Turning the Tide on the Environment (washingtonpost.com).htm News Home Page 	  News Digest 	  Nation 	  World 	  Metro 	  Business 	  Washtech 	  Sports 	  Style 	  Education 	  Travel 	  Health 	  Home & Garden 	  Opinion 	  Weather 	  Weekly Sections 	  Classifieds 	  Print Edition    	 	    News Home Page 	  Nation 	  World 	  Metro 	  Business 	  Washtech 	  Sports 	  Style 	  Book World 	  Food 	  Home 	  Post Magazine 	  Sunday Arts 	  Television 	  Weekend 	  Columnists 	      Consummate Consumer 	  Comics 	  Crosswords 	  Photo Galleries 	  Live Online 	  Index 	  Education 	  Travel 	  Health 	  Home & Garden 	  Opinion 	  Weather 	  Weekly Sections 	  News Digest 	  Classifieds 	  Print Edition 	  Archives 	  Site Index  	 	  Consummate Consumer Turning the Tide on the Environment  					 	 	 E-Mail This Article  		 	 	 Printer-Friendly Version   		 	 	 Subscribe to The Post   		 	 	 By Don Oldenburg Washington Post Staff Writer Wednesday, October 17, 2001; Page C12  Changing everyday habits doesn't come easily -- especially in making personal changes that conserve resources and protect the environment. Think lights on in an empty room. Think overpackaging of grocery products. Think leaky faucets that drain the nation's water resources drip by drip. That's why the folks at the Center for a New American Dream (www.newdream.org) decided in July to take a different approach to encourage Americans to be environment-minded, responsible consumers. In launching its online program called "Turn the Tide," the Takoma Park-based nonprofit group, dedicated to helping Americans change how they consume, was betting that results would speak for themselves. The interactive volunteer program asks you to commit to taking nine simple actions in your daily lives over the next year. None of these ecologically smart adjustments is such a big deal. Each requires slight inconvenience but is easily achievable and produces a big payoff that is measurable. The actions? As simple as taking steps to cut our junk mail by half or replacing the standard light bulbs in our houses with energy-efficient compact fluorescent units. One suggestion is to "skip a car trip each week." The reason: Automobile use is largely responsible for about a third of the nation's greenhouse gas emissions, says the center. By measuring the effects of these ordinary actions, the CNAD activists are counting on convincing Americans of the value of making small changes. Each time a participant logs on to his personal "Turn the Tide" page to report his actions, the site's calculator instantly totals the quantity of resources saved as well as the total savings of everyone in the program. Eric Brown, communications director at the Center for a New American Dream, says this is a "powerful tool" that helps remind everyone involved that we are not alone, and that small and simple everyday acts add up. "We've signed up over 1,700 people so far," says Brown, adding that a bunch of organizations are going to begin promoting the program to their memberships, which should drive up these numbers soon. The current participants, he says, "will save over 5 million gallons of water, and prevent the release of over three-quarter million pounds of carbon dioxide over the course of a year," he says. "By and large, our participants are really excited that they feel like they're making a difference." Recall Last week, Wysco Inc. recalled about 95,000 Runt brand bicycles that, contrary to Consumer Product Safety Commission standards, were manufactured without any brakes. The $100 mini-bikes (about 24 inches long and 26 inches high with six-inch wheels) are red, blue, black or silver in color and display the word RUNT and a logo of a dog's face on the steering column. Bicycle, toy, discount, department, convenience and specialty stores nationwide, and mail-order catalogues and Web sites sold them from January through July. If you own one, call Wysco at 866-868-7868 for a free repair kit. Got a consumer complaint? Question? E-mail details to oldenburgd@washpost.com or write Don Oldenburg, The Washington Post, 1150 15th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20071.  Â© 2001 The Washington Post Company   _____   	 	 	 	SEARCH:   News  Jobs  AP  Shopping  Archives  Entertain.  Yellow Pgs.  Web/Google    Search Options     News Home Page 	  News Digest 	  Nation 	  World 	  Metro 	  Business 	  Washtech 	  Sports 	  Style 	  Education 	  Travel 	  Health 	  Home & Garden 	  Opinion 	  Weather 	  Weekly Sections 	  Classifieds 	  Print Edition