Maximizing Positive Impacts,
Minimizing Negative Impacts

The great news is there are so many ways to decrease our negative impacts and maximize our positive ones. It can be overwhelming, but getting started with small acts can pave the way to larger life decisions such as moving closer to one's place of work to minimize commuting impacts. 

General Tips

How can we choose just one website with tips on minimizing your impact?  We can't!
Try each of these and have some fun. 

Coming Soon:
Links with general tips
Links with planners/tracking abilities
Goal setting links

Transportation 

How we get places is huge - whether daily activities or long distances. Our food and other products often travel quite a distance.

Coming Soon:
Resources on making travel decisions for daily, vacations, and products

Consumption

Whether the food we eat or the products we buy, the quality, quantity and origins have a huge impact on our planet. 

Coming Soon:
Resources on food
Resources on products. incl Story of Stuff
Sharing Economy links, incl. Time Banks

Using Your Voice

If you live in a part of the world where you are free to express your opinions, this is one of the greatest opportunities where you need no money to get involved. 

Government and organizations (public and private) are not so different in that public perception can make or break their existence. 

Letters/Petitions/Social Media
If you like what the government/company is doing, send them a letter!  If you aren't happy, send them a letter! Sign a petition! Both! Then tell your friends to do the same!  Call them out on social media!  Let them know if you will/won't be supporting them with your votes, money, or social power based on their decisions.  

Demonstrations
Attend peaceful demonstrations if you live in an area where this is safe - and don't forget that social and environmental justice are one and the same, so find out how you can become an ally to marginalized and underrepresented communities.

Use Your Wallet and Time
When spending money or time, try to spend it on organizations that are doing positive things for the environment. This includes purchasing regular items, special items, volunteering, charitable donations, etc.  Often organizations supporting the environment also support local communities  - social/environment win-win!

Stay Informed
Keep in the loop with independent media that includes diverse opinions and critical analysis so that you can make decisions on how you want to spread your voice!

Keep it Going
This is something that can be done regularly - why not make a goal to write a letter/sign a petition every week. Maybe have an event with your friends, school, or family where you each write letters for causes you care about. 

Coming Soon:
Links to various media sources, tips for writing letters to politicians and companies, peaceful protests, histories of social movements

Investments

It's hard to visualize that the money sitting in our savings accounts and investments (if we are fortunate enough to have savings) is having an impact on the planet.  But it does!

If you invest on the stock market, choose companies with green practices.  If you buy bonds, consider many green bond options which may be available to you depending on your location. If your bank or credit union doesn't have "green" mutual funds or savings accounts or other options, ask them! The more requests they have the more seriously they will take your requests. 

If you don't personally have investments, you can still share your opinion with others. Encourage your schools, churches, and other companies to invest in environmentally responsible options. Or at the least, divest from environmentally harmful practices. 

Coming Soon
-Article on philosophy/outcomes of divestment
-Links to green bonds
-Link to NRB
-Link to sustainable investment sites 

What would you like to see here?

Share your interests and resources and we'll post some of them here!