In an effort to be a conscientious consumer and reduce my usage of fossil fuels, plastics and chemicals, I pledge to:
Refuse to purchase new products that operate on oil, gasoline or natural gas * Buy only electric cars or conversion kits for cars, electric heat pumps or quartz space heaters and solar or electric hot water heaters (with solar panels on roof)
Refuse to purchase new products that are shipped cross-country and from other countries in order to reduce shipping fuels * Shop locally & purchase reusable items or locally made products
Refuse to purchase conventionally grown foods that are sprayed with chemicals or grown with GMOs * Purchase and/or grow Organic or Chemical-free foods only * Petition or boycott grocery stores and eateries that sell only conventionally grown foods
Refuse to purchase highly toxic chemical/petroleum based lawn, garden and household products * Make or buy natural pesticides, lawn fertilizers, weed killers and home supplies * Petition or boycott hardware, grocery and discount stores and nurseries that sell these harmful products
Refuse to purchase chemical/petroleum based Styrofoam and plastic bottles, cups, containers and bags * Remember: toxinsleach into the contents and contaminate soil/air/aquifers where they’re disposed or recycled * Use reusable, glass containers/jars/bottles, cloth bags or baskets, which are not toxic
Reduce usage of Oil and Gasoline: * Reduce drive/fly time; vacation locally until electric vehicles and energy efficient planes are available at a reasonable cost * Walk or ride bicycles, golf carts and mass transportation or car pool in energy efficient vehicles * Get rid of gas guzzling lawn mowers, create natural areas, plant edible ground cover, herbs, berry bushes and TREES that emit oxygen and provide homes, food and nectar for wildlife, birds and BEES
Reduce consumption of Electricity: * Use only LED light bulbs and turn off lights when they’re not needed * Turn off power strips, appliances, TV systems, computers, and electronic gadgets when not in use * Lower thermostats in the winter, raise them in the summer and turn them off in the spring and fall * Air-dry laundry, hand-wash dishes, insulate homes, seal and caulk doors and windows * Buy only energy efficient appliances and equipment that run on renewable and free energy
Rethink Employment and Investments: * Avoid investing time, energy & money in polluting companies & banks owned by the fossil fuel giants * Join credit unions and invest in “green” and socially conscious businesses and cooperatives
Reconnect with Nature and Neighbors!!! * Help develop neighborhood gardens, orchards, compost stations and lanes for bikes and golf carts * Attend neighborhood meetings and take part in helping neighborhoods become sustainable * Form coalitions to boycott lawn treatment and pest control companies that use chemicals * Form teams to contact local businesses, council members, legislators and members of Congress
DEMAND Renewable Energy: Solar, Wind, Geothermal, Hydroelectric Energies * Call local power company weekly, demand renewable energy and removal from the coal-fired grid and the natural gas pipeline * Purchase solar panels, free energy generators and batteries * Encourage local businesses, churches, colleges and schools to install solar panels and to share the energy with near-by low-income households or homes that have tree-shaded rooftops * Petition oil companies & auto makers to demand renewable energy products, charging stations, electric vehicles and conversion kits (If appropriated, ExxonMobile’s $20 billion expansion could end the climate crisis) * Realize that when the supply meets the demand, the prices will come down!
DEMAND a Zero Carbon Footprint * Follow the above steps to lower household and neighborhood emissions *Petition local power, chemical, plastic, bottling and vending companies to demand zero carbon emissions *Petition local restaurants, eateries and grocery stores to demand locally grown, chemical-free foods * Contact city, state and national decision makers to demand nation-wide zero carbon emissions
TELL DECISION MAKERS THAT WE HAVE A RIGHT TO: CLEAN ENERGY, AIR, SOIL, WATER & FOOD!!!
Write or call US Congress Members Weekly… Strongly urge them to: * SUPPORT or DEVELOP a comprehensive, bipartisan resolution to our full-fledged environmental and socio-economic crisis. * LEGISLATE tax breaks for chemical-free farmers and clean energy manufacturers and installation companies * IMPOSE HEAVY TAXES on polluting industries, in order to off-set the cost of affordable health care, as a means of compensating for the terrible illnesses caused by their toxic products, emissions & wastes * IMPOSE HEAVY TAXES on all mining, extraction and power companies that refuse to restore the land, neutralize/recondition the soil and streams, and replant the forests that they have destroyed or polluted
Write or call State Legislators Weekly Strongly urge them to: * OPPOSE the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and all fracking and drilling operations within the state * OPPOSE the production, distribution and spraying of lethal chemicals * LEGISLATE tax breaks for clean energy manufacturers/installers & chemical-free farmers * IMPOSE HEAVY STATE TAXES on all polluting industries in order to compensate for damages caused by their toxic carbon and mercury emissions * MANDATE that all energy, mining, extraction, chemical and plastics companies restore the land, neutralize soil, replant forests and clean streams that they have destroyed or polluted within the state * MANDATE that all manufacturers switch to renewable and free energy sources by 2025
Attend Meetings, write or call City or Town Council Members Strongly urge them to: * REQUIRE that solar panels be installed on the rooftops of all parking decks, public and government buildings and that solar-paneled carports with charging stations be constructed in parking lots * ENFORCE a moratorium on the clear-cutting of forests * MANDATE all developers to install solar panels on new construction and plant large trees around shopping centers, housing complexes and new roadways where urban forests have been destroyed * MANDATE all city departments to eliminate the use of toxic chemicals * REMOVE all vending machines from public and government buildings (plastic bottles are highly polluting and the electricity needs to be conserved or used for necessities) * ESTABLISH permaculture gardens, greenhouses and orchards within city limits and nearby counties * DEVELOP hydroponic filtration systems in every residential neighborhood * DEVELOP green arts and craft districts that support local regenerative businesses * ENCOURAGE all fitness centers to convert to human or muscle energy, which can be harnessed during the use of stationary bikes, treadmills, elliptical machines, etc.
Read and Remind Others about how the residents and students of Oberlin, Ohio, reduced the city’s carbon footprint to ZERO. (If a small, northern city can accomplishthis by taking many of the above steps, then every neighborhood and town in the US can have a zero carbon footprint too.)
“Imagine all the people living for today!” To paraphrase John Lennon: Imagine all the people living in sustainable communities surrounded by bountiful gardens, orchards and forests, driving vehicles and flying in planes that run on renewable and free energies… Imagine all the displaced people living in ecovillages near the southern border and on the plateaus where mountains once stood…
As Conscientious Consumers, We Shall Overcome the Effects of the Industrial Revolution! Going Green Enhances Everyone’s Lives and Restores our Planet!
Go REAL Green! 