6 Global Efforts

It can be hard to feel like your little efforts in your little corner of the world are making a difference. You might wonder if your efforts are shared or if you can help on some larger, global level.

There are many ways you can feel as if your efforts are paying off and to commune with others who share your ideas. One of the best weapons we have against global warming and the destruction of the environment is education. The more we know, the more we care. And you can definitely help in that regard.

Here we'll give you some ideas.

Educate Yourself

One of the best things you can do is to educate yourself. That means join groups, do your reading, talk with others.

If you reference our resources section, you'll find many ways to educate yourself about the environment. You can read books, join websites, and join with others in conversations.

Once you feel somewhat educated, you might be interested in taking another step. Perhaps you can participate in a message board as a resident expert on composting or glass recycling. How is this global? Thanks to the internet, much of our interactions these days are global in nature.

By communicating with people online, you have an opportunity like no other to interact with people from all over the globe - sharing ideas, helping each other, educating each other. Perhaps more than any other one effort, this is an amazing way to have an impact (combined with your daily Green efforts, of course).

Join Groups

You might spend a little bit of money for this one, but by joining advocacy groups you are buying into an ability to help Green efforts on a global level.

If you write a letter to a local politician or decision maker, he or she might pay attention to what you have to say or perhaps it won't. But when those letters, emails and calls come from a well-funded and well-organized advocacy group dedicated to a particular cause, they often get a good deal more attention.

Through your campaign efforts you can encourage a better gas mileage standard for cars; advocate for preserving the world's forests; encourage the use of alternative sources of energy such as wind and solar power; and encourage the need to conserve.

Joining one of these groups, then, can make a significant difference. The power of numbers should never be overlooked and let's not forget to mention how it will make you feel - powerful and engaged.

Take a Vacation

Wait, didn't we already suggest reducing the number of vacations you take? Not flying? We did, that's true but this is a vacation that even the most Green of us can support.

How about ecotourism? You go to lovely and interesting places but with an emphasis on education and immersion in the local culture and developing an understanding of helping maintain the natural environment.

There is an emphasis in eco-tourism of supporting sustainable areas and traveling in such a way as no destruction supports your travel. Through eco-travel, you can gain an understanding of people who might be directly affected by, say, the destruction of rain forests, or a mismanagement of water resources.