Happy Green Halloween
If your household is like mine, Halloween is one of the most exciting times of the year. (It also results in a pillowcase full of treats which tend to last into spring.) But even Halloween has a impact on the planet – mainly through treats, decorations and travel. If you’d like to reduce your family’s ‘Halloween carbon footprint’, here are a few ideas:
1. the best single action you can take is to leave the car home and walk around the neighbourhood. Bundle up, and for added safety consider flashlights, reflective tape, face paint instead of masks, and, if the kids allow it, adult accompaniment.
2. minimize the use of inflatable decorations (they use as much power as 4-6 CFLs) and lights; use timers to turn them off automatically and save money
3. consider ‘greener’ treat options, food or otherwise. Check out www.greenhalloween.org for lots of information and suggestions.
In the news
The President and cabinet of the Maldives, a tropical paradise threatened by rising sea levels, held an extraordinary underwater meeting Saturday to raise awareness and sign a declaration calling for cuts in global emissions.
The CEO of Shell, one of the world’s largest oil companies, is urging the US Senate to act on climate change legislation.