Here's to a Greener 2010

It's already a week into 2010 and about time to check in on those New Years resolutions...

The tradition to make resolutions at the start of the year goes back a long way - all the way to the time of the Babylonians around 2000 BC when festivals were held at the time of the spring and autumn equinoxes. Back then spring heralded the beginning of a new year as it was the time to begin the annual cycle of sowing crops once again. The beginning of the Babylonian New Year was also marked by paying off debts and returning borrowed goods.

During the Roman era worshippers offered resolutions of good conduct to a double-faced deity named Janus - the god of beginnings and endings. When Julius Caesar reformed the Roman calendar, the first month of the year was renamed January in Honor of Janus, thus establishing the January 1st as a day of new beginnings.

In modern times a New Year's resolution has come to be a commitment we make to stop an old, bad habit, to begin a new project, or form a new habit that is in some way advantageous.

Personal New Year's resolutions have included stopping smoking (several times), taking up jogging (never took the first step), drawing up a budget (seems to work every alternate year), changing jobs, getting a raise, spending more time with family, starting to meditate, studying, etc.

Generally a New Year's resolution aims to improve some sphere of your life, for example, health, finances, family life, education, self-improvement, career, spirituality, or charitible giving.

Usually by February most of us have given up on the resolution and by a certain age a lot of people just seem to stop making them.

But here's something to think about: make some green New Year's resolutions and you could be reaping the rewards in many of the areas mentioned above.

As Simon Gear says in the introduction to Going Green: 365 Ways to Change our World, each green tip (or in our case resolution) "should save you money, make you happier or make you healthier". Here are some ideas to get started.

Health
You can improve your diet and the health of our planet by eating more organic produce (no chemical fertiliser-, herbicide- or pesticide residues), eating less meat or eliminating it altogether and trying to eat as much seasonal and local produce as possible.

Taking up a hobby like growing your own food, or taking up a low impact outdoor pursuit like hiking will improve your fitness without having resort to queueing for the treadmill at the local gym.

Finances
Investing in some sustainable technology for your own home can have a short pay-back period and will save you money in the long term. A low-flow showerhead will pay for itself in savings to both your water bill and electricty bill (less heated water) in a few months. A solar water heating system may take a few years longer to pay for itself, but the way Eskom price increases are headed this is a no-brainer.

If you are saving for your retirement consider the ethical aspect of how your money is made. Some exploitative (in the natural or human sense) industries could be avoided completely (tobacco, alcohol, arms, animal experimentation, gambling for example). A variation on this theme is to only invest in the "most ethical" company in each sector. In South Afica with the small number of listed companies this does limit the options for making money with a conscience, however.

Family Life
Spending time with your kids and spouse out of doors is a great way to enjoy time as a family. Eco-friendly garden projects and making things from what would otherwise be waste are some good ideas. Kites, solar cookers, seedling pots, watering cans can all be made from scrap materials.

Starting a family recycling station or a worm farm can be a great activity for kids. Buy (or better, make) eco-sensitive gifts for your loved ones and earn some green kudos.
 
Education
You can wise-up on the environment and create a new niche for yourself. The organic movement and green sector is a rapidly growing area of the economy and there are many courses on sustainable living or growing your own food available around the country. You could also obtain a formal post-graduate qualification in Sustainability or Renewable Energy at UCT or Stellenbosch University.
 
Self-improvement
Self-guided improvement or personal development can cover a wide sphere of activities, including developing new strengths or talents and improving your quality of life. Strategising and realising your dreams, aspirations, career and lifestyle priorities can also be linked to green issues.
A new interest like learning to become more ecologically aware is improving yourself and learning a new skill such as gardening will help you learn patience and humility!
 
Career
Impress your boss by starting an environmental initiative at work. Recycling in the office is simple to arrange and there are companies that will come and collect items for recycling from your office for a small fee. Read more about greening your office environment here. You might also consider changing your career entirely, or more practically, asking how you could adapt what you do to make it more environmentally friendly. For example if you are in IT, you could specialise in Green IT. The world needs sustainability experts in innumerable fields.
 
Spirituality
Cultivating a lifelong habit of meditation and reflection, which can be aided by being outdoors and focusing on natural elements, is a spiritual practice which can undertaken irrespective of your religious beliefs.

Pursuing an ecological consciousness, where we begin to realise that the human species is not separate from nature, but an integral part of nature itself, is also connected to spiritual awareness.
 
Charitable Giving
There are many NGO's that are bringing about an environmental awareness at the same time as alleviating poverty through creating food gardens or other green initiatives like taking township children to visit natural areas. There are also initiative taking place through environmental education in schools. NGO's like Abalimi Bhezekhaya, Soil for Life, Food and Trees for Africa, SEED, Earthchild Project and others could all do with more financial support or volunteering of time and skills. Resolve to be a part of Do it Day.

Then there is the conservation sector where membership of organisations such as the WWF, Endangered Wildlife Trust, WESSA and many others will help in preserving the little natural heritage we have left.

If you only choose one green resolution and stick to it, the world could be a slightly better place by the time the next New Years Resolutions come around.