The New Year is fast approaching, and we all have ideas about what we want to change, start, or stop. New Year’s resolutions abound during this time of renewal and general cleaning of slates. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has sponsored an initiative called Countdown2010 – Save Biodiversity. The problem of dwindling biodiversity was identified years ago, and 2010 was set as the future date by which to attain the Target. And now…2010 is here!

I will be talking much more about this Initiative in the coming months of 2010. Countdown2010 has provided a list of Actions that individuals can take to contribute to this worldwide effort:

1. Take public transportation, bike, walk, or carpool to work at least one day a week. Avoid air travel where possible.
2. Buy food, preferably organic food—vegetables, fruits, dairy, eggs, and meat—from a farmer’s market at least one day a week.
3. Eat sustainably harvested seafood and farmed fish that is herbivorous, like catfish, tilapia, and shellfish. Avoid farmed carnivorous fish like salmon and shrimp.
4. Install at least one compact fluorescent light bulb in your home—it will save roughly 30 EUR in electricity and replacement bulb costs each year, and reduce carbon emissions by a ton every three years.
5. Turn off lights in empty rooms.
6. Lower the thermostat by at least 1 degree ° C in winter.
7. Stop using herbicides and pesticides on your lawn.
8. Only drink wines with natural cork stoppers.
9. Tell everyone what you are doing to conserve biodiversity and ask them to join you. Support representatives who act for biodiversity.
10. Above all, do not waste—reduce your consumption, buy only what you really need, and re-use and re-cycle whatever and whenever you can.