CNN iReport

These are some of the things my family is doing to try to help the environment. I basically divide these efforts into two groups.  We focus on action and conservation and education.

Our actions and conservation include:

Recycling, ride-sharing whenever possible, gas usage reduction by travelling less and to closer destinations, currently searching for a more fuel efficient car, conscious effort at reducing waste of energy in my home, by turning off lights, limiting Christmas lighting, using special light bulbs, and making sure that we try to avoid purchasing items that feature tons of needless packaging as well as efforts to purchase less CPS (Cheap plastic stuff) for the kids.

The education in our home revolves around the sacredness of all life.

This means that each and every living thing is worth something and that any destruction of it is against the natural order of life. I hope that in time, this intrinsic value we are instilling in our children's minds along with specific reminders of why this is important will help them to make good choices and be ambassadors for the environment.

In the future, I plan to continue my efforts at home in a bigger way.

We are far from a truly "Green" family, but we are working on it.  My sister lives in the SF Bay area and her family has been a great inspiration to me on thinking green. I think many Californians in general are really ahead of their time in being earth friendly. I think that across the board the ideological paradigm has shifted in the last 5 years pretty much everywhere, and being Green is no longer something of a subculture, but more of a necessary component for any culture in order to sustain our quality of life on earth.