What you can do:
- Earth Day Ecological Footprint
- Global Ecological Footprint
For Sailors:
1. Bring your own bags to go to the stores. Cut down on island waste, especially plastic.
2. Buy biodegradable bags. We found these were very common in Papeete, Tahiti at the Carefour, and may other places in French Polynesia.
3. Save old batteries and old broken electronics to recycles in places like the U.S., Europe, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia. Please don't just throw these overboard.
4. Buy local foods
5. Cut your 6-pack plastic rings. Often these find their way back into the ocean and sea birds and turtles get them wrapped around their necks.
6. Try to limit the amount of plastic you buy at the stores. Use your own water bottles if you can or re-use ones you buy. Almost always the plastic will not be recycled in the islands and just ends up in the local garbage pit or back in the ocean.
Not a sailor, but you just want to help make a difference:
1. Do an ecological footprint study and have more awareness around what your personal impact is on the planet. Here are a couple online that you can try:
2. Here are a few "do it today" at the hardware store solutions to help make an impact dealing with global warming and save you some $:
Compact fluorescent light bulbs: These energy-efficient bulbs cost less than $4 and are produced by major corporations like GE. If every household in America switched five regular light bulbs for five fluorescent bulbs, it would be the equivalent of taking 1 million cars off the highways for a full year.
Outdoor solar lighting: These yard or patio lights cost less than $20, and they don't burn any electricity or produce any CO2.
Programmable thermostats: Though these thermostats cost from $50 to $100, they can actually cut your heating and cooling costs. Set the setting so it's a little bit cooler in the winter and warmer in the summer when you're not in the house. A difference of 2 degrees can reduce a home's CO2 emissions by up to 9 percent over the course of a year.
Air filters: Changing the air filters in your heating and cooling systems regularly can knock 2 percent off of your CO2 output each year.
Electric hot water heater blanket: Hot water heaters use a lot of energy and generate a lot of CO2. A blanket costs less than $18 and can cut your home's CO2 emissions by almost 4 1/2 percent.
And lastly, if you are in the market for a new appliance, look for "Energy Star" appliances that only consume a fraction of energy compared to your old ones.