Breaking a bad habit is never easy, but a little support can help. Much like Green Thing, which we wrote about back in 2007, Green Groove is a site that aims to help consumers create and stick to a plan to eliminate their unsustainable ways and embrace new, greener habits.
Green Groove's goal is to help consumers make "a phased withdrawal on catastrophic climate change." Toward that end, the Idaho-based site invites visitors to take three initial steps to create their own, personal withdrawal plan. First, they choose their desired plan type, length and level of difficulty, including whether it's just a personal plan or one that incorporates a household or family. Next, the site guides visitors to select specific weekly goals in four categories: auto, diet, home and lifestyle. Within the "home" category, for example, weekly goals might include replacing one old lightbulb with a compact fluorescent, or hang-drying at least one load of laundry. Third, visitors are then invited to put their weekly goals into the order they'd like to follow in accomplishing them, thereby creating their step-by-step action plan. A downloadable "Goal Tracker" widget is available both for Mac and PC, as are "Green Groove Participant" and "Green Groove Certified" website badges for those who are in the midst of or have finished their plans.
With all the many external demands on consumers' time and attention today, the need for support in making lifestyle changes seems greater than ever. Deliver that help in bite-sized portions, and you may just win some lasting support yourself! (Related: Nagging service for dieters — A public incentive to stick to one's goals.)
Reducing energy consumption is clearly a global imperative, but before one can reduce it helps to know how much one is already consuming. Targeting the 40 million "smart meters" now in use worldwide—and the 100 million more soon to be added—Google is testing a new gadget that will take the information such devices collect and make it more easily accessible to the consumer.
Many smart meters don't display consumption information to the user, but Google's PowerMeter prototype—now in closed beta—is designed to receive such information and provide access to it via the user's iGoogle homepage. Aiming to help users make better energy decisions, the technology taps Google's scalable, secure IT architecture and the iGoogle gadget platform to show consumers their energy use in near real-time, including an analysis of how much energy is used by different household appliances and activities. Google vows to keep all data under the user's control, and it says it hopes to work with as many utility companies as possible to deliver the technology for free to anyone with a smart meter.
Finding alternative energy sources may be the gold rush of our era, but helping the world wean itself from nonrenewable energy is just as important—and potentially just as rewarding. Google is currently seeking utilities and device manufacturers to partner with; one to get in on early? (Related: Visualising energy use.)
Apa yang semula suatu kampanye agar orang-orang Sydney memadamkan lampu mereka, kini telah berkembang menjadi salah satu inisiatif perubahan iklim terbesar di dunia. Pada tahun 2009, jam 8.30 petang tanggal 28 Maret, orang-orang di seantero dunia akan memadamkan lampu-lampu mereka selama satu jam – Jam Bumi. Sasaran kami mencapai satu milyar orang, lebih dari 1000 kota, semua bersatu untuk bersama-sama dalam upaya global untuk memperlihatkan bahwa mungkinlah untuk mengambil tindakan pada pemanasan global.
Jam Bumi dimulai pada tahun 2007 di Sydney, Australia dengan 2,2 juta rumah hunian dan bisnis memadamkan lampu mereka selama satu jam. Peristiwa ini baru setahun namun telah menjadi gerakan pelestarian global dengan 100 juta orang meliputi 35 negara peserta. Penjuru global, seperti Golden Gate Bridge di San Francisco, Colosseum di Roma dan papan reklame Coca Cola di Times Square, semuanya membisu dalam kegelapan, sebagai lambang-lambang harapan untuk suatu maksud mulia yang setiap jam semakin mendesak.
Jam Bumi 2009 adalah panggilan global kepada setiap perorangan, setiap bisnis dan setiap komunitas. Suatu panggilan untuk tampil, mengambil tanggungjawab dan berpartisipasi dalam bekerja menuju masa depan yang lestari. Bangunan ikon dan penjuru-penjuru dari Eropa ke Amerika akan berdiri dalam kegelapan. Orang-orang di seluruh dunia akan memadamkan lampu-lampu mereka dan bersatu bersama-sama dalam menciptakan pembicaraan vital tentang masa depan planet kita yang berharga ini.
Lebih dari 64 negara dan wilayah berpartisipasi dalam Jam Bumi 2009. Jumlah ini terus bertambah setiap hari karena orang-orang menyadari bagaimana tindakan sederhana tersebut dapat membuahkan hasil yang begitu dahsyat dalam mempengaruhi perubahan.
Jam bumi adalah suatu pesan harapan dan pesan tindakan. Setiap orang dapat berbuat sesuatu untuk perubahan.
Apa yang dapat Anda lakukan
Memadamkan lampu-lampu Anda selama satu jam suatu awal yang bagus sekali. Walaupun demikian, ada banyak lagi yang dapat Anda lakukan agar Jam Bumi 2009 berhasil baik.
Catatkan Diri Anda sekarang juga. Jadilah bagian dari Jam Bumi dan dapatkan tip-tip berguna serta alat-alat untuk mengurangi jejak karbon Anda setiap hari
Tularkan pada Teman. Lebih baik lagi – ceritakan pada teman, keluarga Anda dan bahkan rekan-rekan kerja Anda. Doronglah mereka untuk me-link ke situs web ini dan bahkan mobilisasilah lebih banyak orang!
Ceritakan Kisah Anda: Bagaimana perubahan iklim mempengaruhi keluarga dan komunitas Anda? Kami ingin mendengar bagaiman Anda menjadi bagian dari solusi.
Tell the world: Get the Earth Hour GiverSign and make your e-mails, blog posts, Facebook feeds and MySpace pages advocate the Earth Hour message. Let everyone know that you signed up to participate and that they should as well!
What is it? Earth Hour is a global WWF climate change initiative. Individuals, businesses and governments will turn out their lights for one hour to show their support for action on climate change. In 2009 Earth Hour aims to reach 1 billion people in 1,000 cities.
When is it? Saturday March 28, 2009 from 8.30pm – 9.30pm
Where is it? Cities taking part in Earth Hour 2009 (as at 10/12/08):
1. Adelaide (Australia) 2. Brisbane (Australia) 3. Canberra (Australia) 4. Darwin (Australia) 5. Hobart (Australia) 6. Melbourne (Australia) 7. Perth (Australia) 8. Sydney (Australia) 9. Santa Cruz de la Sierra (Bolivia) 10. Sofia (Bulgaria) 11. Toronto (Canada) 12. Hong Kong (China region) 13. San Jose (Costa Rica) 14. Aalborg (Denmark) 15. Copenhagen (Denmark) 16. Odense (Denmark) 17. Ponphei (Fed. States of Micronesia) 18. Suva (Fiji) 19. Espoo (Finland) 20. Helsinki (Finland) 21. Guatemala City (Guatemala) 22. Bologna (Italy) 23. Florence (Italy) 24. Milan (Italy) 25. Naples (Italy) 26. Palermo (Italy) 27. Rome (Italy) 28. Turin (Italy) 29. Venice (Italy) 30. Amman (Jordan) 31. Mexico City (Mexico) 32. Auckland (New Zealand) 33. Christchurch (New Zealand) 34. Hamilton (New Zealand) 35. Oslo (Norway) 36. Tromso (Norway) 37. Trondheim (Norway) 38. Manila (Phillipines) 39. Gdansk (Poland) 40. Lodz (Poland) 41. Poznan (Poland) 42. Torun (Poland) 43. Warsaw (Poland) 44. Lisbon (Portugal) 45. Moscow (Russia) 46. Petropalovsk-Kamchatsky (Russia) 47. Singapore City (Singapore) 48. Cape Town (South Africa) 49. Ekero (Sweden) 50. Gothenberg (Sweden) 51. Kalmar (Sweden) 52. Kiruna (Sweden) 53. Lilla Edet (Sweden) 54. Malmö (Sweden) 55. Mullsjo (Sweden) 56. Nassjo (Sweden) 57. Norrkoping (Sweden) 58. Orebro (Sweden) 59. Sodertalje (Sweden) 60. Ulricehamn (Sweden) 61. Vaxjo (Sweden) 62. Ystad (Sweden) 63. Istanbul (Turkey) 64. Abu Dhabi (UAE) 65. Dubai (UAE) 66. Fujairah (UAE) 67. Sharjah (UAE) 68. London (UK) 69. Chicago (USA) 70. Las Vegas (USA) 71. Los Angeles (USA) 72. San Francisco (USA) 73. Miami (USA) 74. Nashville (USA)
Landmarks & Icons committed to Earth Hour 2009 (as at 5/12/08):
1. Sydney Opera House (Sydney) 2. CN Tower (Toronto) 3. Table Mountain (Cape Town) 4. Adia Building (Abu Dhabi) – Abu Dhabi’s tallest building 5. Burj Dubai (Dubai) – World’s tallest building 6. Federation Tower (Moscow) 7. Burj al Arab (Dubai) – iconic 6-star hotel 8. Quirinale (Rome) - Presidential residence 9. National University (Singapore) 10. Sky Tower (Auckland) 11. Auckland Harbour Bridge (Auckland) 12. Helsinki Cathedral (Helsinki)
Why do it? The effects of climate change caused by carbon emissions pose the greatest threat to life on Earth. Only by changing the world’s collective attitude towards the use of carbon-emitting energy sources can we alleviate this threat.
Participating in Earth Hour is a contribution to a united global message to individuals, businesses, politicians and governments around the world that climate change affects and is the responsibility of the global community.
What will it achieve? The objective of Earth Hour 2009 is to get as many individuals, households and businesses around the world to turn off their lights and electrical appliances for one hour.
Earth Hour aims to educate the global community about the threat of climate change and how easy it is for individuals and businesses to make small changes to the way they live and operate - small changes that will make a big difference.
Earth Hour 2009 hopes to deliver a global mandate for environmental reform to world leaders attending the UN Conference for Climate Change in Copenhagen, December 2009, to strike up a new global climate deal to usurp Kyoto.
History of Earth Hour The inaugural Earth Hour took place in Sydney on 31 March 2007, when over two million people and two thousand businesses across the city turned off their lights and appliances for one hour. From its relative humble beginnings, the Earth Hour message has swept the planet.
In 2008, 50 million people across 35 countries turned off their lights in support of Earth Hour, sending a message across the globe that the collective actions of individuals really can change the world.
Earth Hour 2009 aims to reach 1 billion people in 1,000 cities globally.
This article covers the issues such as: What is Global Warming and Climate Change? What is the Greenhouse Effect? The Greenhouse effect is natural. What do we have to do with it? What are the impacts of Global Warming? Rapid changes in global temperature, Extreme Weather Patterns, Super-storms, Ecosystem Impacts, Rising Sea Levels, Increase in Pests and Disease, Failing Agricultural Output; Increase in World Hunger.
At 8pm on the 29 March millions of people around the world will use the simple action of turning off the lights for one hour to deliver a powerful message about the need for action on global warming.
But there's much more to Earth Hour than the one-time event. Visit www.earthhour.org to see how you can make Earth Hour a part of your everyday life and find out ways to reduce your carbon dioxide emissions.
Where Will the Lights Go Off? Anyone can get involved and individuals around the world will be shutting the lights off in their homes and businesses. In addition, major participation is planned in 25 cities, on six continents, including Chicago, San Francisco, Copenhagen, Sydney, Manila, Tel Aviv, Bangkok, Dublin and Toronto. Find out more about what’s happening in these cities or get your town or local community involved.
Go to www.earthhour.org and sign up to create a bigger, better Earth Hour, and reduce your impact on climate change.
Thank you for switching your lights off and making a statement for planet Earth.
LEAD is an international non-profit organisation with a fast growing network of 1600 leaders in more than 80 countries. Our shared mission is to inspire leadership for a sustainable world. We do this by searching worldwide for outstanding people, developing their leadership potential through our innovative training programmes and working with them to mobilise others to make a real difference to the future of this planet. Our LEAD offices across the world deliver training programmes that challenge traditional notions of leadership with progressive participatory techniques. Using LEAD's experiential learning approach, our participants learn through multi-stakeholder dialogue, systems thinking, and inclusive cross-cultural processes. We train business executives, government officials, academics, NGO directors, activists, educationalists and media professionals. Our multi-lingual training team works with top-level experts and practitioners from around the world who focus on emerging issues relevant to leadership and sustainable development.
