Things I’m doing for environmental causes; things you can do, too.<\/p>\n
Daily Letters.<\/strong> I made a New Year’s Resolution: every day I’d write a letter to a politician, public figure, or media outlet on the general topic of climate change and the environmental. As of June 6, 2010, I haven’t missed a day. I’ve sent letters to President Obama, Vice-President Biden, Interior Secretary Salazar, Secretary of State Clinton, a great variety of Senators and Representatives (I don’t restrict myself to my home state of Massachusetts), various under-secretaries & bureaucrats…and many print outlets. Not being a broadcast media consumer, I haven’t sent as many letters to television and radio outlets as I probably ought to.<\/p>\n If you’re interested in writing some letters of your own, I’ve written a little primer here.<\/a><\/p>\n Emails, Phone Calls & Faxes.<\/strong> When I write a letter to a politician, it also reaches them by email and fax. In addition, I get regular emails from various environmental activist groups requesting me to contact my senators and representatives. Since I’m in Massachusetts CD 07, my rep is Ed Markey, which means the calls are pretty easy (“way to go, Ed!”<\/em>). Climate Concerts.<\/strong> Twice a year I organize a benefit concert at a Boston church, each time featuring musicians from three different musical traditions donating their artistry for the benefit of my favorite environmental advocacy group, 350.org. More information here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Vegetable Gardening With A Vengeance.<\/strong> While I doubt we’ll ever get off the food grid entirely, we’re making headway on eliminating our need for outside supplies of vegetables. As of early June, 2010, we were still using saved frozen veggies from 2009 harvest \u2014 just when the garden was starting to yield again. The 2011 harvest stocked us up very nicely. Here is a link.<\/a><\/p>\n Water Saving.<\/strong> Since January 2012 I’ve been taking 4-gallon bucket baths instead of showers. I’m not sure how much water this is saving, but it’s making me feel better….and I’m clean!<\/p>\n
\nI usually get four or five of these a week (unless we’re in crisis mode, in which case it’s four or five a day), and I try to respond to at least half of them.<\/p>\n