There was an article in the New Scientist from 17 November titled: "Why bother going green?". Fred Pearce finds out whether there is actually a point in individuals contributing to the "green planet" plan by recycling, cycling or walking or not leaving mobile phones charging whole night, "when more than a billion Chinese and most of the rest of the planet are jacking up their emissions as if there were no tomorrow?" (Pearce 2007:34). He argues that even though people might seem to think that only governments of developed countries can make change via adapting certain policies and making sure their people follow the rules, he still encourages all inhabitants of the planet not to give up and go green. The author mentions that the majority of the carbon dioxide present in the air has been there for ages and although some of the countries add about 50% they hold responsibility for 80% carbon dioxide that we are concerned about in today's world. Pearce claims that: "[Our] contribution might not seem to matter, but multiply that by millions and you can move mountains" (Pearce 2007:36). I completely agree with the author's words and keep encouraging some of my skeptical friends to go green . I consider myself quite ecological due to all actions that I take. Here are 10 ways to go green that may help YOU in going green (all taken from Worldwatch Institute website):
1. Walk or bike
2. Buy used
3. Buy local (farmers' markets)
4. Compost your food scraps
5. Change the thermostat setting and install energy saving devices (take shorter showers, wash clothes in cold water if possible, use low-energy lightbulbs)
6. Skip the bottled water at the grocery or convenience store (filter your tap water)
7. Make your own cleaning supplies (baking soda, soap, and vinegar)
8. Think twice about new electronics (recycle your cell phone, buy higher-quality items, Keep your electronics as long as possible and dispose of them responsibly when the time comes)
9. Add one meatless meal per week
10. Use your local library and other public amenities (borrowing from libraries, instead of buying personal books and movies, saves money and printing resources)

That's right! I think that if we try to follow at least a few of those ways then we can consider ourselves "green" and try to carry out some further ones. GO GREEN!

xxx

ref:
- Pearce, F. (2007)"Why bother going green?", New Scientist, Reed Business Information Ltd., UK
- http://www.worldwatch.org/node/3915
- http://www.va.gov/Wilmington/about_us/images/go_green.gif