Bloggers Unite - Sustaining our Earth

Ok, I do not know how coherent these ramblings will be but here goes.

The University Campus I work on has adopted a Green Theme for 2008-2009 to talk about sustainability issues and how our campus may be able to become more Earth friendly. I have to say hat even in the short amount of time since we have made the decision to do this, it amazes me the myriad of things that one can do to make a difference in the future of this planet we call home.

I have always been a proponent of recycling, but it continually amazes me to see the amount of waste that we go through as humans...and the amount of waste that corporations use just in the packaging of products. I get so frustrated when instead of a #1 or #2 plastic, the large majority of products use #5 plastic which cannot be recycled. Now, I really do not know why this is the case, but I do have to say that if more companies used products that could be recycled we may not have the issues we have in regards to waste.

Speaking of waste, I was recently amazed to learn that SJ Johnson in Racine, Wisconsin, runs their entire factory off of the Methane gas that comes off of the landfill across from their plant. Talk about innovative. I wish more companies could find ways to use alternative energy sources such as this.

The city I live in is just another example, they power our homes through HUGE amounts of Coal. While I definitely want my electricity (How else would I blog), but beyond this, I wish my city could find other ways to power our homes. Clean ways such as through wind farms, or other such means.

I think the final area that I will touch on is driving, the auto industry and petroleum industry. You know it amazes me at how expensive gasoline has become, but as Americans we are so dependent on this we do not do what we need to do to cut back and limit our use of this fossil fuel. Thus, the petroleum companies continue to get rich while we drive our large vehicles through our daily lives. Now, I am as much to blame as the next. I live about 5.5 miles away from work, and in the past I did bike to work, but on many days I found this to be hard because I would need to go to a meeting during the day, or, especially at the end of the day, I was tierd and just couldn't see myself having to ride the bike home...now I know this sounds lazy, but I can tell you that I am not alone and there are myriads of others out there that are probably in the same boat. So what am I saying...you know I don't really know. I guess I am encouraging you to find ways to limit your travel. Walk places, bike places, carpool...simply try something different.

I am definitely not an expert on this...far from it... but I would encourage all of you to check out the following websites as they will open your eyes to the small hings you can do to save mother Earth!

Treehugger.com
Planet Green
10 Ways to Go Green
The Green Life
The Frugalist
The Journal Times
Go Green Initiative
How to 'go green' on a budget