What can you do for Zero Emissions Day?
Yesterday was a very important day. It was both International Peace Day and Zero Emissions Day (ZeDay). It is like a day for everything that you could wish for about the world.
I don’t know what individuals can do about international peace, as nothing individuals do seems to affect the warmongering of politicians all over the world. Being a citizen of the world proves to be a very difficult concept for people in power. Maybe it is the biggest shortcomings of being a human that when we have power we want to use it. Furthermore, International Peace Day doesn’t provide as with a list of things that we can do to contribute to World Peace. Therefore I will focus on ZeDay in my article.
According to recyclebank.com, ZeDay was the brainchild of Ken Wallace of Halifax-based graphic design firm Sealevel Special Projects. Walking down the street with his baby, he was struck first by the polluting traffic and idling vehicles, and then by the thought of how beneficial it would be to stop it all, if only for a brief time.
Flash forward 20-some years to March 21, 2008: Sealevel launched a website calling for Sept. 21 to be a day for a global moratorium on fossil fuel consumption. Its purpose: To give our planet one day off a year. The date was chosen partly because it is the autumnal equinox and days and nights are of equal length, and partly because it is the United Nations’ International Day of Peace.
The ZeDay guidelines are simple:
1. Don’t use or burn oil or gas or coal.
2. Minimize (or eliminate) your use of electricity generated by fossil fuels.
3. Don’t put anyone in harm’s way; all essential and emergency services operate normally.
4. Do your best, have fun, enjoy the day!
There is a collective soul to ZeDay; it’s up to each of us to take care of our planet at this point. When your driving something this large you have to stop every now and then — reflect on what’s working and what’s not working — and set a new course for where you really want to be. Zero Emissions Day provides just that opportunity to benefit everything and everyone on our planet.
It was very difficult for me to realize the second step. I was really not very successful in eliminating my use of electricity generated by fossil fuels. As soon as you operate something digital and if you are not living in Iceland the chances are very high that you are using electricity from a coal plant. It made me realize that even though I see myself as an educated citizen, I am a contributor to the end of this lovely world, each and every day with my laptop, camera, TV, mobile phone, etc, etc.
I will look ways to charge all my digital equipment with solar energy. I suggest you do the same. I am sure that if you try the above steps for only one day, you will find ways to contribute to Zero Emission Day’s goal.
