Spring Lifestyle Makeover
By Glenda Stein

SPRING – time to get rid of unwanted clothing, books, old furniture, paint, and clear out the dust bunnies and clutter in my château.

Well, that takes care of unwanted stuff but what about the clutter in my mind. I look forward to this annual cleansing ritual, since I‘ve been a ‘green‘ environmentalist for most of my adult life and tend to think beyond my own corner of the world. I walk softly on the Earth, which is our collective house – our shared legacy – and in need of some spring cleaning.

SPRING – time of reflection

The Earth is a mess. We‘ve seen smog alerts in Toronto this winter (a first), never-ending traffic gridlock, devastating hurricanes in Florida, climate change and melting ice fields, disappearing species and forests by the minute – just to start with.

Closer to home, I‘ve recently discovered that despite our ‘wonderful‘ environmental reputation abroad, Canada is really struggling environmentally. According to a recent OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation & Development) study, Canada finished 28th out of 29 developed countries in categories such as air, water, waste, and climate change (see www.davidsuzuki.org). Ouch! Polls taken during the year indicate that many Canadians do care about nature and the environment. But why is there a disconnect between how people feel and what people do? Why don’t people realize that the more we damage the environment, the more we put ourselves and future generations at risk. The planet’s health is our health. My head has been spinning lately. Is it time for fresh thoughts and new trends?

SPRING – time for GREEN inspiration & fresh starts

Unbridled consumption of natural resources and energy are root causes of our most pressing environmental and health problems – a result of consumer attitudes, choices, and lifestyles. While progressive people, organizations, cities, and countries have been in-the-know for a long time, I’ve noticed that more people are starting to realize that they don’t have to sacrifice a great lifestyle (health, comfort, style and value) in order to protect the environment.

There is a movement, perhaps even a revolution currently taking hold in the United States. It has been spear-headed by a segment of the population known as ‘Cultural Creatives‘, who are increasingly aware of the connection between health, the mind-body continuum and our planet. They represent about a quarter of the population (63 million consumers). This is inspirational!

SPRING – time for a new trend – THINK & LIVE GREEN

It really is easy to change. Let’s get started. It is time to move into spring equipped with a new, positive and empowering mindset. Start by making conscious, environmentally-friendly choices and small subtle changes in day-to-day life where you live, work and play. These actions will ultimately affect the sustainability of our planet for future generations.

STEP 1: RETHINK
Begin with this question. What environmental decisions and actions do you take in your own day-to-day life? You may not realize that whether shopping for life’s basic necessities, driving to work, taking a vacation, or decorating your home, the choices you make from the moment you wake up in the morning can either help or bruise the planet. For example, you can buy regular coffee which contributes to the use of pesticides, de-forestation, soil depletion and pays growers very little money OR you can buy fair-trade coffee which does the opposite.

Do you know that people living in the world’s industrialized countries, such as North America, Europe, and Japan respresent about 20% of the world’s population but consume more than 80% of the planet’s resources? It is estimated that if the rest of the world were to consume like the developed world, we would need the equivalent of 4 extra Earths.

The best and most important thing that you can do to conserve valuable resources and sustain the Earth is REDUCE – use less resources, buy less and throw less away. With the world’s population expected to increase to a total of approx. 9 billion by 2050, the United Nation’s Environment Programme (UNEP) and UNESCO are pointing out the urgent need for worldwide change in consumption and production attitudes and patterns. To this end, they’re promoting the concept of “sustainable consumption – which is about finding workable solutions to imbalances – both social & environmental – through more responsible behaviour from everyone. In particular, sustainable consumption is linked to production and distribution, use and disposal of products and services and provides the means to rethink their lifecycle. The aim is to ensure that basic needs of the entire global community are met, excess consumption reduced and environmental damage is avoided.“ (see www.youthXchange.net)

You can make your human footprint on the Earth as small as possible. To get started, take your own ecological footprint quiz to determine how much land, water, air, and energy it takes to support your lifestyle at www.earthday.net. Also, David Suzuki is encouraging Canadians to take his nature challenge. His foundation has researched the 10 most effective ways to help conserve nature and improve our quality of life.

STEP 2: GREEN CONSUMER
A great next step is to become a conscious or responsible consumer. Think about what products and services you really need to use to create peace of mind and a quality lifestyle. Once you have made a purchasing decision, try to look for a ‘green‘ product (or service).

According to the book entitled, The Green Consumer (John Elkington, Julia Hailes, Joel Makower – 1988), a green product is one that:

• Is not dangerous to the health of people or animals


• does not cause damage to the environment during manufacture, use, or disposal


• does not consume a disproportionate amount of energy and other resources during manufacture, use, or disposal


• does not cause unnecessary waste, due either to excessive packaging or to a short useful life


• does not involve the unnecessary use of or cruelty to animals


• does not use materials derived from threatened species or environments

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About The Author:

Glenda Stein is the owner of ecoworks, an eco-chic lifestyle gift service. A wonderful selection includes bags made from old advertising billboards, recycled rubber coasters, and fair-trade coffee. Glenda has 20 yrs. eco-expertise and her alias, ‘Plastic Poly‘ your favourite garbage bag is available for fun presentations or shopping parties. She can also help you ‘green‘ your lifestyle

Contact: Glenda Stein
Phone: 416-461-6121
E-mail: ecoworks@pathcom.com