around the country, and the world, are finding to
> attempt to slow our
> environmental degradations. From sustainable manufacturing, to recycling,
> to down- cycling, to
> green building---every little bit helps. I've recently heard about seed
> savers who are banking
> seeds for a possible exodus of the planet...hope that's not what happens,
> but unless
> something changes radically we may be going to the stars to survive as a
> species.
> Debi R-S
>
>
> Date sent:              Sun, 22 Apr 2007 16:04:00 -0700
> From:                   "Ted Moffett" <starbliss at gmail.com>
> To:                     "Vision 2020" <vision2020 at moscow.com>
> Subject:                [Vision2020] 50 Green Tips for Earth Day and
> Beyond
>
> http://divinecaroline.com/article/22355/28177
>
>
> 1. Lower your thermostat. Buy a programmable thermostat.
>
> 2. Reuse your water bottle. Avoid buying bottled water. In fact, reuse
> everything at least once, especially plastics.
>
> 3. Check out your bathroom. Use low-flow faucets, showerheads, and
> toilets.
>
> 4. Start a compost in your back yard or on your rooftop.
>
> 5. Buy foods locally. Check out Eat Local Challenge
> <http://www.eatlocalchallenge.com/>and
> FoodRoutes<http://www.foodroutes.org/>to get started. Buy locally made
> products and locally produced services.
>
> 6. Buy in season.
>
> 7. Buy compact fluorescent light bulbs. You'll find more on
> energy-efficient products and practices at Energy Star.
> <http://www.energystar.gov/>
>
> 8. Turn off lights and electronics when you leave the room. Unplug
> your cell phone charger from the wall when not using it. Turn off
> energy strips and surge protectors when not in use (especially
> overnight).
>
> 9. Recycle your newspapers.
>
> 10. Car pool. Connect with other commuters at
> eRideShare.<http://www.erideshare.com/>
>
> 11. Consider a car sharing service like Zipcar.
> <http://www.zipcar.com/>
>
> 12. Ride a bike.
>
> 13. Walk, jog, or run.
>
> 14. Go to your local library instead of buying new books.
>
> 15. At holidays and birthdays, give your family and friends the gift
> of saving the earth. Donate to their favorite environmental group,
> foundation, or organization.
>
> 16. Get off junk mail lists. GreenDimes <http://www.greendimes.com/>
> can get you started. They'll even plant a tree for you!
>
> 17. Buy products that use recyclable materials whenever possible.
>
> 18. If you use plastic grocery bags, recycle them for doggie poop bags
> or for small trashcan liners.
>
> 19. Bring your own bags to the grocery store. Given a choice between
> plastic and paper, opt for paper.
>
> 20. Buy locally. Find farmers' markets, family farms, and other
> sources of sustainably grown food near you at
> LocalHarvest.<http://www.localharvest.org/>
>
> 21. Consider organic cleaning
> products<http://www.divinecaroline.com/article/22156/27357>like
> vinegar, borax, and baking soda.
>
> 22. If you have a baby, consider using cloth diapers. To sign up for a
> diaper service to do the dirty work, check out the National
> Association of Diaper Services. <http://www.diapernet.org/>
>
> 23. Consider buying a fuel-efficient car or a hybrid.
>
> 24. Landscape with native plants. Check out the
> article<http://www.epa.gov/greenacres/>on the EPA
> website. <http://www.epa.gov/>
>
> 25. Opt into a clean energy program. Check out the Green Power
> Network<http://www.eere.energy.gov/greenpower/>at the US Department of
> Energy.
>
> 26. Go paperless. Consider reading your newspaper and magazine
> subscriptions online. Switch to electronic banking and credit card
> payment, too.
>
> 27. Teach kids about the environment.
>
> 28. Take your batteries to a recycling center. Earth 911 gives you the
> scoop<http://www.earth911.org/master.asp?s=lib&a=electronics/bat_index
> .asp> .
>
> 29. Turn your car off if you're going to be idle for more than one
> minute.
>
> 30. Do full loads of laundry and set the rinse cycle to "cold."
>
> 31. Recycle. If you're not at home, take the extra steps, (literally),
> to find that recycling can.
>
> 32. Reuse. Plastic food containers make good crayon and marker
> holders. Use padded envelops more than once. Buy your toddler or
> preschooler's clothes from a thrift shop and give away those that
> don't fit to friends.
> Goodwill<http://www.goodwill.org/page/guest/about>or the Salvation
> Army <http://www.salvationarmyusa.org/usn/www_usn.nsf> can help.
>
> 33. Limit the length of your showers. Even better, take a "navy
> shower," shutting off the water while soaping up and shampooing.
>
> 34. Don't run the water when brushing your teeth. Learn about water
> scarcity<http://www.unwater.org/flashindex.html> .
>
> 35. Wash towels after several uses.
>
> 36. Purchase one case of water and provide clean
> water<http://charityis.com/videos/charity_water.wmv>to 24 people (for
> over twenty years).
>
> 37. Give away your goods and find new ones at
> FreeCycle.<http://www.freecycle.com/>
>
> 38. Recycle your technology. Dell, Hewlett Packard, Apple, and IBM,
> among others, offer recycling programs.
>
> 39. Go zero! Log on to the Conservation Fund's Carbon Zero
> Calculator<http://www.conservationfund.org/?article=3128&back=true%20I
> >and in less than five minutes, you can measure and then offset your
> carbon dioxide emissions by planting trees.
>
> 40. Put your money where your mouth is—invest in green investments.
> Web sites like Co-op America's National Green
> Pages™<http://www.coopamerica.org/pubs/greenpages/>can help.
>
> 41. Learn about threats to ocean life and help
> Greenpeace<http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/campaigns/oceans/threats>take
> action.
>
> 42. Whenever you can, try using green cleaning products. Check out
> Cheap, Clean, and Green
> <http://www.divinecaroline.com/article/22156/23878>.
>
> 43. Find your local watershed <http://www.epa.gov/surf/> and learn how
> to protect it.
>
> 44. Build a greener home.
> <http://www.nrdc.org/cities/building/fwoodus.asp>
>
> 45. Opt for eco-friendly and holistic health
> products<http://www.greenpeople.org/>
> .
>
> 46. Good to the last drop. Switch to fair trade
> coffee.<http://www.transfairusa.org/>
>
> 47. Go paperless at work. Distribute company information and post
> company material online.
>
> 48. Eliminate junk mail at work. For no fee, the EcoLogical Mail
> Coalition<http://www.ecologicalmail.org/> will
> eliminate the junk that former employees receive at work.
>
> 49. Plant a forest and feed a
> family<http://www.sustainableharvest.org/forestsfeedfamilies.cfm>while
> you're at it.
>
> 50. Shop smart. Choose eco-smart products.
> <http://www.greenerchoices.org/>
>
> -----
>
> Vision2020 Post: Ted Moffett
>
>
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