Change The World Wednesday (#CTWW)

Welcome to Change The World Wednesday (#CTWW)! If this is your first visit, please click HERE for information and a complete list of all the challenges we’ve taken on so far.

There’s a lot of great information in this post and I encourage you to read through it … however, if you don’t have the time right now, you might find the following quick links helpful:

• The #CTWW Gang
• The Honor Society
• My Final Thoughts on Our Last Challenge
• This Week’s Challenge

Last week we took to the streets and, while taking a walk, we picked up litter. I found this challenge interesting … not for it’s health advantages or even it’s Eco-benefits but rather because of the progress I’ve seen over the years. Nearly three years ago, I did a post on littering. At the time, I saw a lot of litter when I walked … including trash left on hiking trails, deep in the forest. But this week I noticed that I’m not seeing as much litter. In fact, I found very little trash. While it isn’t perfect yet, there’s definitely been improvement. So maybe … just maybe … our green word is getting out there!

The Honor Society are those people who help us spread the “green” word by writing an article about our challenges and/or leaving pertinent comments. Here’s what they had to say:

In this POST EcoWarriorMe (EWM) shares a recent stroll through a park. One of the first things that EWM found was a plastic bag hanging from a tree. Then … further on … something else came into view. Can you guess what it is?

Ilhami Uyar reminds us that we only have one world and therefore must guard it. So true, my friend!

Stephanie, who suggested our challenge, says that she loves to pick up trash.

Brian had an interesting comment, and dilemma, regarding this challenge. Here’s what he had to say: “This is an interesting challenge in that we (my wife and I) are trying to teach our son the importance of picking up trash. The problem is this, the neighbor packs their trash well above the top of the trash can and when the wind blows their trash ends up in our yard. My son likes to ask “why do I have to pick it up? It’s their trash not mine.” It is difficult to get him to understand that even though his comment is true we still have to do the best we can to keep things clean, even if that means picking up the neighbors trash. We are really trying to teach him that if everyone said “it’s not my problem it’s theirs”, nothing gets done and everyone will pay the price for that.” Wow … that last statement is powerful and one that adults need to think about as well.

Argentum Vulgaris regularly picks up trash in front of his home and whenever he’s out walking. In a local park, recently, he noticed some young men who left empty soda bottles and disposable cups sitting on the curb. So what did he do? Check out Change the World Wednesday – 18th April for the answer. A hint … those of you who have been following AV for awhile won’t be one bit surprised!

Those of us who know Mrs. Green know that she is a “waste-minimizing diva” … seriously … she and her family have actually been on the news because of their fabulous ability to minimize their waste. So when I read her comment and the word “failure”, I was more than just a little curious. Fail??? Mrs. Green??? No Way!! In Mrs Green plans to save the world with crisps, you’ll find out exactly what she’s referring to.

By the way, Mrs. Green introduced me to K. Emily Bond and her approach to reducing waste. Wow … I was so impressed with how she evaluates her trash. Curious? Check it out HERE. Now I ask you … how many of you would be willing to do that?

Ann wrote an interesting post entitled Save the world: Senior citizens and Lifelink personal alarm and included our banner and link to our challenge. Thanks, Ann!

Welcome back to Kris … we’ve missed you! Kris wrote this POST where she talks about how her area doesn’t have a lot of litter … not in her neighborhood and not along the path where she runs. Yay! But she’s concerned about the amount of trash which is generated from buying new stuff. She’s soon to be a first-time mommy and talks about staying green while anticipating her daughter’s arrival.

It’s so nice to see Rewinn again … we’ve missed you, Rewinn!! In Walking Clean And Green: A Change The World Wednesday (#CTWW) Challenge! he talks about another aspect of picking up trash … and oh, I love this one … it’s an added bonus, beyond the exercise and helping the earth. Brilliant!

Welcome to Tori Peterson who is brand new to our challenges. Regarding a previous challenge, she shares that she loves to read and often turns off the TV to do so. In her words, “I just love reading in general, and love the way you can get swept up in a book. Often it is so much better than watching TV.” I couldn’t agree more, Tori!

Welcome to Pamela, another new member of our Honor Society. She shares that her children’s 4H group recently joined with people from the community to clean up the town park. How great is that … I love it when a whole community comes together to do good! Your kids are Eco-Super Stars, Pamela!!

Alicia has a unique litter situation. She lives on five acres and has a small section of woods towards the back of her property. It seems that previous owners used the area as their own personal landfill, tossing out glass jars, jugs, bottles and even metal. So, Alicia and her family are busy removing and recycling those items. She shares that, while there are still items to remove, she and her family have made real progress with the cleanup. By the way … a huge CONGRATULATIONS TO ALICIA!! Her fabulous Eco-products will be included in this year’s official Emmy Award Show gift bags. WhooHoo!

Some of our Twitter friends shared their thoughts this week:

From @givetreegifts
- In honor of #CTWW I’m giving my sister and brother in law a compost bin for their anniversary. Believe it or not, they’re thrilled.

From @nonmom
- Keeping w/this wk’s challenge of reducing waste, my #CTWW is I use reuseable containers DAILY 4 my lunch etc. at wk. Saves all around

From @rozdb
- Spring fresh #Penticton #Okanagan & I’m ready for my neighbourhood walk on Change The World Wednesday

From @rubbishgeek
- thanks for the mentions on #CTWW – for this week’s challenge I recommend you take a look at @2handsproject -inspiring stuff!

From @gwened02
- Car free day today much easier getting dropped off by OH instead of parking
- Thought I’d missed the train but it was late

From @theriverwanders
- I do so many green things @smallftprints would be proud.

The #CTWW Gang are those folks who share our challenges on twitter using the hashtag #CTWW. If you’re a Twitter member, I highly recommend following them … they have a lot of great things to say. Let’s meet them:

My Final Thoughts:

Litter is more than just unsightly. It often finds it’s way into our storm drains and ends up in our water ways. There it pollutes and contaminates our environment with harmful toxins. Some litter is mistaken as food by animals who ingest it and die when it suffocates them or can’t be digested. Every single piece of litter is potentially dangerous to our earth and all species living on it. The good news is that this is one environmental situation that we have total control over … we can stop littering and when we see litter, we can pick it up.

Thanks, everyone! If you wrote an article, I have Stumbled, Tweeted, Facebooked and posted it on Google +. You can help spread the “green” word by using the share feature at the bottom of this post.

This Week’s Challenge:

This week’s challenge is from Gaby who says “Grow one vegetable. You can actually just buy a bag of soil, lay it down, cut it open, and plant seeds in it. No green thumb necessary!” With hints of warmer temperatures and flowers beginning to bloom, I think it’s a perfect activity.

Thanks, Gaby … I can’t wait to see how everyone does on this one!

If you have a challenge idea, please send it to me HERE. I keep all ideas and will get to each and every one.

Until next time …

WE’RE CHANGING THE WORLD … ONE CHALLENGE AT A TIME!

For additional green living tips and ideas, please visit Reduce Footprints at
reducefootprints.blogspot.com

Read more at Reduce Footprints