“We can do no great things, only small things with great love.”
– Mother Teresa
It’s no secret that caring for the environment is one of my passions. After all, I’m “crunchy” and I don’t mean in milk. ;) I don’t claim to live a perfectly green lifestyle, but I do the best that I can in the moment. I try to lead by example and inspire others to do what they can too.
We all have our different shades of green. There are some of us who are light green – just starting to go green and tentatively taking those first baby steps. There are others of us who are a darker shade and have been at it for years, but are still finding new ways to better our lives and the environment. Then there are those of us who are dark green — the uber-greenies who leave the rest of us in awe at their green awesomeness. You know who you are (though are probably not reading my blog, LOL). ;)
Regardless of your shade of green, I’m a firm believer that you don’t have to do it ALL to have a positive impact on the Earth. Every little bit adds up.
That’s why I’m excited to introduce you to One Million Acts of Green (OMAOG) — a resource that, once you register or connect via Facebook, allows you to log various “Acts of Green” and then see the positive impact you are having on the environment. Your Acts of Green are broken down into Greenhouse Gases Saved and what that equates to in terms of how many cars taken off the road for a year, how many trees plants, and how many lightbulbs replaced. I think its cool – in a geeky green-kinda way – to see just what the impact is of closing your curtains on a hot summer day, taking public transportation, or setting up a compost bin. It reaffirms to me that the little choices, as well as the big choices I make make a difference.
Why One Million Acts of Green?
In October 2008, Cisco launched One Million Acts of Green in Canada to show that individual, organizational, and community acts of green add up to something significant. Today, it is officially launching in the United States. The idea is that your act of green will inspire other acts, and other people.
Here’s how it works:
Once you’ve registered, find an Act that you’d like to complete to learn more about it. You can “Pledge” to complete an act or simply do it, depending on the Act that you’ve chosen. Once it’s been completed, OMAOG will calculate the greenhouses gases that the Act has saved and add it to your individual, country and worldwide totals.
Some Fun and Easy Ways to Get Started with One Million Acts of Green
Green U is a program meant for the newbie greenies – those who want to live a greener lifestyle, but are overwhelmed and don’t know where to start. Green U offers a list of 20 simple Acts to get you on your way.
The Three to Green Sweepstakes offers participants a chance to win a $5000 “green” shopping spree at BuyGreen.com. For every three Acts of Green you complete, you get an entry into the contest. The more Acts you complete, the more entries you receive!
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
– Lao-tzu
Are you ready to take that single step?
Sign up on One Million Acts of Green. Register or connect via Facebook and get started logging your Green Acts and making them count towards the goal of the United States completing One Million Acts of Green! Feel free to let me know if you have any questions too. I’ll be sharing more about OMAOG in the weeks ahead.
Disclosure: Rockfish/CISCO One Million Acts of Green is compensating me for my time on this project. As always, all words and opinions are my own.
Stumble it!
liveotherwise says:
Any ideas if they will be continuing to roll this out in other countries?
Also, how many acts per adult american is that? Will it really make that much of a difference?
September 24th, 2010 at 4:19 pm
Crunchy Domestic Goddess says:
I will get some answers for you, Liveotherwise, and let you know. Thanks.
September 24th, 2010 at 5:17 pm
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September 26th, 2010 at 2:02 pm
Lisa @Retro Housewife Goes Green says:
Signed up! :)
September 26th, 2010 at 3:33 pm
Crunchy Domestic Goddess says:
Hi liveotherwise – I got some answers to your questions from someone at Rockfish. See below:
So far, OMAOG has been in Canada, US & Korea and Cisco is working to get the funding for additional countries.
· Wikipedia currently says there are 310,346,000 Americans. 1,000,000 acts would be equal to 0.00322 acts per American! The overall total impact is difficult to measure because it depends what acts people do and where they are located in the US (the electricity grid varies by region).
· Yes, it really will make a difference! We can’t just wait around for a silver bullet to solve all of our environmental problems. There is no silver bullet. Every single act of green that people do makes a difference. The more people that do acts of green and influence others is what is needed. The only way we will make significant change is at the grassroots level and make it grow.
To quote Martin Luther King Jr.
“The greatest sin of our time is not the few who have destroyed but the vast majority who sat idly by.
When people get caught up with which is right and they are willing to sacrifice for it, there is no stopping point short of victory.
Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”
And to quote Margaret Mead
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”
I also wanted to add that I don’t think the goal is *just* to get 1 Million Acts of Green. It’s a starting point. It’s something to get people motivated and talking and doing what they can and feeling good about it. 1 Million Acts won’t solve everything, but it’s a step in the right direction, and it’s 1 million things that people may not have been motivated to do otherwise. It really does all add up. :) — Amy (CDG)
Lisa – Thanks for signing up!
September 27th, 2010 at 1:17 pm
Tegan @ TisBest says:
Choosing meatless options is a great way to make a greener (not to mention more compassionate!) choice three times a day. I agree absolutely–small steps are the key. What a great tool to keep the environment in the forefront of our conversations.
September 27th, 2010 at 6:56 pm
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