It’s that time of year again… Blog Action Day. The day that bloggers around the world band together to raise consciousness around an issue that is relevant to all. This year 7 859 sites with about 11,712,455 readers are taking part.

In 2007, environmental issues were brought to the fore and in 2008, we scrutinised poverty. This year the focus is on climate change. When I thought about “climate change”, a few things came to mind – melting polar caps, carbon emissions and shifting weather patterns - but in order to get better acquainted with the issue, I did a wee bit of research into the topic.

Climate change is essentially the change in weather patterns over a period of time and is often used interchangeably with the term, global warming. Temperatures are heating up across the globe and it’s being attributed to increasing concentrations of greenhouse gasses (our fault) and natural phenomena like volcanoes and solar radiation (Mother Nature carries the blame for that one). Greenhouse gasses are natural, but when we add humans into the mix, levels tend to go off the charts and therein lies the rub. Effects include rising sea levels, potential flooding of coastal cities, changing weather patterns which could leave some areas in drought, a decreased amount of safe drinking water, the potential for some species to become extinct and a rise in the number of natural disasters such as hurricanes which are caused by weather changes… All in all, the future is looking pretty bleak. That’s unless every single person makes a commitment to change their futures today!

World wide, our governments are making policy changes that are helping, but this is something that takes individual commitment. And there are a pile of what I consider, pretty simple things you can do to play a part in regulating climate change.

The QuirkStars are on a mission to live green and we’ve made a commitment, as a group and at home as individuals, to do what we can to be the change we’d like to see in the world. Here are few things you could get your colleagues and family to start doing:

My green lifestyle poison of choice – Recycle. The QuirkStars have always been fans of recycling, but 2009 saw us taking it several notches higher. When we started recycling in earnest this year – it took a little bit of education and a few months to get everyone conscious of what they were and weren’t throwing in the bin. I started off taking one load to the recycling depot each week and within a few months, we were carting off several car loads weekly – awesomeness. When we moved into our fab new building we began to petition for a recycling depot to be set up in The Boulevard that could service the 2000-plus tenants that will be moving in over the next few months. It took us a little while (and a lot of work from SuperSanti), but I am thrilled to report that we now have a fully functioning depot which takes care of all our glass, plastic, paper and tin needs – thanks Nampak. We collect our eWaste (keyboards, busted mice, old machines) and every few months take it to a depot like the ones run by über recyclers – Desco – and they safely recycle it. Every company uses recyclable materials and with the number of depots and schools taking recycling materials, there really is no reason not to do it! The less you’re packing onto the municipal dumps the better!

We take our eWaste to the lovely people who know how to recycle it.

Debra, Ruan and Juls took a bunch of stuff through from the QuirkStation - thanks guys!

Taking that concept one step further – you could also recycle your organic materials! A compost bin or worm farm is the ideal way to decrease the amount you’re chucking into the bin and to increase the “my garden is better than yours” factor.
I recently got one at home and was a bit afraid that it would be a tad stinky, but it’s not – and it’s super easy! The units are available all over the show and you can even convert a big black bin into a compost unit if you’re not keen on spending extra bucks (living green does tend to be a bit costly unfortunately).
At the Cape Town QuirkStation, we’re currently in the process of setting up a worm farm to deal with our organic waste – what are you doing?

Some really easy tips include: Switching the lights off when you don’t need them or when you leave a room, unplugging your mobile charger when it’s not in use (my personal pet peeve), turning your appliances off – not leaving them on standby and only filling the kettle with the amount of water you’ll need for your cuppa! Another super easy way to do your bit is to replace your light bulbs with energy efficient bulbs – your decreasing electricity bill will be thanks enough.

Then there’s you car… if you live within easy distance, walk to work, your mate’s place or to the shops. Better yet, get yourself a bicycle – your physique and the planet will thank you. I am currently lusting after a Toyota Prius – so far, after a quick calculation of the loose change on my desk, I have R4… only R324 000 to save and then she will be mine – why is saving the planet so expensive… sigh!
If like me, the Prius is a little bit of a pipe dream at the mo, there are ways that you can save gas and help the planet – I found a post that lists 10 easy ways – guess I’ll just have to do that for the mo.

If you’ve got any tips for us on what you or your company’s doing to play a part in the fight against global warming, please leave us a comment.

If every single home just employed one of the tactics in today’s post – imagine the difference we could make!
Here are some snippets of info that will help you along your way:

• OneClimate.net
• Current Green Blog
• Easy Things You Can Do To Help Our Climate
• 4EcoTips.com
• I Am Changing The World

Good luck eco warriors – I’ll leave you with this lyrical delight… I’ll have you know that Captain Planet and the Planeteers sparked my love of saving the earth. 

Also check out:

• Poverty, Development and the Environment
• Blog Action Day
• Green is the New Black
• Dilemmas of a computer bound bunny hugger