Surf’s Up

The Surfrider Foundation is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of the world’s oceans and beaches through conservation, activism, research, and education.

Local chapters of this 19-year-old group work hard testing our ocean’s water, cleaning beaches, campaigning, and visiting our schools for the benefit of all people, and hence marine life. The Surfrider Foundation distributes an excellent leaflet, “20 Ways to Cleaner Oceans and Beaches.” Call 1(800) 743 SURF, or check surfrider.org for a copy.

Power for the Planet

Turn off your computer at night instead of leaving it on or in sleep mode, since this wastes energy. By doing so, you can save an average of 40 watt-hours per day, which adds up to four cents a day, or $14 per year (50waystohelp.com). In addition, the life of your computer will also be extended, as the amount of available time for virus contamination will be greatly reduced. This act of conservation is a great idea you should share with your office-mates. 

Surf’s Up

The Surfrider Foundation is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of the world’s oceans and beaches through conservation, activism, research, and education.

Local chapters of this 19-year-old group work hard testing our ocean’s water, cleaning beaches, campaigning, and visiting our schools for the benefit of all people, and hence marine life. The Surfrider Foundation distributes an excellent leaflet, “20 Ways to Cleaner Oceans and Beaches.” Call 1(800) 743 SURF, or check surfrider.org for a copy.

Earth Hour Day

Participate in Earth Hour Day today, beginning at 8.30pm in the United States, and turn off all the lights in your home for one hour. Earth Hour (earthhour.org) unites millions of people around the world and gives them the hope that together we can make a difference.Take this hour to sit with your significant other or invite some pals over for a candlelit evening of togetherness. Just be. Together.

Power Down

Switch off lights when you leave a room, don’t leave the faucet running if you’re not actively using it, use energy-saving light bulbs, opt for blankets over turning on the heater and choose portable fans over air conditioning… All of these will lower your utility bills and help preserve the planet. It just makes cents (get it?). If every household in the United States replaced one regular light bulb with one of those new compact fluorescent bulbs, the pollution reduction would be equivalent to removing one million cars from the road.

Lessen the Landfill in Your Daily Decisions

Diaper with a conscience. By the time a child is potty trained, a parent will have changed between 5,000 and 8,000 diapers, adding up to approximately 3.5 million tons of waste in US landfills each year. Whether you use cloth or a more environmentally friendly disposable alternative, you’re making a choice that has a gentler impact on the planet.

Save the Rainforest

Tropical rainforests take in vast amounts of carbon dioxide (a poisonous gas which mammals exhale) and through the process of photosynthesis, convert it into clean, breathable air. In fact, the tropical rainforests are the single greatest terrestrial source of air that we breathe.

What’s truly amazing, however, is that while the tropical rainforests cover just over two percent of the Earth’s land surface, they are home to two-thirds of all the living species on the planet. Additionally, nearly half the medicinal compounds we use every day come from plants endemic to the tropical rainforest. If a cure for cancer or the common cold is to be found, it’ll almost certainly come from the tropical rainforests.

Tragically, the tropical rainforests are being destroyed at an alarming rate. According to Rainforest Action Network, more than an acre-and-a-half is lost every second of every day. That’s an area more than twice the size of Florida that goes up in smoke every year!

According to savetherainforest.org, “If present rates of destruction continue, half our remaining rainforests will be gone by the year 2025, and by 2060 there will be no remaining rainforests remaining.”

Power for the Planet

Turn off your computer at night instead of leaving it on or in sleep mode, since this wastes energy. By doing so, you can save an average of 40 watt-hours per day, which adds up to four cents a day, or $14 per year (50waystohelp.com). In addition, the life of your computer will also be extended, as the amount of available time for virus contamination will be greatly reduced. This act of conservation is a great idea you should share with your office-mates.