globalbriefs
News and resources to inspire concerned citizens to work together in building a healthier, stronger society that works for all.
Big Improvement
Small Changes Add Up to Large Cut in Carbon Emissions
how altering everyday decisions can collectively reduce direct U.S. household carbon dioxide emis- sions by 20 percent annually in 10 years, “with little or no reduction in household well-being.” That’s equal to 7.4 percent of U.S. household emissions, and more than the total national emissions of France. Researchers note that most
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policy attention has been placed on long-term options such as clean energy tech- nologies and cap-and-trade programs, but changing individual habits is reason- ably achievable in the near-term. Adopting fuel-efficient vehicles and smart home weatherizing top the list of doable changes, followed by use of energy-efficient appliances and heating/cooling equipment, as well as fuel-smart driving behavior, low-rolling resistance tires and carpooling (http://BehavioralWedge.msu.edu/). Entrepreneur Robin Chase, who founded Zipcar (Zipcar.com), the biggest
urban car-sharing program in the world, is now also catalyzing a broader com- munications network for carpooling, called ride sharing, via local social networks of friends, coworkers, fellow church-goers and school chums. She notes that car sharing, in which users reserve and pay for the time they use a common-access vehicle, has been proven to reduce road time, as well as personal gas, insurance and maintenance costs.
Create or join a ride-sharing group at http://GoLoco.org.
Eco-Moms
Online Communities Support Green Parenting
spring now and in the future can enjoy easy access to helpful practical information. NatureMoms.com, now in its fourth year, offers its own article archives; GreenMoms.com, which celebrates its first anni- versary this Mother’s Day, links to targeted articles on various websites of interest. Both online communities share wide-ranging
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ideas and resources to make it easier to live as a green family and both enable online members to join in recommending products and services and providing their own insights and tips. In addition, GreenMoms.com invites members to form their own local support groups.
others who understand the benefits of green living to the health and welfare of their off-
new study from Michigan State University demonstrates
Global Crew
Study Shows Earth Already
Past Three Tipping Points
paper, “Planetary Boundaries: A Safe Operating Space for Human- ity,” published in Nature, have identified 10 biophysical systems that are crucial to humanity’s flourishing. They caution against “carbon blindness,” or focusing on atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations above all else; rather, they point to 10 safe operat- ing boundaries within which we must remain to maintain the basic environmental conditions in which we have evolved. “Human activities,” the sci-
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entists warn, “have now reached a magnitude that may trigger irrevers- ible and, in some cases, abrupt en- vironmental change, by damaging the regulatory capacity of the sys- tems on Earth that keep the planet in the desired Holocene state” (that of the past 10,000 years). As of 2009, biodiversity loss
was already at more than four times the identified tipping point, closely followed by a damaged nitrogen cycle; climate change had just passed the crucial tipping point. Ocean acidification and stratospheric ozone depletion are currently at the tipping point. Land system change, the phosphorus cycle and global freshwater use are closing in on the critical point, with chemical pollution and atmo- spheric aerosol loading the other two categorical dangers.
Source: Grist.org
natural awakenings
April 2010
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team of 28 scientists respon- sible for the groundbreaking
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