Treehugger

Filling out the big top 10 is the catalyst -- both good and bad -- in all of this: people. Each of us plays a role in the way the world works, and we each have the power to change it; that's why we can't underestimate the value in human equity, fair trade [www.sundancechannel.com] labor and overall health and happiness.

Here's the challenge we face for a greener future when it comes to every human who inhabits this planet: "Some in the industrialized world live in relative poverty, while many in the developing world cannot meet their basic needs from what they produce or sell." Wealth, resources and power are generally not equitably distributed throughout the planet, and, while this is a planetary problem, there are local solutions. The two (equity and fair trade) go hand in hand; with more of one, we can have more of the other. How can this happen? Ensure that your community's (and not just your neighborhood, but your office, your family, your online community and wherever else you tend to leave your footprint) impact on other communities is positive. Promote equity and fair trading relationships to ensure that all of these communities have a beneficial impact on other communities both locally and globally. This means: supporting fair trade labor practices by buying Fair Trade-certified goods (often commodities like coffee and chocolate); not supporting those who are not equitable in their distribution of wealth (like many big corporations in the US, like Wal-Mart) and really considering what it must have taken to create your apparel and garments and other dry goods that require labor before arriving in your home.



At the risk of sounding a little out there, let's consider the final piece of this green puzzle: health and happiness. Notions of what make us happy and healthy as individuals mean many different things; for some, it's money and financial health; for others, it's fulfilling work that insures more equity in the world. There is also a significant portion of this equation that can be tied to where we live; not only locale, like city vs. country, but location, like apartment vs. farm. Living in well-designed space and community is a big part of contributing to our general well-being, since we spend so much time in our homes and in our communities. The solution, according to One Planet, is a good one: "Promote healthy lifestyles and physical, mental & spiritual well-being through well-designed structures and community engagement measures, as well as by delivering on social and environmental targets." Again, we're all connected, and it all comes back to us.

Lastly, this will be the final entry here in the TreeHugger blog at the Sundance Channel website. It's been a great year here, blogging about all things green, and we've really enjoyed it. TreeHugger will march on, as ever, endeavoring to bring sustainability further mainstream and reporting on the latest and greatest in green; we hope that if you've enjoyed what you've seen here, that you'll visit us at TreeHugger and continue to learn about the green world. As we sign off, we'd like to repeat something from the very first entry, way back in March, "Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for more of the best in green!"

Today, we'll move away from the stuff that surrounds our lives every day and open up the aperture a bit, to look at how our green future interacts with natural habitats and wildlife, and culture and heritage. Again, it might not seem like there's a huge connection here, but there really is. And it's terribly important that we consider them both.



Considering biodiversity [www.sundancechannel.com] and natural habitat is another great study in the interconnectedness of everything. One Planet says the challenge stems from, "Loss of biodiversity and habitats due to development in natural areas and overexploitation of natural resources," and it certainly does, but as we encroach further into natural habitat, we cut down more trees (and trees absorb carbon dioxide as they grow), which leads to less water retention in the soil (which leads to less groundwater that we can access with wells) and less stable topsoil [www.sundancechannel.com] (which leads to more mudslides). What to do? "Regenerate degraded environments and halt biodiversity loss, and protect or regenerate existing natural environments and the habitats they provide to fauna and flora; create new habitats," says One Planet. This one is interesting because it requires nothing but our due diligence; we don't need any fancy technology for this (though it helps); we just have to care enough to make a difference. Judging by the groundswell of interesting environmental issues over the past year, we certainly do.



Culture and heritage might make less sense as a way for a greener future; in order to give this one proper treatment, we have to look to the past. The problem, defined by One Planet as, "Local cultural heritage lost throughout the world due to globalization, resulting in a loss of local identity and wisdom," is equally about what we've done in the past and what we do today. Think about it this way: in Italy, there's a cultural history surrounding food and wine (something like pasta and Chianti, very generally) that dictates how things are done, and where they come from. Italians don't prefer cheese from Parma and tomatoes from Roma because it's greener; they prefer them because they're distinctly Italian, and because it helps define their culture and heritage. In America, we have no such connection to a given cultural history; as a melting pot, we have the benefit of deriving culture from many different sources, but it leaves us without a specific tradition on which we can hang our hats. So, we tend to care less about where our stuff comes from, and that goes for everything from food and water to materials and even energy.

Though this sounds like a bit of a bummer, it's a great opportunity for us to rebuild a culture of sustainability, and it's already happening: with farmer's markets and local food; with green energy we harvest ourselves; with water and resources we're able to save through increased efficiency. Being green is becoming cultural iconography of it's own, and it's only the tip of the iceberg. Don't wait to get on the bandwagon!

We take a step closer to our everyday lives today with something we all need, every day (and several times, at that): food and water. We can't make this more plain: what you choose to eat and drink every day makes a huge, huge difference, so making the sustainable [www.sundancechannel.com] choice has huge potential to make a greener [www.sundancechannel.com] future. Let's take a closer look.



First of all, One Planet Living defines the difficulties of food production very succinctly, so we'll just go with it, “Industrial agriculture produces food of uncertain quality and harms local ecosystems [www.sundancechannel.com], while consumption of non-local food [www.sundancechannel.com]
imposes high transport impacts.” Moving forward, eating green [www.sundancechannel.com] can take on many forms, but there's a fairly specific progression that can apply to just about everybody: local organic [www.sundancechannel.com], local, organic, conventional. The 100 Mile Diet [www.sundancechannel.com] has exploded in popularity of late, making it easier than ever to find local food [www.sundancechannel.com]. Farmer's markets are enjoying a renaissance, as people care more and more about where their food comes from, and how it's produced. Eating more veggies [www.sundancechannel.com] (and less meat) is another big step with even bigger results; remember, it takes almost 2000 gallons of water to produce one pound of beef -- that's a perfect segue into the next topic: water.



Sustainable water [www.sundancechannel.com] seems to be one of the great ironies of our time: over 2/3 of our planet is covered in the stuff, and yet, we can't seem to keep enough of it clean and available for drinking and consumption. One Planet decrees that we must, “Achieve a positive impact on local water resources and supply. Implement water use efficiency measures, re-use and recycling; minimize water extraction and pollution [www.sundancechannel.com]; foster sustainable water and sewage management in the landscape; restore natural [www.sundancechannel.com]
water cycles.” Sounds easier said than done, but it's really quite straightforward: stop drinking bottled water, put a low-flow showerhead in your shower and aerators on all your sinks, a low-flow, dual-flush toilet in your bathroom and don't leave the water running when you don't need it. Taken separately, each of these seems simple and small, but they can add up to literally thousands of gallons of water each year. Not tossing it down the drain, and not polluting it with fertilizers in your yard helps, but the big payoff here comes back to food (remember that full circle thing we mentioned before? Here it is again…) and what you choose to eat. Think of it this way: upgrading all the systems in your home is great, but it'll never add up to the difference not eating meat will make.

Gazing in to the crystal ball, next we see that natural wildlife and habitats and culture and heritage are next; stay tuned!

We started our peek into our bright green [www.sundancechannel.com]
future by looking at two very big, very large scale hurdles to clear: zero carbon and zero waste. Today, we’ll focus on more tangible ideas that are easier to put in to everyday context, since they’re things we use every day: sustainable transport [www.sundancechannel.com] and local/sustainable [www.sundancechannel.com] materials.



We have a huge opportunity to make both our day-to-day and longer-term (like holiday airplane travel) transportation more sustainable. You already know the story with cars: internal combustion engines pollute [www.sundancechannel.com], bottom line, so for all the talk about hybrids and plug-in hybrids [www.sundancechannel.com] and flex-fuel and biofuel [www.sundancechannel.com], we have to get beyond using fossil fuels in our engines, and, ultimately, get beyond internal combustion to use things like batteries [www.sundancechannel.com] and hydrogen fuel cells [www.sundancechannel.com], where emissions will not only be reduced, but can be absolutely zero. Of course, these options already exist (in prototype form, at least) with Tesla's sexy roadster [www.sundancechannel.com] and the Hypercar [www.sundancechannel.com] (here's part two [www.sundancechannel.com] of that series).

Flying is a bit more of a trick, because few viable options exist for replacing fossil fuel-derived jet fuel just yet; with careful travel management (and careful carbon offset purchasing [www.sundancechannel.com]) we can help first reduce our air miles and second make our flying carbon neutral.



As with much of this list, the benefits (and need for) local, sustainable materials are intertwined with other facets of the top 10. The impetus for sustainable materials comes from the destructive patterns of resource exploitation and use of non-local materials in construction and manufacture that increases environmental harm and reduces gains to the local economy; that means that not only do non-sustainable resources deplete resources, but shipping them from across the globe increases carbon footprints and, in some cases, can exploit labor and human capital. What do we do about it? Well, the green future will include more sustainable labeling schemes [www.sundancechannel.com] for materials -- like the Forest Stewardship Council for wood -- and more sustainable materials in general -- like bamboo [www.sundancechannel.com]. Where possible, we’ll look to use local, reclaimed, renewable and recycled materials in construction and products, which minimizes transport emissions, spurs investment in local nature [www.sundancechannel.com] stocks and boosts the local economy. We’ll be revisiting the local theme again, several times, so stay tuned for more on that.

Up next: local and sustainable food and sustainable water.

We generate 25 percent more trash during the holidays, and a large part of that can be attributed to the gifts we buy and ostentatiously wrap up before giving them away. Once given, you know how it usually goes: there’s the “Oh, what could it be?” stage followed by a moment of admiration and then the paper is shredded and the gift uncovered, the pretty paper that adorned the gift now a mangled afterthought, to be (hopefully) recycled or (probably) thrown away. But it doesn’t have to be that way.



Going with non-disposable wrapping is the greenest way to go. By cutting wrapping paper out of the equation all together, you don’t have to worry about whether or not it’s recycled, or recyclable, because the answer is automatically (and emphatically) “Yes!” For example, if it’s a small kitchen gift, wrap it up in a kitchen towel that your giftee can use every day for years to come; for a larger gift, a reusable canvas bag, for groceries and the like, is a great way to wrap with function in mind. And, with people like Anya Hindmarch [www.anyahindmarch.com] creating designer bags that equally consider fashion and the environment, it’s a social statement instead of an ugly afterthought.



If reusable items and bags are not an option, using recycled paper (like the Sunday comics, even), or a tree-friendly paper alternative like hemp and flax [paporganics.com], is a good way to go. If it’s recycled, it’s already been through a produce lifecycle and the waste stream once, making its footprint much lighter than it would be if virgin materials were at the top of the list. In many cases, these recycled papers are also further recyclable, once you’re done with them; lots of wrapping paper, though made from paper, is sadly not recyclable. Generally, if it’s shiny or sparkly, it can’t be recycled -- all that glitters is not gold, you know -- so stay away from the really eye-catching stuff if you want your wrapping to be green.



Every year, 2.65 billion holiday cards are sold in the United States. If you're buying, choose cards made from recycled paper and avoid the shiny non-recyclable kind. Sending e-cards is a good alternative, if you aren’t absolutely wedded to tradition, and be sure to recycle those non-shiny cards you get.

For more on this, check in with this designer option [www.fishlipspaperdesigns.com], peruse the many offerings of Pap Organics [www.paporganics.com] and find any color in the rainbow [www.buygiftpaper.com] if you still need some. The Green Guide [www.thegreenguide.com] has a thorough treatment of the subject as well. Happy wrapping!