The Earth is getting warmer by the day, the polar ice caps are melting, traffic is terrible, pesticides are running into the ocean and – oh, yeah – you feel very stressed about it.

We can’t all be Al Gore, said Camille Dieterle, a USC doctoral candidate in occupational therapy. But we can do small things to make our lives more “green.” So Dieterle created a crash course for USC faculty, students and staff who want to have an impact but don’t know where to start.

It’s called Green Lifestyle Redesign, and it begins with Dieterle urging all of us to lighten up on our way to making ourselves – and the planet – healthier.

“When you feel guilty and powerless and bad about environmental problems, research has shown you are much less likely to take action,” said Dieterle, who gave a one-hour preview of this spring’s eight-week course on March 3 at the Lyon Center.

“It’s not about me being the green police. I want to help people feel a sense of control.”

Green Lifestyle Redesign is a simple, eight-week curriculum that is meant to help the average person start on the path to sustainability.

The course, held during one-hour lunchtime sessions, focuses on what you can do to help create small improvements in your life and your health. Like hiring a sustainable architect to build a green home, the program coaches you on how to create a sustainable life.

Each week the course provides information and personal strategies on a different issue: food, waste, chemicals, transportation, energy and water consumption, happiness and nature as a stress reliever.

“It’s hard to change behaviors,” Dieterle said. “I wanted to bring it down from the macro to the personal – so that people can see how it affects their lives.”

Through the course, Dieterle will help participants think through the choices they face on a daily basis. There are easy ways, for example, to adopt a greener diet short of becoming a macrobiotic vegetarian.

Choose organic when you can for meat, dairy and produce to avoid pesticides.

Peaches, apples and strawberries are the three most heavily sprayed fruits, and it’s best to buy the organic versions of these fruits, Dieterle said. However, if organic is not available, the health benefits of eating more fruits and vegetables outweigh the health risks associated with pesticides, she said.

The best selection of organic produce is at farmer’s markets, where the food is also locally grown, which means it took less fossil fuels and greenhouse gases to get to your table and it was picked when it was ripe, offering better taste and more nutrients.

The course will be held at noon each Tuesday beginning on March 18 in the third floor conference room at Hazel Stanley Hall. Those interested in attending are asked to e-mail dieterle@usc.edu.