Reduce the amount of trash you throw away.
Reuse containers and products.
Recycle as much as possible and buy products with recycled content.
I have been called a tree-hugging hippie chick and I am not ashamed of that. I celebrate Earth Day, rarely go shopping without my reusable shopping bags, recycle just about everything, and generally try to do my part to lessen my carbon footprint. Just ask the guys at work. As soon as I moved into my new office, I installed a three-tiered recycling bin in our kitchen and blue “recycle only” trashcans in every office. Consider the friendly reminder on all of my outgoing emails:
Please consider the environment before printing this email.
And, do not even get my husband started on my recycling efforts at home. We have three separate trashcans in our kitchen, and he frequently catches me retrieving recyclables from the regular trashcan. I actually think he throws recyclable stuff away on purpose, just to see me dig it out!
Considering my environmentally conscious efforts at home and work, I knew I wanted TYLA to become more “green” under my watch. For starters, we no longer print the voluminous committee reports, budgets, and agendas for our quarterly board meetings. We now include all of these documents in Portable Document Format on flash drives, which are distributed at each meeting. We even recycle the flash drives from meeting to meeting. Likewise, we rarely print and mail paper invitations and fliers for our events. These items are emailed as much as possible to save money and trees.
We are also recycling some of our older TYLA projects. Year after year, TYLA introduces public and member service projects, which, for lack of a better term, get stuck back on a shelf after a year or two. Many of these projects remain relevant, so TYLA is making an effort to reintroduce and reuse these projects this year. Some have been updated, but most are ready to be used as is. Visit www.tyla.org to reintroduce yourself to the numerous public service pamphlets, school curriculum projects, and member service resources that are available.
The signature “Going Green” project this year will be held on (surprise!) Earth Day—April 22, 2010—at South Texas College of Law. The Environment and the Law Symposium will offer five hours of CLE in such areas as “Green Building Law,” “Water Rights,” and “Compliance, Regulation and Enforcement.” Dean Donald J. Guter has not only opened his law school to us, but the generous folks at South Texas will provide breakfast and lunch for attendees. And the best part? It's free! Yes, five free hours of CLE and two free meals. Registration information will be posted soon on www.tyla.org , as well as in upcoming issues of eNews . I invite you to join TYLA in celebrating the 40th anniversary of Earth Day at this informative and entertaining seminar.
I hope you will be inspired by my efforts to make TYLA more environmentally conscious. By implementing the “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” mandate, we can all make a difference in our communities.
