These days the news about the environment always seems to be bad. In just the last few weeks we’ve heard that carbon dioxide emissions need to decrease by a radical 80 percent to avoid the worst predicted effects of climate change; President Bush has unilaterally weakened new federal rules on ozone, another greenhouse gas; and his administration has been sued for failing to protect polar bears, whose vulnerability is seen as a harbinger of global warming. It’s enough to mystify or overwhelm an ordinary citizen, even one who wants to help. And for many of us it raises questions about whether individual action really can make a difference.
Still, perhaps the most important single thing individuals can do is to press their elected officials to confront climate change aggressively by setting new standards and priorities—and especially to mandate ways to reduce the consumption of fossil fuel, which is responsible for about 83 percent of the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions.
a Wake up to the alarm on your unplugged cell phone. If you use a standard plug-in alarm clock, it’s drawing power all the time. Many cell phone chargers also use power whenever they’re plugged in—even if the phone’s not actually charging. To conserve, disconnect your phone from its charger and unplug the charger from the outlet. Or keep it—and other appliances—plugged into a power strip that you switch off whenever it’s not in use.
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a Most soaps and shampoos (not to mention other cosmetics) include petroleum products. Look for brands that use seed oils or other alternative ingredients. To find out what’s in the products you use, check out cosmeticdatabase.com and hpd.nlm.nih.gov/index.htm.
a Recycle everything else you can. Mining and deforestation do far-reaching environmental damage, and millions of tons of greenhouse gases are released through extracting metals and manufacturing paper, glass, and plastic. While the recycling process uses energy as well, it’s nowhere near the levels produced by gathering and processing virgin materials. Plus recycled materials are kept out of landfills, which eat up open space and produce methane. If you don’t have curbside recycling—and most of Chicago doesn’t—save it and take it to one of the city’s drop-off centers when you have a full load, by bike if you can. Or try carpooling to the recycling center with a neighbor. For a list of centers, go to cityofchicago.org/recycling.
a Bring as many of your green habits to work as you can. Try to get your workplace to use energy-saving lighting, cut paper consumption, recycle, and shut off computers when they’re not needed. Use the revolving door if you’ve got one—it lets out far less heat and AC than a hinged one. If you’ve got natural light, turn off the overheads. As in your home, unplug what you’re not using or connect it to power strips you can easily switch off. Encourage the boss to sign the company up for the EPA’s WasteWise program, which works with organizations to conserve resources and cut costs: see epa.gov/wastewise for more info.
