1. Be more romantic. Use candlelight more often, even if you’re alone and taking a bath, or over dinner. You’ll help save world energy and slow down the greenhouse effect. Of course, if you can find a friend to share that bath you get extra points for water conservation.
2. Investing in the conservation, restoration and protection of the environment is the best and most profitable investment we can make for the whole world, says Dr. Ron Nielsen, author of The Little Green Handbook (Scribe). Next time you’re celebrating a special event, or someone you know is having a birthday, call Sydney’s Trees for Life and they’ll arrange for a native Australian tree to be planted to commemorate the occasion. Call 1300 880 804 or go to
www.treesforlife.net.au.
Or take part in the annual Plant a Tree Day organized nationally by Planet Ark on July 31, 2005. Last year more the 220,000 volunteers helped plant a million native trees at 3000 sites Australia-wide.
3. Think before you buy a bottle of herbicide or a chemical cleaning product. It’s estimated that there are more than 100,000 kinds of synthetic chemicals in use and that between 200 and 1000 new chemicals are being added each year. But natural pesticides and cleaners are becoming increasingly trendy so you’ll find more attractive options in homewares and gardening shops. Try Jackie French’s Organic Gardening in Australia (Reed) for suggestions on natural pesticides and check out
www.goldenglow.com.au for a natural dish liquid that won’t leave toxic residue on your dishes, or in waterways.
4. Genetically modified foods like corn, soybeans and cotton carry genetic material that enables them to survive dousing with the lethal pesticide Roundup (and yet are still served up to us). Of course their effects on the environment are also unknown. If you’d like to protest about GM food, join Greenpeace’s True Food Network,
www.greenpeace.org.au/truefood. Meanwhile, buy organic food whenever you can afford it. You’ll be helping support a healthier environment and getting less toxins in your diet.
5. Want to make a big difference in your community? Meals on Wheels always need volunteers to deliver meals to the elderly. Contact your local council.
6. Watch more funny movies, read more funny books and laugh more. The world needs more laughter. The bonus: you’ll strengthen your immune system, exercise your internal organs and be invited to more places.
7. Make a difference in someone’s life for only $35 a month. For that amount you can sponsor a child in El Salvador, India, Bangladesh or other third world countries through Plan International. You’ll receive photos and letters from your sponsor child or their family so you can keep track of their progress. And you’ll feel good! Go to
www.plan-international.org.
8. Get fit, have fun, and help keep the air clean: get a bicycle, a pair of rollerblades or a scooter. Go everywhere you can on it. It’s more fun than joining a gym.
9. Love animals but don’t have room for a permanent pet? In NSW, you can do volunteer work for WIRES, an organization that assists in the rescue, rehabilitation and release of native wildlife. You can either train for foster caring or help with fundraising and administration. Visit
www.wires.org.au.
10. Don’t help turn the world into a rubbish heap. Use airtight containers instead of wrap or foil, recycle bottles, paper, aluminums, plastic and more, avoid disposable items like paper cups or napkins, take your own shopping bad to the supermarket and don’t throw waste down sinks and toilets. Millions of tones of sewage is dumped in the sea each year, killing wildlife.
11. Collect rainwater and use it to help grow your own veggies or herbs for maximum taste and freshness (and impress your friends with your green thumb). If you live in an apartment, you can grow tomatoes, mint, coriander and more in pots. Go to
www.greenharvest..com.au.
12. If you want a friend for the next decade, rescue a dog from the pound. Numerous international studies also show pet owners have lower stress levels. Contact the RSPCA in your area for viewing times and price guidelines (generally you’ll pay $200 to $250 to cover desexing and microchipping).
13. Got the Christian bug? Youth with a Mission sends young people around the world to help the disadvantaged and preach the gospel. Go to
www.ywam.org. Not religious? Find volunteer opportunities at
www.govolunteer.com.au.
14. Eat less beef. It may help you lose weight and you’ll reduce the amount of land cleared for cattle. For more information visit
www.earthsave.org.
15. Get on top of your fashion mistakes and feel good doing it. Clean out your wardrobe and donate clothes to a charity.
16. Help someone in Africa enjoy clean water. Pump Aid installs simple, cheap and effective handpowered water pumps, transforming the lives of some of the poorest people in Zimbabwe. Go to
www.pumpaid.org to make a donation. While you’re at it, don’t forget to filter your own water so it’s delicious and chemical free.
17. When you’re shopping for a computer, fax machine, scanner or printer, look for the Energy Star Label. It guarantees that the model minimizes power consumption – for example, by switching into a “sleep” mode after a set time. For information on the scheme visit
www.energystar.gov.au18. Make
www.thehungersite.com your start page. Thanks to the sponsors involved, every time you click on it, you help feed a third world child.
19. Do the simple things: buy free-range eggs, avoid fancy packaging, fix your leaky taps, don’t leave the television on standby… making the world a better place doesn’t always have to involve tough action.
20. Save paper and spread the world about the fact that every one has the power to make a difference to their own health and happiness as well as the universe.
Copyright © Herald Sun at 20/02/2005 Herald Sun Newspaper
