10 Ways to Help Save the Earth

1. Eat vegetarian! Producing meat generates huge amounts of green house gases and ground pollution.

2. Turn down brightness level on display by at least 20% and preset energy saving settings on computer to cut down power usage more.

3. Throw on a sweater and turn the thermostat down a couple degrees.

4. Dry some or all of your laundry on a line/hanger.

5. Wash you clothes with cold water-the majority of energy in washing clothes is related to heating the water.

6. Take a recyclable shopping bag with you!  Refuse plastic bags.

7. Turn off the TV and go for a walk or a bike ride.

8. Switch all of your bill statements to online billing notifications. Reduce paper waste!

9. Put an end to disposable coffee/tea cups and water bottles.  Use a stainless steel beverage container instead. 

10. Leave a room, turn off the light!

Learn about the History of Earth Day at http://www.epa.gov/earthday/history.htm.

Earth Day

Earth Day planning is rolling along smoothly.  Sue and Kara have been working diligently on Earth Day and it sounds like it will be a big success as usual.  We hope to see everyone at Earth Day on April 19, 2009.  Spread the word!

Greening Bridge Day

Erin St. John attended a meeting about greening Bridge Day.  We started brainstorming last night and came up with some ideas.  A new page has been created on the blog that is dedicated to greening bridge day.  A link to the page is at the top right or click here.  We are asking the community to leave ideas as a comment on this page.  

ICLEI

Doug and Rebecca are almost finished inputting data into the ICLEI software.  We are missing a few pieces of data, but the end of the road is in sight for this process.  Doug also showed us a slideshow he is working on that will help to provide information to the town and county officials who have helped us out with the ICLEI process and should help to frame some goals for ICLEI moving forward.  

Next Meeting

The next meeting date will be posted after Earth Day.  We will see everyone on April 19, 2009 for Earth Day in Fayetteville.

ICLEI Update

As Doug reported to everyone, we are almost finished with our collection of raw data for this project.  Missy at ICLEI was gracious enough to spend almost an hour on the phone answering our questions about data collection.  Once we have input all of the data into the ICLEI software, the group will begin focusing on a local climate action plan.  With the help of local government, businesses, and our dedicated group of volunteers, this should be a fun and informative process that we all look forward to.

Earth Day

Sue and Ginger are working hard on Earth Day, which is scheduled for April 19, 2009.  We are currently working to identify additional organizations who want to set up a booth at the Earth Day celebration.  Any business that provides environmentally friendly goods or services as well as any nonprofit that works on environmental issues are urged to contact the Green Advisory Team about setting up a booth at the event.  The event was a huge success last year and was extremely well attended.  

If you have a business that would like to set up a booth at the event, contact Sue Plumley at splumley@suddenlink.net or call Sue at 673-4610.  We are also accepting donations from businesses or individuals who want to support the Earth Day Celebration.  

Thanks to everyone who attended.  The next meeting is March 30, 2009 at 6:30 in Fayetteville.  The meetings are open for anyone to attend.

If you are interested in volunteering to help at Earth Day or have ideas for the event, email Sue Plumley at splumley@suddenlink.net.