According to research by the Union of Concerned Scientists, the actions that have the biggest positive impact on the environment include:

1. Reducing the amount you drive your car, limiting the number of cars per household to and choosing a fuel-efficient, low polluting car. Going on a gasoline diet and whenever possible walking, biking, taking public transit or car pool.
   
   
2. Eating less meat and buying local organic produce.
   
   
3. Minimizing the size of your living space and making sure your home is
   energy and water efficient.

See the 12 most effective environmental actions for consumers for a complete listing.

To see the area you could most effectively focus on to become more sustainable, calculate your Ecological Footprint. Your results will indicate your relative consumption in the areas of food, mobility, shelter and goods and services.

In addition, whenever possible you can reduce and reuse, and buy local and green and share.

Here are some resources to help you:

General Information:

The Center for the New American Dream helps Americans consume responsibly to protect the environment, enhance quality of life and promote social justice. They work to conserve natural resources, counter the commercialization of our culture and promote positive changes in the way goods are produced and consumed

Co-op America is a national non-profit with a mission to educate and inform people oh how to use their spending and investing power to bring the values of social justice and environmental sustainability into the economy as well as helping sustainable business emerge and thrive and pressure irresponsible companies to become more sustainable. They publish the National Green Pages.

Buying (and Not Buying) Locally:

The Organic Guide to Sonoma, Napa and Mendocino Counties. This book, from Community Action Publications (CAP), makes it easy to find and support local goods and services (food, wine, clothing, farms, nurseries, community gardens, etc.) that are more sustainable alternatives to conventional products. They have a similar guide for San Francisco as well.

The SEE Green Directory provides listings of local businesses that are integrating social, environmental, and economic values into their business practices

FOOD that is seasonal, local, small scale and organic or beyond organic is optimal and in Sonoma County we are blessed with many choices. Consider:

Farm Trails is a comprehensive listing of small agricultural enterprises offering direct sales of a wide variety of products-flowers, produce, plants, Christmas trees, pumpkins, honey, etc.-to the public.

There is a Farmer's Market in just about every town in Sonoma County. In addition to be being great sources of local produce, they are usually wonderful community events. Check local listings for the Farmer's Market nearest you

Laguna Farm is an example of a CSA-Community Shared Agriculture--whereby consumers support local agriculture through monthly subscriptions for beyond organic produce. Weekly boxes of produce are delivered to your home, at a nearby drop-off site or for pick up at the farm through out the year.

ENERGY AND WATER consumption can be effectively addressed by choosing energy and water efficient appliances, including fluorescent light bulbs. Increasingly these items are available at most appliance and hardware stores. In addition, several cities offer water efficient toilets and other devises free or for a minimal fee. For other options check out Real Goods on-line or in their fun-to-visit store in Hopland.

FAIR TRADE is exchanging goods and services based on economic and social justice for the producers as well as the consumers. The goal is mutual empowerment and creating a positive relationship whereby all benefit. Among other things, look for Fair Trade products including coffee and chocolate. For more information see Fair Trade Resources Network and Sustainable Petaluma's web site.

Global Exchange has two fair trade stores in the Bay Area as well as goods available on-line.

Two local independent fair trade stores are Baksheesh in Sonoma and Kindred Fair Trade Handcrafts in Santa Rosa.

GARBAGE or GOLD?
Among other activities, Garbage Reincarnation Inc. runs Recycletown at the Central Landfill where reuse has been raised to a high level and you can find just about anything. They also host the annual Scrapture Junk Art Sculpture Show and Competition.

SonoMax is a free service helping local businesses finds reuse and recycling opportunities for materials typically discarded, such as empty containers or manufacturing by-products. Any business, nonprofit group, or government agency can list materials they have available or would like to acquire by going to the web site.