Mountain Spirit's Blog

It’s amazing how easy it can be to do your part to live just a little more sustainably – individuals, institutions and businesses all have the capacity to reduce environmental impact.  It’s about making the choice.

A personal choice. Check out this list at You Sustain of actions that don’t require a huge shift in thinking or beliefs, just a minor change in behavior.  It could be as simple as saying, “I don’t need a bag, thanks.” Most of the things you can do are free and you just might inspire the next person – a kind of ‘pay it forward’ effect.  For further reading, consider Radical Simplicity, by Jim Merkel, or be informed and calculate your ecological footprint. 

A choice that inspires others. Barbara Duncan, founder of the Vermont Earth Institute, has been an energetic champion of living simply, consuming less, and building community. Over VEI’s 10 year history, she and her team have have connected with more than 5,000 people and numerous institutions through discussion courses and workshops. 

A business choice to use profit and influence for the good. And what about corporate social responsibility? The Conservation Alliance is a group of outdoor related businesses that provide funds to support national conservation and outdoor recreation organizations working to protect natural resources, special outdoor places, and wildlife habitats.  And imagine the impact of ‘doing your part’ if you’re the largest company in the world.  Consider this – by no means a ‘green company’ by their own admission, yet Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., in a partnership with the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation, has committed $35 million over 10 years to permanently conserve at least one acre of priority wildlife habitat for every developed acre of Wal-Mart Stores’ current footprint, as well as future development.  

So what’s your personal sustainability story?

Tags: buying locally, Cindy Heath, Conservation Alliance, ecological footprint, Mountain Spirit, mtnspirit.org, national wildlife federation, natural resource protection, radical simplicity, simple living, Sustainability, Vermont Earth Institute, Wal-Mart, wildlife habitat

This entry was posted on 26/11/2008 at 05:30 and is filed under Climate Change, Environment, Sustainable Living/Communities. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.