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Make your New Year's Resolutions Sustainable

Well, with New Year's Day on its way, you're probably thinking about what New Year's Resolutions to try. Please keep the environment in mind for these such things! Here is a list of suggestions:

1) Commit to using half the amount of paper as you did in 2011. Here is a list of ways to do so on one of my Taking it Global blog posts. http://princesscat.tigblog.org/post/5331133

2) Go vegan-- try it for at least a month. If it helps to make a more official commitment, you can pledge on one of these websites: http://whyveg.com/pledge.php or https://secure.peta.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=2055&c=pfvskvp09

3) Commit to bicycle to work/school/stores.

4) Decide to cut back on your television time by one-half. Even better, stop watching TV altogether!

5) Dry your clothes on a clothes rack instead of a dryer.

6) Commit to using a ration book every month.

Well, I could go on all day, but that's enough to give you the idea!

MOST IMPORTANT POINT!!!: To acheive your goals, you must plan them out carefully, decide what you want EXACTLY, decide how you will get there, etc. The best way to do this is to use S.M.A.R.T. goals:

Specific: What is your goal? "To use less electricity", while having good intentions, is hardly specific enough. Instead, you could say something like: "To use the clothes dryer once per week and hang out all other clothing on the clothes rack."

Measurable: How will you know when you have reached your goal? In the example above, it would be when you only use the clothes dryer once per week.

Attainable: Is it physically possible? "To consume nothing for the rest of my life" is impossible, but to comsume less resources is. If your goal is not possible, you will be chasing it for your whole life and constantly tripping up over it.

Realistic: This refers to whether it is likely to happen, judging by your lifestyle, needs, and how much you want it. For example, if your goal was to bicycle to work every day, but you work in a different town than you live in... well, good luck-- I won't be responsible for the outcome. Similarily, if you DO live close to work/school, but you aren't motivated enough to bike, your goal will, unfortunately, be useless. Make sure that you have the motivation to achieve your goals.

Timely: Set dates. In the clothes dryer example, you could mark January 3rd as your date to get a clothes rack, by January 7th you start experimenting with how well the clothes dry on the rack (you do not necessarily need a fabric softener for this, by the way, but if you do, make sure to go eco-friendly, vegan, and animal-testing-free!), by February you dry all your socks and underwear on the clothes rack, by March you dry pants and towels this way as well, etc.

Thanks for reading! See you next Saturday, and happy holidays!

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Tiger Extinction by 2022?

Oh, tigers, the super-magestic large cats! Symbolizing India, popular to make stuffie-replicas, taking a great artist to portray, the subject of a poem by William Blake.

And extinct by 2022, said environmental experts back in 2010.

That's ten years away. We have only ten years to save the tigers from extinction. You'd think that a deadline would encourage people to actually DO something, but apparently it hasn't. Below this post is a graph from the World Wildlife Fund.

Now, in December 2011, 95% of tigers worldwide are extinct. Three tiger sub-species have already gone completely extinct.

So what can we do? Well, firstly: be careful what you buy. Some things are harmful to tigers. For example, paper that has not come from sustainable or recycled sources is a no-go. Deforestation is a prime cause to the destruction of tiger habitat. Other products to steer clear of are coffee from unsustainable sources, palm oil, and, of course, souvenirs made from tiger parts. Secondly, spread the word! Let other people know about this. You might not want to sound like you are preaching, but if you help save an entire species from extinction, then it doesn't really matter if it is a little uncomfortable. And third, donate a little (or a lot of) money to an organization to save the tigers.

We must do this before it is too late. Please help, and become part of history!

The Tiger
by William Blake

Tiger Tiger, burning bright,
In the forests of the night;
What immortal hand or eye,
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

In what distant deeps or skies
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand, dare seize the fire?

And what shoulder, & what art,
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
And when thy heart began to beat
What dread hand? & what dread feet?

What the hammer? what the chain,
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? what dread grasp
Dare its deadly terrors clasp?

When the stars threw down their spears
And watered heaven with their tears:
Did he smile His work to see?
Did he who made the lamb make thee?

Tiger Tiger burning bright,
In the forests of the night:
What immortal hand or eye,
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?

/ ©: WWF

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Give Pests a Rest!

I'll start off this post with a quiz. Answer honestly!

1) How often do you kill an insect who is in your house?
a. Whenever I see one
b. Only if the weather is too cold to let them outside
c. Never; I either leave them be or take them outside

2) If your house had rats in the walls, what would you do?
a. Call an exterminator immediately
b. Find a no-kill company to release them into the wild
c. Lure them into no-kill traps and release them into the wild

3) How do you deal with the humongous anthill in your backyard?
a. Poison it with toxins or something else that will kill the ants
b. Shovel it up and dump the ants in the park
c. Leave it alone

So how did you do?
If you answered mostly a's, you haven't given much thought to the feelings of animals. You may feel like you don't have the time to deal with them, or you just don't care. Try harder.
If you answered mostly b's, you do try to show compassion towards "pests", and you think about their point-of-view. But you could try harder. You may not be educated on proper pest control, and you draw the line where anything disconveniences you too much.
If you answered mostly c's, then you really hold the animals' interests in high esteem. Well done!

The "Answers" to the above questions:

1. Leave the insects alone, especially if they aren't overtaking your house. If you see insects who will starve if you let them stay indoors, let them outside, but only if the weather is good.
Flies should be regarded not as pests, but as guests-- read J. Allen Boone's opinion in his true story Kinship with All Life, on his new friend "Freddie the Fly":

"Curious to what his reactions might be, I abruptly tossed the little fellow into the air. It did not disturb him in the least; in fact he seemed to like it. He cruised slowly just above my head, but when I pointed my finger up in his direction, down he came, landing on the fingertip as though he and I had been doing such things for a long time. I did this again and again, but every time he was tossed off he would always return...."

Animals are much smarter than we give them credit for. Don't end their lives just because of convenience.

2. Although you may not see a difference between b and c for this one, there is indeed a big difference. Catch-and-release exterminators are not always what they are publicized as. "Humane" companies may end up killing the animals anyway. If you do hire a company, do plenty of research, get some references, and make sure it is okay for you to go with them to release the animals. Make sure that the animals ARE released.

3. Always leave anthills alone. They will disappear come winter anyway. While shovelling them away may seem humane, you are dislocating them, subjecting them to confusion and possible death. Always try to co-exist with wildlife in your area.

In conclusion, give pests a rest, treat them like guests, and don't kill their nests! Not the best poem, but a good message!

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Reducing our paper consumption

According to www.rain-tree.com/facts.htm, 1.5 acres of rainforest are lost every second. Experts estimate that all the rainforests in the world could be destroyed in just 40 years! Obviously, we have to stop this. But how?

First, we must understand the causes of rainforest destruction: timber, certain crops, and cattle grazing.

So today I am going to talk about reducing our paper comsumption! (Of course, it would help if you went vegan and bought local foods, too, but I'll talk about that another day.) Here is my list of things that you can do:

1) Only print out things you need to. Sure, it might be nice to post that poem on your wall, but if everyone did that every time they had an urge to, what would happen to the rainforests?

2) Use scrap paper. Paper that has writing on one side but is no longer wanted can go in your scrap paper bin. Then, print out your personal things on the other side. (Looking for more scrap paper? Raid your outdated school binders.)

3) When school requires you to print out things, print on both sides of the page. If you accidentally print the second side upside down, that's okay-- just use a stapleless stapler at the top and it will look like you did it on purpose!

4) Ever heard the phrase, "Think before you print"? This means to proofread your work and make sure that you are printing out the right stuff. It saves loads of paper!

5) Do away with conventional notebooks and notepads. Instead, cut up old worksheets from school or other places and write your notes on those slips of paper.

Any other ideas you would like to add? Post a comment and leave your thoughts. And come back next Saturday for new ideas! Image Detail

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