Mary Kaminski

The more stuff we consume, the more greenhouse gasses we put into the atmosphere. I will adopt a "Needs Vs. Wants" approach this month and only buy things I need.

One third of all food produced worldwide is wasted, and so is the energy it takes to produce and transport that food. I will reduce food waste and save money by planning a weekly menu, only buying the ingredients I need and eating what I planned each day.

Energy use and waste is often invisible. I will complete an online energy audit of my home, office, or dorm room and identify my next steps for saving energy.

I will cut my car trip mileage by only taking necessary trips, and I will only use muscle-powered transportation for all other trips.

When traveling, I will seek souvenirs that support local communities and do not cause harm to the environment or wildlife.

Wildlife and biodiversity play an important role on our planet and are being threatened each year. I will spend 60 minutes each day learning about the current status of local or global wildlife and how I can align my actions to support their livelihood.

I will volunteer 8 hours in my community.

Beauty and personal products can create a lot of waste. I will spend 30 minutes learning about the beauty and body products I use to see if they are refillable or recyclable. If not, I will reach out to the manufacturer to advocate for those options.

Bees are vital to ecosystems. To help save the bees, I will learn which local flowers provide nectar and plant them in my backyard or in a pot on my balcony.

We need to support healthy seafood populations. I will spend 15 minutes learning about sustainable seafood choices, commit to making better seafood choices for a healthier ocean, and share what I learned on the feed.

I will spend at least 10 minutes a day using the resources provided to learn about water justice and find out how I can get involved in local initiatives.

Plastic bags can be mistaken for food by many wild animals and can end up in habitats that harm wildlife. I will not accept any disposable bags when making purchases, including produce bags.

Why buy something I will only use once or a few times if someone nearby has it for me to borrow, and why not share something I have that someone may only need a few times a year? To reduce my consumption and waste, I will create or support the sharing economy with friends, family, colleagues or neighbors.