Ten Simple Things You Can Do to Go Green & Group's Rejection of Consumerism Is Catching On |

Laurie David, who produced Al Gore's documentary about global warming, "An Inconvenient Truth," says saving the planet isn't about everyone doing everything.

"It's about everyone doing something," said David, who is also the author of "Stop Global Warming: The Solution is You" and founder of the StopGlobalWarming.org Web site. "The impact of small actions by millions of people will be huge."

Some scientists and climate models are predicting that unchecked human-caused global warming over the next century is expected to raise sea levels and cause extremes in temperatures.

"The public is finally starting to get that if you drive a car, or do many other things, you're a carbon emitter - and you're contributing to the problem," David said. "The upside is that there's something that we can all do about it."

David helps get her point across by talking about the way everyday household products harm the environment. "When I talk about toilet paper and paper towels, which are made of virgin wood, people gasp," David said. "I tell them, when a 100-year-old tree is cut down ... so that we can have disposable paper products, is this acceptable? Should we still be using virgin trees for this?"

The green solution: "If every American household changed just one roll of paper made with virgin wood to one recyclable post-consumer roll, half a million trees would still be standing."

She's made the switch to post-consumer paper - products made of paper previously used by consumers, then recycled - in her own home despite initial complaints about the toilet tissue's not-so-squeezable texture from her husband, Larry David, creator of "Seinfeld," and his own HBO comedy series, "Curb Your Enthusiasm."

"My family is adapting," said David, noting that her kids recycle and take shorter showers. "Besides, they are making softer toilet paper now so I think we're O.K."

Here are 10 things you can do in the new year to do your part for the environment, including some "go green" tips from David's Web site, http://www.stopglobalwarming.org/.

Use compact fluorescent bulbs. Replace three frequently used light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs and save 300 pounds of carbon dioxide and about $60 a year. The Council on the Environment and Jewish Life is organizing a campaign called "How Many Jews Does It Take To Change A Light Bulb?" to encourage synagogues and other Jewish groups to replace conventional bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs, which last four times longer but use 25 percent of the energy.
Save the water bottle. Sick of watching your recycle bin fill up with water bottles? Time to buy a reusable water bottle. REI, the outdoor equipment store, carries a 16-ounce Nalgene bottle, $7.95, in five colors, made from polycarbonate plastic; it has a wide mouth and is easily washed. Eastern Mountain Sports carries SIGG bottles from Switzerland, including an 0.6-liter lightweight stainless steel model that is a replica of a 1941 Swiss Army bottle, $20, in blue or red.
Pull the plug on electronics and chargers. Mobile phones, BlackBerry devices, iPods, digital cameras and other electronics use energy, even if they are turned off, if the charger is still going.
Take shorter showers. Water for bathing accounts for two-thirds of all water-heating costs.
Buy a hybrid car. Hollywood actors Leonardo DiCaprio and Cameron Diaz have glamorized them; David even convinced her husband's HBO comedy series to have his character drive one on the show.
Create idle-free zones. Schools, churches, synagogues, libraries, shopping malls and anywhere that accommodates a large number of vehicles are prime spots for signs requiring vehicle engines to be turned off to help cut fuel emissions and improve air quality. David helped institute a no-idle rule in the parking lot of her children's school in Southern California to cut down on the "carbon dioxide haze" created by parents' idling vehicles. "You can do the same at your school, temple or church," David said. "Ask that a sign be posted outside that says, 'Turn off your vehicle.'"
Buy local food products. You may pay a bit more in the grocery store, but buying locally grown products helps the earth because less fuel is required to transport your products to market. Additionally, buying goods that require less packaging may help reduce your garbage.
Bring cloth bags to the market. Tote your own cloth bags to the store instead of plastic and paper bags, reducing waste and requiring no additional energy. David also suggests carrying your own garment bag to the drycleaners to avoid bringing home plastic bags and wire hangers.
Put on a sweater instead of turning up the heat in your home.
Use recycled paper. Switch your home and business paper products to 100 percent post-consumer recycled paper, saving countless trees and five pounds of carbon dioxide per ream of paper.

    Group's Rejection of Consumerism Is Catching On
    By Carolyn Jones
    The San Francisco Chronicle

But aside from the occasional hardware crises, the Compact - an ever-growing group who have vowed not to buy anything new except food, medicine and underwear - is going strong on its first anniversary.

The Compact originated in December 2005 at a San Francisco dinner party, where guests decided to take recycling one step further and go for a year without new purchases. Consumerism, they said, is destroying the world and most of us already own far more than we need.

They called themselves the Compact as a semi-joking reference to the solemn commitment of the Mayflower pilgrims, but the concept is being taken quite seriously and has quickly spread.

They've been featured in newspapers across the United States and Europe and on the "Today" show, "Good Morning America," "CBS Evening News," TV news in China and Poland, and countless shock-jock radio programs. They were offered book contracts and at least two TV reality shows, all of which they turned down because it seemed contrary to the Compact principles.

Almost 3,000 people from six continents have joined the Compact group on Yahoo, and chapters have sprung up around the globe from Alabama to New Zealand.

"It's been staggering," said Compact co-founder John Perry, who works in communications at a Silicon Valley technology company. "We never set out to start a movement or be holier-than-thou models of righteous behavior, but it's been very gratifying to see the impact."

There's also been a mild backlash. One Seattle radio host did a show called "The Compact: Bad for America," and others have logged on to the Compact blog and Yahoo group to accuse them of hypocrisy because they drive cars, fly in planes and otherwise consume nonrenewable resources.

"I was really shocked at some of the venom," Rosenmoss said. "I still don't quite understand it. Why would anyone else care what we do? We're not out to convert anyone."

But for most, participants say the Compact has been a rewarding experience. Compacters are allowed to buy secondhand items and are encouraged to borrow and reuse whatever possible.

Kids' birthday parties? That's easy. Rosenmoss lets her daughters, who are not bound by the compact, spend their allowance money on new gifts for friends, or encourages them to make something. Instead of giving a gift, Perry, who has two children, makes a donation in the birthday child's name to a group committed to ending world hunger.

"The parents love it because it's one less hunk of molded plastic in their homes," Perry said. "It also gives them something to talk about with their kids."

Baby gear? Not a problem. Secondhand stores are filled with bottles, sippy cups and pacifiers, all of which can be easily sterilized.

Pelmas, a high school administrator, and Eddy, a high school science teacher, bought a house in 2006 and managed extensive renovations with only one trip to the hardware store. That was when they needed white paint for their ceilings. It's easy to find surplus paint in colors, which they used for the walls, but impossible to find surplus white paint. So they caved in and bought new.

Rosenmoss broke the Compact only twice, when she needed a drill bit and when she needed sleeping bags for her kids.

"I looked for used sleeping bags, but frankly the idea was so gross I just couldn't do it," said Rosenmoss, an engineer for the city of San Francisco. "It was like buying used underwear. So I gave myself a reprieve."

But Perry has not veered once from the Compact rules. His bathroom sink has been plugged for months, and it'll stay that way until he finds a drain snake at Thrift Town.

But overall, the year of anti-consumerism has been unexpectedly rewarding, they said.

"We've enjoyed the camaraderie and competitive spirit with friends," Perry said. "And it's been really good for us to think about what we need, as opposed to what we want."

"I've really felt part of a community," she said. "I think a big part of our consumer culture has to do with being independent, not asking people for things. But with the Compact you have to borrow a lot, and you realize it's OK."

Most of the original Compacters planned to renew their vow for 2007, but Pelmas and Eddy said they'd had enough - they're headed to Crate and Barrel on Jan. 1.

Meanwhile, Perry wants to turn the Compact up a notch and eliminate packaging. He and his partner already buy shampoo, laundry detergent, peanut butter, olive oil, pasta, spices and other foods in bulk, and he thinks they can go even further.

"The only problem has been toothpaste," he said. "We haven't found it in bulk yet, but we're trying."