Anita Blake
November 18th, 2004, 09:51
OK. so you've probably seen me ranting off on how wonderful David Suzuki is. If you've missed that, Dr. David Suzuki is a geneticist, environmentalist, and television host. He is the host of the longest running science and nature television series (i think it's been 36 years now...). He's not a nutcase fruitcake treehugger. He is a noted scientist, acknowledged by several countries and the UN. (if you click the link at the bottom, you can read his bio on his website) Well, he has a foundation, and one of the things his foundation has is called the Nature Challenge.
Basically, what the Nature Challenge is is making a pledge to do at least 3 of 10 simple, cost-effective things over the next year to do your part to help the environment.
When i looked at the list, I was somewhat skeptical. I care, but i'm also kind of poor and can't afford to make vast lifestyle changes. One of the things that makes Suzuki a great guy, though, is that he's taken that into acount. Most people are pretty lazy.
The things on this list are actually really easy, some of them at least. Some of them actually save you money, while others are very inexpensive, and yet others are of the "huge lifestyle change" variety. the list is:
#1 Reduce home energy use by 10%
#2 Choose an energy-efficient home & appliances
#3 Don't use pesticides
#4 Eat meat-free meals one day a week
#5 Buy locally grown and produced food
#6 Choose a fuel-efficient vehicle
#7 Walk, bike, carpool or take transit
#8 Choose a home close to work or school
#9 Support alternative transportation
#10 Learn more and share with others
Please visit the David Suzuki Foundation Website (http://www.davidsuzuki.org/WOL/Challenge/) website for more info and to sign up for the challenge! There are articles on each of the list items that detail what they mean, how they help, and several easy solutions to doing these things. Even if you already do them, you can sign up for the challenge and get a monthly newsletter. The monthly newsletters have other things you can do. It is aimed at Canadians primarily, but i think the principles are the same internationally, and encourage everyone to take this challenge!
(for the record, i already do 4, 7 and 8, and am going to try for 1, and 5 :) )
Basically, what the Nature Challenge is is making a pledge to do at least 3 of 10 simple, cost-effective things over the next year to do your part to help the environment.
When i looked at the list, I was somewhat skeptical. I care, but i'm also kind of poor and can't afford to make vast lifestyle changes. One of the things that makes Suzuki a great guy, though, is that he's taken that into acount. Most people are pretty lazy.
The things on this list are actually really easy, some of them at least. Some of them actually save you money, while others are very inexpensive, and yet others are of the "huge lifestyle change" variety. the list is:
#1 Reduce home energy use by 10%
#2 Choose an energy-efficient home & appliances
#3 Don't use pesticides
#4 Eat meat-free meals one day a week
#5 Buy locally grown and produced food
#6 Choose a fuel-efficient vehicle
#7 Walk, bike, carpool or take transit
#8 Choose a home close to work or school
#9 Support alternative transportation
#10 Learn more and share with others
Please visit the David Suzuki Foundation Website (http://www.davidsuzuki.org/WOL/Challenge/) website for more info and to sign up for the challenge! There are articles on each of the list items that detail what they mean, how they help, and several easy solutions to doing these things. Even if you already do them, you can sign up for the challenge and get a monthly newsletter. The monthly newsletters have other things you can do. It is aimed at Canadians primarily, but i think the principles are the same internationally, and encourage everyone to take this challenge!
(for the record, i already do 4, 7 and 8, and am going to try for 1, and 5 :) )