Take the ONE GREEN THING New Year's challenge with us!

Ok. I LOVE New Years Eve and take every opportunity I can to start over (there's the Chinese New year, the Jewish New Year, the solstice, my birthday, and good 'ol December 31st). What's not to love? You get to clear the slate, take time to be honest about what is working in your  life, what isn't working in your life, and make a plan to start fresh.

Something about the new year indulges my desire to get extra psycho organized about planning. Last year I decided I wanted to be more strategic and focused with the way I implemented my values and money so I chose one organization to volunteer for, (The Woman's Earth Alliance), and one issue I was going to get personally involved with; all hands on deck style. (Ok, and an even truer confession is that I had a rather less than fun 2008, so I wanted to mix my purpose with some passion and have fun in the process.)

I took stock of the environmental issues that I care personally about and the first thing that came to mind was the images of birds, turtles, and other sea life that  die or suffer due to plastics and garbage in the ocean.

So I set out with a simple goal: to remove all of the garbage I am personally responsible for (theoretically, of course) out of the ocean.

I figured it would be a way to bring me closer so the ocean and the creatures within it that I am already drawn to, and that it will be one of those projects where I can bring information to my community about something I care about~ yet in a fun way.

So...step one was to get a diving certification.

Check.I did it, and it was awesome. But that's as far as I got.  So I figured this year~ why don't I learn from my mistakes, and take  a fresh new approach. Like~ making a few goals and objectives and post a challenge to everyone who wants to achieve one green thing on their resolution list so we can do it together!

Here's how it works:

Step 1: You declare your one green thing at this link

Step 2: Make a list of the things you need to do, learn, or figure out in order to accomplish your goal

Step 3: Take a look around at other people's goals: offer help if you can

Step 4: Check back in! We'll scour the universe to help find an expert or source to help you answer your questions and achieve your 1 green thing for 2010

Step 5: Post your story and your pictures as you go along the way!

Ok~ here is my "step 2" for how to go about removing the plastic I am personally accountable for out of the ocean:

+Find out how much garbage each American is responsible for dumping into the ocean
+Discover organizations who are doing clean up efforts and train divers
+Identify locations in the ocean that are most in need of clean up

And since it's always fun to end with a bit of inspiration, I'll leave you with this awesome video of diving with manta rays (it was the first open water dive I did after getting certified  (video created by Jack's Diving Locker).



Related content:

UA MAU KEEA OKA AINA: The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness. (Eco travel: Hawaii)

The earth is our host and we are one helluva mega coven of vampires

The eco-battle strategy of the environmental movement (video with dancing heads)