Ideas into Action
SuStainability ambaSSadorS Newsletter January 2009
Green Habits
Most green lifestyle changes are really changes in daily habits. Did you know that it usually takes 21 days to change a habit? If you can practice it for 21 days it’s likely that your new habit will stick.
New Years Resolution #1: Lower Eco Footprint
It’s a new year, what better time than now to resolve to live green! Many people resolve to exercise more, spend more time with their family members, eat better, or quit smoking but how about making a new resolution this year to take the bus more or cut down on disposable coffee cups? As the One Day campaign from the City of Vancouver http://vancouver. ca/oneday/ tells us, reaching any goal takes baby steps. If each of us resolved to integrate one new green action into our lives this year the results would be phenomenal. Lets look at two examples: If all 6, 102 employees (faculty, staff & research personnel) at SFU used one less piece of paper per day each day for one year (that’s 213 working days in 2009) this would add up to a savings of 1,299,726.00 pieces of paper. If you divide this number by 500 (the number of sheets in a pack of paper) you get 2, 599.452 packs of paper saved in one year. That’s approximately 433 trees! If you turn the thermostat down at home by 2 degrees you can save 5% on your heating bill while reducing your greenhouse gas emissions according to BC Hydro. You will barely notice the 2 degrees but the planetary impact of 2 degrees in each home is substantial.
Book of the Month
“Bothered by My Green Conscience: How an SUV-driving, imported-strawberry-eating urban dweller can go green” By Franke James
Celebrity Tip
TreeHugger Tip: Ludacris in the Bathroom
What would a celebrity rapper tell you about going green? Take a look at his green bathroom tip that you can put into practice today! http://www.treehugger.com/ files/2008/07/treehugger_tip_ ludacris.php
Ideas into Action
SuStainability ambaSSadorS Newsletter January 2009
Top Sustainability Stories 2008
It Must Be Something We ‘08: The top green stories of 2008 By Katharine Wroth and David Roberts [http://www.grist.org/ feature/2008/12/23/index.html] Time: Top Ten Green Stories 2008 http://www.time.com/time/specials/2008/ top10/article/0,30583,1855948_1863706,00.html CBC: Canada Votes 2008: Green leader allowed into debates, networks confirm [http://www.cbc.ca/news/canadavotes/story/2008/09/10/elxn-may-debates. html]
Resolution Suggestions
1. Top Green New Years Resolutions by Planet Green http://planetgreen.discovery.com/gogreen/new-years/newyear-resolutions.html 2. The Daily Green and NRDC Simple Steps partner to bring you 15 easy-to-follow resolutions for the new year http://www. thedailygreen.com/ environmental-news/ latest/green-new-yearsresolutions-10109 3. 50 Ways to Help the Planet! Oh my! Here is a great resource to pick one habit http:// www.50waystohelp. com/ 4. Here’s a new tip: Pick one thing you spend too much money on and commit to giving $20 of this money to charity each month.
Learning Resources
A Green Lifestyle starts with one new habit... Although some of these links focus on health or work habits they can just as easily be applied to new green habits! Five Things You Need to Know About Effective Habit Change: A guest post from Ian Newby-Clark, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada who studies habit change. How to Change a Habit http://www.scotthyoung.com/blog/2006/04/03/ how-to-change-a-habit/ ShapeFit http://www.shapefit.com/habits.html Green Habits at Workplace-Some great ideas for making work specific green habit change and why this might also help your career! http://careerbright.blogspot.com/2008/04/moving-towards-greener-workplace. html
Ideas into Action
SuStainability ambaSSadorS Newsletter January 2009
Sustainability Ambassadors Community Page
A friendly welcome to our newest ambassadors:
Terry Lavender-Communications Manager (Surrey) Patricia Graca-Business and Operations Analyst (Vancouver) David Kloepfer -SFU Bookstore (Burnaby) Harpreet Virk-Recruitment Coordinator, Student Services (Burnaby)
SA Dates
Gretchen Hernandez-Researcher, Centre for Sustainable Community Development (Burnaby) Christine Crosby-Program Assistant, Arts Co-op (Part of Work Integrated Learning) (Burnaby) Christine Beauchamp-Manager, Academic & Administrative Services, Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry (Burnaby) Tracy Bruneau-Manager Academic and Administrative Services, School of Computing Science (Burnaby)
Ambassador Spotlight
Why he joined the ambassador team: “I’m concerned about the effect that I have on the environment. But sometimes you feel overwhelmed about what you, as an individual can do. As a communicator, I feel I can contribute by sharing thoughts and ideas with the rest of the SFU community and passing on the message that we can make a difference -- individually and collectively”. Terry Lavender Communications Manager SFU Surrey Terry’s Green Tip: Re-using is better for the environment than recycling and it can also be more convenient. I’ve found that the plastic clamshells used to package salad greens can be used for mixing salads (just add your ingredients, including dressing, put on the lid, and shake!), for packing lunches, storing nuts and other bulk foods and even non-food items like nuts and screws. They’re lightweight and see-through.