Sometimes the hardest thing about green living is knowing where to start. Does turning off the lights when I leave the room really make a difference? What if I do it more for saving money on my electricity bill than to be green? Is that OK? How much of a difference does such a small act make?
The truth some days I just do not know. Everyone has a different green priority and definition as to what green living means to them. That goes double for those “how green are you?” quizzes. I do not always like them because most are very subjective based upon the organization that creates them.
Sometimes you get good points for only doing something huge like installing solar panels and very little kudos for doing something more manageable like participating like clockwork in a city recycling program. Once, I was knocked from the Dark Green category to the Light Green category on a green living quiz because I did not have a bird feeder in my yard even though I did every other option on that quiz.
Sometimes you get good points for only doing something huge like installing solar panels and very little kudos for doing something more manageable like participating like clockwork in a city recycling program. Once, I was knocked from the Dark Green category to the Light Green category on a green living quiz because I did not have a bird feeder in my yard even though I did every other option on that quiz.
It was very discouraging.
Little Acts of Green Do Make a Difference
That’s why I’m excited to share with you a new kind of green living guide, Cisco’s One Million Acts of Green campaign. Cisco launched One Million Acts of Green in Canada in 2008 to show how little acts of green based upon what works for you, your life, and where you live really do add up and can make a difference. It was so successful in Canada that Cisco is relaunching the program in the United States.
It’s easy to participate. Register or connect via Facebook to One Million Acts of Green (OMAOG). Then pledge to complete as many or as few green acts as you like. Cisco's overall goal is to have participants collectively complete 1 million acts of green.
I like that OMAOG allows you to track your progress so you can hold yourself accountable. For example, I regularly turn off my computer when I’m not using it. I marked that Complete but I haven’t taken that box of donations in my garage to Goodwill yet, so I only have a Pledge on my list, not a Complete. I learned that I reduced my household carbon emissions by 80KG by just shutting down my computer when I'm not using it. Now I want to clean out the garage because I'm curious how my donation will further reduce my household carbon emissions!
OMAOG allows you to can tailor your green acts to you and your lifestyle. You can add acts of green that you do not see listed to the list too. The thing I like best (and the reason I'm promoting it) is that OMAOG shows you how your personal green actions add up unlike those subjective green quizzes So far my completed green acts add up to reducing my household carbon emissions by 1, 725 KG which equals to removing 366 cars off of the road every year, planting 1725, or replacing 63, 832 light bulbs. I still have many pledges to add and complete too.
If you want to go green but aren’t sure where to start, check out the easy green acts listed on Green U. I will also be offering my suggestions for little green acts to consider and tips on how to get started here on Condo Blues.
Three to Green Sweepstakes
What are you waiting for? Go register and get started!
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Disclosure: Rockfish Interactive, in partnership with Cisco are compensating me for my considerable time on this project. However, my ideas, words, and opinions are my own and are not influenced by this compensation. See what the other ambassadors have to say about One Million Acts of Green: Crunchy Domestic Goddess, Green Your Décor and Green and Clean Mom.
interesting. thanks for sharing. every little helps, hah? just keep reminding ourselves.
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