The number of choices we face in a day is staggering. I was recently at a talk given by Nathan Dungan of Share Save Spend, and he told us that we are each pummeled with an average of 5,000 advertising impression per day. Holy moly! No wonder everyone is exhausted and anxiety-ridden. With all of those advertising impressions, our brain has to constantly be filtering: is this a need, or a want? So we shut a lot of it out.
I left the presentation with one great quote: “The choices we make with our money can change the world.” Indeed. While Nathan Dungan’s organization focuses on the money portion (how we talk about it, how we spend it, etc.), Green Intention is focusing on changing the world for the better from a sustainability standpoint – which does include how we spend our money.
But how? To begin, we need to break it down into simple ideas for people to get their head around. It cannot be overwhelming, or we become paralyzed.
If you read my last post about 2012 being the year of weekly tips, you know it is organized into four buckets, which pretty much covers everything related to sustainability:
- Energy and water efficiency
- Reducing exposure to toxins and chemicals
- Trash and Waste Reduction
- Going organic and local
So, over the course of 2012, it will become “52 Steps Toward Sustainable Living.” Within each season, or quarter, or “bucket,” you will see some consistencies:
- The first tip will always be to develop an awareness of what the issue is and why we care. This is a good place to start if you are unfamiliar with the issue. It can serve as a wake-up call to those who want to learn more, or it can just be a reminder to those of us who are already passionate about the subject (which my mom endearingly calls “pedantic” – meaning boring and academic).
- The penultimate (good word that means second-to-last) tip will be to learn more about it; I provide the best websites and organizations I have found on the subject.
- The last tip will be to help you become an advocate in this area, and I provide the best resources for helping change public policy in the respective arenas.
I hope these tips inspire you to make small changes that help you save money, be healthy, and feel good – because you are helping save the planet too!
As always, please feel free to contact me if you have ideas or thoughtful comments.
