standforless: C'mon TeamUSA.... RT @TreeHugger: China Beat US in Offshore Wind, Europe Still Trounces Everyone Else in Solar Power http://bit.ly/aI7byBTue, Sep 7th @ 10:29am
Drive down pollution! You can also eliminate one pound of greenhouse gas emissions by eliminating just one mile of driving.
Californians bought 21.9 billion drinks in aluminum, glass, plastic and bi-metal containers last year. More than 16.2 billion of those were recycled, saving natural resources and extending the life of our landfills.
The U.S. transportation sector as a whole is responsible for almost 9% of the world's total CO2 emissions. That stinks.
Cut your monthly energy bills by as much as 30% by replacing the old equipment in your home with state-of-the-art Energy Star appliances.
CRV stands for California Refund Value. It equals 5¢ for each beverage container less than 24 ounces and 10¢ for each container 24 ounces or greater.
Report "smoking" vehicles. Call 1-800-28-SMOKE to report vehicles with excessive tailpipe emissions.
Shade provided by trees can reduce your air conditioning bill at home by 10-15%. Cool.
Save paper...save resources. Change your printer settings to 2-sided printing to reduce the amount of paper you consume at the office.
Close the loop! Visit greengiftguide.com and discover a wide range of household, recreational and beauty products made from recycled materials.
Unplug your cell phone charger and other household electronics from the wall when you're not using them. Even when they are turned off, they use phantom power.
Use cold water when you can. Water heating accounts for about 13% of home energy costs.
Carpools and vanpools can use High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes and HOV by-pass on ramp meters, which allows you to get to work faster.
Help eliminate the use of disposable plates, cups and utensils. Bring re-usable dishware to work.
Join thousands of San Diegans on Friday, May 21 for National Bike to Work Day. Bicycling to work or school is a healthy, environmentally friendly, and economical way to stand for less! Bike to Work Day occurs annually on the third Friday of May, which is National Bike Month.
Also, in honor of Bike to Work Day 2010, SANDAG’s iCommute program updated its popular regional bike map. This free publication shows more than 1,700 miles of bikeways in San Diego County and can help you plan your next bike trip. The map is available at several San Diego County bicycle shops or you can request one to be mailed to you by using this online order form at http://www.iCommuteSD.com/Bike/BikeMap.aspx.
For more information or to register for Bike to Work Day, please visit www.iCommuteSD.com or call 511 and say ‘iCommute’.
We are holding a contest through April 24! Enter today to win an overnight stay in La Jolla at the beautiful La Valencia Hotel as well as dinner for two at Georges at the Cove.
To enter all you have to do is tell us how you STAND FOR LESS.
Special note: Standing for less doesn’t mean you can’t visit wonderful places in La Jolla or elsewhere. It does mean you stand for only using what you need in your daily life and you take measures to live consciously, responsibly and with as little waste as possible. Sometimes you just need a break, and what better place than along our beautiful coast?
Informational Forum on Water Legislation and Water Bond to be held April 7 in Balboa Park
The Association of California Water Agencies is hosting a series of statewide informational forums that will discuss the comprehensive package of water bills that was passed by the Legislature and signed by the Governor in 2009. The package contains four policy bills along with an $11.14 billion general obligation bond proposal that voters will consider on the November 2010 ballot.
A forum will be held in San Diego on April 7 at the Balboa Park Club (2150 West Pan American Rd., 92101) from 8:30 a.m. to noon. The event is free and open to the public.
The forums are being coordinated to help build understanding for the many legislative aspects of the comprehensive water package. Speakers will include representatives from ACWA and other California water experts.
Demonstrating the same ingenuity and ability to do it themselves as members of San Diego’s own Electric Vehicle Association, student inventors showed up the big car companies this past weekend.
This year’s Shell Eco-Marathon was just held in Houston. The winning car gets an unbelievable 2,487 mpg.
“Extreme mileage was the goal this weekend on the streets of downtown Houston as 42 student teams competed in the 2010 Shell Eco-marathon Americas®, a challenge for students to design, build and test fuel-efficient vehicles that travel the farthest distance using the least amount of energy. More than 400 students were on hand to stretch the boundaries of fuel efficiency and participate in the first-ever street course challenge for the Americas event. So who came out on top?” Read the full release with summaries of the winning teams.
Keep scrolling for more information on how to STAND FOR LESS . . . .
This past Saturday night was Earth Hour, an event created by the World Wildlife Fund. Humans around the globe were encouraged to turn off their lights for an hour. Below are two images from Las Vegas this year:
Mark you calendars for an amazing workshop on April 3.
Nationally acclaimed sustainability expert Portia Sinnott will be presenting on integrating zero waste into your day-to-day activities and discussing how you can develop low impact habits in tune with your values - while still having a fun and satisfying life. She is seeking five local folks willing to be interviewed at the event about their zero waste lifestyles. All interested are welcome to contact her - especially parents, teachers and small business people.
We choose to STAND FOR LESS because we believe a sustainable world is possible. The United Nations Climate Change Conference is under way right now in Copenhagen. The goal of the conference is to establish a framework for climate change mitigation.
In October Governor Schwarzenegger held an important conference as a precursor to the Copenhagen meeting. Of all American states, California is arguably the leader when it comes to discussing and dealing with issues related to climate change. On December 2, 2009, the governor released a report on California’s climate adaption strategy. Schwarzenegger calls this a first of its kind approach. The report and recommendations can be found on the state’s climate change portal at www.climatechange.ca.gov.
Residents of San Diego County can take important steps at home to learn about and address this issue, but state, national and international policy approaches to climate change are necessary as well. This is why Copenhagen is so important. It is one step in an ongoing process to address global climate change.
An outstanding campaign STAND FOR LESS has been following is called Hopenhagen. The mission of Hopenhagen is “To connect every person, every city, and every nation to Copenhagen. To give everyone hope, and a platform from which to act. To create a grassroots movement that’s powerful enough to influence change.”
STAND FOR LESS supports this mission and encourages you to learn more about Hopenhagen and sign the campaign’s petition:
Governor Schwarzenegger hosted an extraordinary gathering in Los Angeles a few weeks ago.
From September 30 to October 2 an extraordinary gathering took place in Los Angeles: The Governors’ Global Climate Summit. STAND FOR LESS “attended” this event as virtual guests. Our team crowded around our computers as leaders spoke. Because of the webcast we were able to participate in the event at no cost.
What good are gatherings of this type where national and international leaders come together, give speeches and share ideas? We assert that such meetings can be very good and in fact are vital to our future. When people discuss climate change they tap into issues that directly affect all species on this planet—from the continued ability of our ecosystems to survive to daily issues that affect our economy.
STAND FOR LESS reported live on the event through our Facebook and twitter accounts. Here is a small sampling of some of the words that were spoken in Los Angeles:
“America has lost our groove as a country . . . I am focused on how we get our groove back. We need to take on the world’s biggest problems, the problems of the world becoming Hot, Flat, and Crowded.” –Author and reporter Thomas Friedman
“While people around the world may have different governments we all share one ecosystem.” –Actor Rob Lowe
“What sort of economy do we want in the future? A sustainable one and a low-carbon one.” Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair
“California has shown that the fastest growing job sector is in the green economy, growing ten times faster than any other sector.” –Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
“Green is the new red, white and blue.” –Thomas Friedman
At STAND FOR LESS we believe that words matter. Actions follow words.
What does Friedman mean when he says that green is the new red, white and blue? Why is it important that in the toughest economy since the Depression, California’s governor recognizes green jobs are one of the few bright spots? What do you think of Prime Minister Blair’s point that our economy must become sustainable? What are the consequences of it not becoming sustainable? Have we lost our groove as a country?
