May Challenges: Your Consumer Footprint

The theme of this month's challenges is to reduce the CO2 emissions related to the things we buy and use.

More than any other month of the Cool Campaign, May gives us pause. From 1950 to 2000, Americans consumed as much food and material goods as all the generations of Americans before them. If everyone in the world lived the way the average American does, we would need four more planet Earths to provide all the necessary materials and energy. We know that we should explore new ways to reduce our consumption habits; so why do we consume so much?

For an entertaining look at why our culture has become so deeply consumer-oriented, take a look at the Story of Stuff video, at the right.

Pull up a few chairs and invite your family to join you (running time is approximately 20 minutes). It's guaranteed to spark an interesting discussion!

Here are some powerful things you can do

Buy Locally Produced Food

The average meal travels 1,200 miles by truck, ship, and/or plane to reach

your dining room table. All that transportation emits CO2 into the environment,

that can be reduced by buying food produced closer to home.

Buy Organic Food

Organic food isn't just better for you, organic farming preserves the millions of microorganisms that live in the soil and naturally keep it rich year after year.
Chemical pesticides used to kill off "bad" pests, also kill these vital microorganisms which results in a massive release of CO2 into the atmosphere, contributing to global warming.

Read more >>

Eat Less Meat

It turns out that the average American does more to reduce global warming emissions by going vegetarian than by switching to a Prius.

Reduce

The typical American creates 4.6 pounds of garbage per day, or 1,700 pounds of garbage per year--that's double what it was thirty years ago.
Read more >>

Reuse

From 1950 to 2000, Americans consumed as much food and material goods as all the generations of Americans before them.

Recycle

In the time it takes you to read this sentence, Americans will buy, use and throw away 1,245 tons of raw materials. Read me >>

Compost

Over two-thirds of the total waste produced in the United States is compostable, yet we still send 30 million tons of leaves and grass clippings to landfills every year.

Read me>>

Get started with composting by ordering your discounted backyard composting or worm bin from Recycle Works.

Buy Less

For many Americans, shopping is a form of recreation. But one with great cost if its for stuff we don't need, wastes precious resources and generates CO2 to produce, transport, and dispose of.
Read more >>

BethRWC	Latest page update: made by BethRWC , Apr 30 2008, 6:30 PM EDT (about this update About This Update Edited by BethRWC 7 words added view changes - complete history)
	Keyword tags: None More Info: links to this page