Every Big Change Starts With A Small Step.
If you have 365 days to change your ways, it starts on day one. You have a new big, beautiful, empty year, full of potential, to make some big changes in your life and move forward in positive ways. But each move begins with one small, simple step.
The EcoWomen Board Members have come up with some ways you can resolve to improve your impact on the earth in a meaningful way, starting with square one.
Resolve To Use Less Plastic
Earlier this year, a young sperm whale washed up on the shore of the Netherlands with a stomach full of plastic bags, golf balls, and other garbage adding up to over 37 pounds of waste. Plastic waste continues to be a pressing issue on our planet for a simple reason: it takes a long, long time to go away.
Via Associated Press
So Board Member Alison Alford is resolving to use less plastic in 2014. It’s difficult to go completely plastic free — though not impossible, as you can see from Beth Terry, who blogs about a plastic-free lifestyle in My Plastic Free Life. But here are a couple of easy ways you can reduce your plastic impact:
Use pyrex instead of tupperware.
Use biodegradable bags instead of plastic trash bags or ziploc bags, and reuseable bags for all of your shopping.
Purchase goods in sustainable packaging with little or no plastic.
You can read some other ways to reduce your plastic footprint on our blog. Every bit counts!
Resolve To Burn Eco-Friendly Candles
We’ve previously made the case for why you should try to use environmentally friendly cosmetics and cleaning supplies — the toxins not only are bad for the environment, they can seriously damage your health.
One simple way to take this further is to burn eco-friendly candles: EcoWoman board member Mona Funiciello is resolving to burn only 100% natural vegetable and beeswax candles in 2014. It’ may be a big change from the fancy, colorful kind many of us are used to, but Mona’s excited to restock her candle drawer with something that she knows is eco-friendly and sustainable.
Resolve To Offset Air Miles
Traveling to the natural wonders of the world is one of the reasons many of us became environmentalists. And Washington, D.C. is a young, vibrant city with opportunities to attract women from all over the world — women that likely want to visit their hometown during the holidays, or get away from their stressful jobs to relax and explore a foreign country.
If you love to travel it’s easy to rack up thousands of miles flying on planes, so Board Woman Terrie Clifford, a travel enthusiast, has resolved to always offset her air miles and to support her traveling friends to do the same.
There are many different programs you can use to offset the environmental damage from your air miles, sponsored by several different organizations, like the Nature Conservancy, Carbonfund.org, and others. Search through the options to find the one that’s right for you!
Resolve To Fix Your Bike
Commuting by bicycle is a great way to lower your impact on the environment — with every mile, you’re saving nearly a pound of carbon dioxide emissions. On top of that, biking to work saves you money, and adds a fun form of exercise to your otherwise sedentary routine. One Board Member gave biking to work a shot earlier this year, overcoming her fear of biking in streets in honor of National Bike To Work Day. Another EcoWoman gave biking to work a chance as well, and learned to love it!
But sometimes, one small snafu can become a huge road-block, and might be a blow to your confidence. I, for one, recently discovered a flat tire — but I didn’t even notice it until I biked to the bottom of a hill!
It’s time to learn how to fix up my bicycle, so I can always depend on it to get me where I need to go. Luckily, DC EcoWomen is hosting a bike tune-up workshop on January 30th at Capitol Hill Bikes, a women owned and run bike shop, focusing on commuting, changing tires, and other bike maintenance. What luck!
One year from today, the world could be completely different, and so could you. So for 2013, resolve to become an EcoWoman Extraordinaire!
What are your resolutions this year? Share in the comments!