If there is one thing my personal journey of change has taught me it is this: there is a big difference between recognizing a problem and taking action to address that problem.

Blog Action Day is, for me, a well timed event. It is a reminder that when we want to generate positive change, action is needed. Without action, there is a potentially infinite gap between reality and our desired outcome. This is true on a personal level, and it is true when it comes to a worldwide issue such as global warming.

Many people now recognize global warming as the most important issue confronting humanity. Even so, this recognition does not guarantee action. For many individuals, one obstacle to overcome is the belief that they cannot make a difference towards such a big issue. For example, someone may wonder how a small act such as replacing one regular incandescent light bulb with a compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL) can help curb climate change? Such a switch is said to save an impressive 300 pounds of carbon dioxide a year, but even I admit that if only one regular bulb is replaced with a CFL then this act, in itself, will have little impact. Thankfully, this is not the point.

I believe that when we start to pay attention to small and seemingly insignificant actions that help the environment, something magical happens. These small actions start to define who we are as a person. We become, as Gandhi once said, “the change we want to see in the world”. And as we become this change, we are guaranteed to inspire others - whether they are our family members, work colleagues, or members of our community - to act in a similar fashion. In this way, small changes to a daily routine can snowball into much larger changes that help the environment. Yes, one person can make a difference.

5 Easy Ways to Help the Environment

I expect there to be a plethora of tips across the blogosphere today, so I want to use this space to publicly share what I intend to do. I consider myself to already have a number of good practices, such as regularly catching public transport and recycling, but there is still a lot more I know I can do!

1. Modern cloth nappies/ diapers: we have these great modern cloth nappies/ diapers for Xavier (see pic on the right). I must admit, though, that they don’t get used as much as they could because they take a bit of extra work. I plan to change this.

2. Cloth shopping bags: we used these all the time back in Australia, but since making the move to Canada we haven’t bought any. I will get some this week and start using them again.

3. Inflate our car tires: Proper inflation is said to improve gas mileage by more than 3%, so it really is a win-win for the car owner and the environment. I have been a bit slack in respect to keeping our car tires inflated, so I plan to inflate them this week and more regularly from now on.

4. Go organic: we are lucky to live in a very bohemian part of Vancouver, so we really have no excuse for not being able to find good quality organic foods. I must admit, though, I have not been buying organic food due to the extra monetary cost (it already seems we pay so much!). I plan to change my attitudes, so that the additional monetary cost is less important than the health and environmental benefits of going organic.

5. Talk: as more people begin to talk about global warming, there will be an increasing awareness of what can be done to help the environment. Personally, I intend to initiate more conversations regarding global warming so that I can both share my knowledge and learn from other people.

*Bonus* Go carbon neutral: I plan to support clean renewable energy in such a way that I effectively neutralize my personal CO2 emissions. See this page for more information on going carbon neutral.

For more ideas, I recommend this list of 50 quick and painless ways to help the environment today posted at the official Blog Action Day website.

Photo by IvanoMak.

Tags: General Stuff //