Green Steps to a Sustainable Future
This page was last updated in March 2020 and is under review for 2020 challenges.
The original information was prepared for the May 27, 2007 centennial of author and ecologist Rachel Carson’s birth in Springdale, Pennsylvania. The year-long centennial celebration included the Rachel Carson Legacy Challenge to individuals, businesses, organizations, institutions and government to make permanent, measurable changes in behavior and policies that promote Rachel Carson’s environmental ethic. Her environmental ethic is based on the “sense of wonder,” which she describes as phases beginning with observation of nature, a kindled curiosity, interest in learning, and stewardship. Paul Brooks, her editor, stated that her sense of wonder inspired all her writing. It drives our mission, and we hope you share in these goals:
- To live in harmony with nature, with humility, as stewards;
- To preserve and learn from natural places;
- To minimize the impact of man-made chemicals; and
- To consider the implications of human actions on the global web of life.
The objective of this challenge is to create a platform to demonstrate how coordinated commitment to environmentally sustainable practices can make a real and tangible difference in the health, quality of life, environment, and economic viability of local, regional and global communities. As part of the web of life, people who adopt this challenge will build conditions for a more sustainable, healthy world.
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Participation:
Whether you’re an individual, small business, Fortune 500 company, institution, nonprofit or government agency, everyone interested in making a difference can make a commitment to change their everyday and long-term behavior by adopting action steps which align with Rachel Carson’s environmental ethic.
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What you can do:
Action steps may include conservation of energy and natural resources, climate-neutral policy, transportation-efficient habits, use of renewable energy resources, recycling policies, commitment to non-hazardous household and property management, and integrated pest management. Participants will be asked to make a commitment of permanent change and to measure success by a specific date.
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