Friends of mine in the Yukon have made a commitment to make 7 changes to save the world, there may be some ideas for you to try too...
Here is an excerpt from their information page...
So from April to August of this year Dez and I are planning on Changing the world... or at least doing our part... I have been told you can't really have political beliefs if you as an individual are not willing to do your part... so our family will be undertaking these 7 objectives for the spring and summer and then seeing what we will continue or add for the winter... further more we would like to challenge each of you to try and take on 1 of these undertakings, it will be hard but if we are going to change the world for the better, we all have to make a little change... without further ado here they are
1) no internet at home... we dont have cable tv at our house, but we do have internet, and we use it like cable tv... we watch it allot, we waste hours messing around on it and even drop Story in front of it to watch sesame street... from now on if we want to use the net, we have to walk to the library, work or somewhere else. we are hoping this leads to more family time
2) Local meat, veggies and alcohol at home. this is hard... epically living in the Yukon, but it is possible and the amount of waste used to ship veggies and meat here, the condition of animals in meat farms, and the waste used in the brewing and shipping of alcohol is just plain bad. This will be very difficult for us, but definitely worth a try.
3) eating at local restaurants. Big chains mean big waste and big shipping, they also damage communities mroe then help them.
4)Dave quits drinking pop... Dez quits eating pre packaged junk food. ok... for any of you who know me you may be familiar with my slightly u healthy cola addiction... and the amount of waste in shipping, recycling, and the damage it dose to the body... well lets just say it is time to quit... i am expecting this to be very difficult for me, but i am going to try. Dez has long said she has has a similar issue with the junk foods like chips, chocolate bars all that stuff... so we are undertaking this project together... here is to a healthier us.
5) Buy local wherever possible... had to put a disclaimer in this one... sometimes you just can't buy something in the Yukon, so where we cant buy local we will buy from the greenest and most community supportive source we can find. this does mean cutting out the box stores for shopping... no more wal mart... no more liquidation world ect... we would also like to ask Aunts and Grandparents that if you wish to spoil our children as many of you already do... please do it by supporting a local shop in your community as opposed to shopping at the box stores
6) Garden and Compost... i dont compost... i will this summer... and we will make an effort to grow as much of our food as we can in our gardens
7) Bike when going anywhere down town or in riverdale... we are gonna start here and see, i figure if i ever become good at biking i will start to expand the area i bike to but this is a good start... if anyone has a used carriage for toddlers and kids for bikes let me know as they will be biking with us this summer