1. I will reduce my love handles and my carbon footprint.  If getting toned reduces my carbon footprint at the same time, great!  I will bike places instead of drive and take the stairs instead of the elevator when I can.  I will hike, run, bike and swim outdoors.  If I see trash on the beach, I will pick it up and run to the next trash can to throw it away. 

I will save money and the earth.  I will drive less and carpool and save money on gas.  I will turn off the lights when I’m not in a room and lower my electric bill.  I will wait to fill a full load of dishes and laundry and save on electricity and water.  I will not buy pesticides and garden with compost and other natural materials.  I will plant native plants that use less water.  I will not leave the water running.  Instead of buying new, I will reuse wrapping paper for presents, old t-shirts to clean with, shopping bags to carry things, etc…  (But… maybe I’ll splurge on organic food and sustainably produced clothing…)

I will eat better, organic and local.  I will eat more fruits and vegetables, but I don’t need them to travel thousands of miles and be grown with pesticides to get on my plate.  I will eat less meat (that’s better for my heart and pastures contribute to deforestation and carbon emissions anyways).  I will eat fish from sustainable fisheries.  I don’t need extra hormones, so I will choose milk from cows that aren’t pumped full of them or choose soy.

I will be more organized and efficient.  I will make a conscious decision to purchase items with less packaging, so that I don’t have to deal with disposing the packaging.  I will get rid of things I don’t use in my house and donate them, so that someone else can reuse them.  I will look into making my home more energy efficient (which will help me save money too) - like installing low-flow shower heads to use less water, plugging air leaks in doors and windows, replacing old appliances and windows with energy efficient ones, and adjusting my thermostat to use less energy.  I will plan ahead, so that I can get my errands and shopping done all in one trip, rather than wasting time and gas driving back and forth.

Have you heard of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch?  Basically, it’s a massive, swirling stew of garbage between California and Hawaii, and it’s the largest landfill in the world, estimated to be twice the size of Texas, 3.5 million tons and consisting of 80 percent plastics.  Sadly, because it would take billions of dollars and a huge collective effort, most people believe that cleaning it up is not even feasible at this point. 

How does this affect us?  Possibly cancer, impaired memory, and infectious disease, among other things.  According to the Algalita Marine Research Foundation, plastics transport and release toxic pollutants that can contaminate the food they were created to protect.  When plastics are burned, they release toxic dioxin, which poisons the food chain (and we’re pretty high up in the food chain).  So, toxic “stuff” accumulates in the food we eat.  Other results of garbage in our oceans are that animals (such as birds and sea turtles) die from eating plastics because they mistake it as food and either choke on it or eat it, can’t process it, and then starve to death.  Also, some of the toxics mimic estrogen and can turn male fish into females (which makes us wonder what it’s doing to us when we eat them…) 

 Now that we’ve told you the scary part, here’s what you can do to help:

1. Don’t Use Plastic Bags.  Use canvas bags when you go to the store.  Some stores will even give you a discount for using canvas bags.  If you have to use a plastic bag, make sure you recycle it.
2. Shop Smart.  Choose products packaged in biodegradable materials.  This is good for the planet and good for your health too.  (By the way, why are fast-food places still selling food in containers that aren’t biodegradable?)
3. Don’t Litter.  Whether you’re at the beach or anywhere else, don’t litter. 
4. Participate.  Go help or organize your neighborhood street or beach clean up!  Ask your citiy to install catch-basins in your neighborhood so that trash won’t go into the water and eventually into the ocean.  Help enforce litter laws by reporting illegal dumping.

Here’s a video about it from MSNBC on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eljbv8NtC9Y. 

Thanks for visiting and contributing!

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