Most people want to do more to help the planet, but they don’t know how. The purpose of this blog is to identify low-hassle changes you can make to your daily routine that will have the greatest positive impact on the planet.
My goal is for this blog to be useful to you whether you are first starting to make greener choices, or are looking for ways to expand your existing green routine. I intend to provide recommendations that are:
Specific: I’ve been surprised at how difficult it is to find clear and specific guidance on what we can do at the consumer level to reduce the negative impact humans are having on the environment. Platitudes and generalizations abound (“Make greener choices!” “Reduce your emissions!” “Think globally, act locally!”). Specific action items are rarer. This blog will synthesize my environmental research into easily digestible and specific tips and recommendations that you can use to make greener consumer decisions.
Vetted: I’ve tried everything I recommend on this blog. As a result, you’ll only get the tips and recommendations I’ve found to be useful, effective and doable. Also, I pretty much do research for a living, and would like to think that by now I’m fairly good at it. My goal is to provide information and conclusions that are well researched and accurate.
Practical: It is not an exaggeration to say that we are on the verge of environmental catastrophe. We must act, and we must act now. However, I understand that most people (myself included) cannot abandon all other pursuits in life to become full-time environmental crusaders. Most of us won’t be sailing across the Atlantic to reduce our carbon footprint. (Although I think it’s totally badass if you do.) Accordingly, the tips I provide on this blog will be practical changes that I hope can be integrated into daily life with little to moderate effort. If we sustain these small but meaningful changes, big change can happen!
Comprehensive: My recommendations and tips are intended to address a variety of the most pressing environmental issues. For example, I will share tips on how to reduce your plastic consumption, as well as tips to reduce your carbon footprint. I will suggest consumer choices that may reduce the destruction of great ape habitats in Asia and Africa, as well as choices that will reduce the contamination of our waterways with dangerous chemicals. No catastrophe is off the table!
Local: Although the convenience and efficiency of online shopping is alluring, it is often much greener to shop locally. For this reason, much of my research has involved identifying local resources and sourcing local products. As a result, while I hope this blog will be useful to anyone looking to be greener, it will be particularly useful to San Diegans.