Take action

"The question I've been asking is - why didn't we save ourselves...when we had the chance?" - The Age of Stupid

You can help save the planet from runaway climate change.  Here's how. 

• Join the movement. Take part in Earth Hour 2010. Join millions and show you are willing to make small changes in your every day life. Speak out about what needs to be done: email or write to your MP. Sign the new Tck Tck Tck petition calling for further international action on the much-needed climate treaty.
  

• Turn off the red light.  Small red lights on your TV or electrical appliances have a bigger carbon footprint than you might think.  A study for WWF by Landcare Research found that if every household in New Zealand turned their appliances off standby, it would stop 238,000 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent emissions going into our air each year. That’s the same as taking over 73,000 cars off New Zealand roads annually.
  

• Go car-free one day a week.  If every New Zealander who drives to work left their car at home one day a week for a year it would stop 114,237 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent emissions going into the air.  It takes an area of native forest the size of Lower Hutt one year to absorb this volume from the atmosphere. 

• Lights out time.  Remember how your Dad used to berate you for leaving lights on that you didn’t need?  You may remember such phrases as ‘the house is lit up like a Christmas tree’ or ‘do you think I’m made of money’.  Well, the man had a point.  If every house in New Zealand turned off one light they didn’t need for one hour, every day, it would save enough electricity to power your house for 7077 years – or a small town for a whole year.
  

• The bottom line: small actions x lots of people = big global change.  It is possible to stop the worst impacts of climate change if we act now.  Many New Zealanders, communities and businesses are already doing their bit by changing how they live their everyday lives, or changing how they do business, to lighten their carbon footprint.
  

All the statistics quoted above are sourced from a report produced by Landcare Research’s carboNZero Programme in 2009 commissioned by WWF-New Zealand.

See the action tips page for more ways to incorporate sustainable living into your life. Or calculate your footprint and get advice on how to reduce it.

You can also:

• Make a donation and support our work
• Visit our online shop
• Adopt a Hector’s dolphin
• Find out why Hector's and Maui's dolphins need urgent protection