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Give experiences as gifts

11/29/2018

This holiday season, consider giving experiences rather than stuff.

Studies show people derive more meaning and lasting satisfaction from experiential gifts than from objects. Instead of adding to the clutter, consider giving theater or concert tickets, or a restaurant gift card. When you give a membership to a local museum or public garden, your gift does double duty by helping to sustain your favorite non-profit.
Check out these articles from the Wharton School and Psychology Today for more insights.

Sources:
http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/the-science-of-gifting-how-to-pick-a-better-present/

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/people-places-and-things/201512/material-or-experiential-gifts-which-are-best

Photo by Andy Piper

This thanksgiving avoid disposables

11/8/2018

Instead of disposables, use cloth napkins and real plates, utensils, and glasses at your Thanksgiving table.

According to the Stanford University Recycling Center, The average American produces 4.5 – 5 pounds of garbage a day – almost a ton of garbage per person per year! During the winter holidays, the amount of garbage Americans throw away increases by 25%. "The extra waste amounts to 25 million tons of garbage, or about 1 million extra tons per week!"

You can minimize your impact by cutting out disposables. Serve your guests on real plates and cups with washable utensils and napkins. Have a supply of washable containers for packing up leftover food. In addition, make sure your guests are aware of the location of your recycling container so they know where to put bottles and cans.

Reducing what we send to landfill has multiple benefits:

Preserves natural resources
Conserved natural spaces
Saves energy
Reduces GHG emissions
Reduces pollution
Reduces landfill space, also reducing air, water and land pollution
Saves money

Sources:
https://lbre.stanford.edu/pssistanford-recycling/frequently-asked-questions/frequently-asked-questions-holiday-waste-prevention

Photo by Didriks on Flickr commons

Vote!

11/1/2018

When choosing a candidate, take into account their concern for protecting our environment.

Voting is a privilege and a duty. Actions by governments, both local and federal, are an important part of protecting our air, water, and natural resources for the future. The recently released United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report states that we have little time to make major changes to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. To make changes this large and within the 12 year time frame stated in the report, it will require the actions of lawmakers setting standards and making rules that will make this change happen. Therefore, it is imperative that we elect people into government who understand this and are willing to act.

Don’t underestimate the power of your individual vote! In recent elections, a number of races were so close that they were decided by a relatively small number of votes. In addition, many environmental issues are decided at the local level by city or state level officials, so voting in your local races can be crucially important.

Give experiences as gifts

This thanksgiving avoid disposables

Vote!

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