How to Help Save the Environment

Instructions Step 1: Check local laws Check with your local authorities to see if dumpster diving is legal in your area; laws vary from county to county. In many places it’s legal as long as you’re not trespassing. Step 2: Have the right gear Have the right gear: heavy-duty rubber gloves, a headlamp, a broom …

Instructions Step 1: Live in a city Live in a city: Urbanites own fewer cars, tend to live in energy-efficient apartment buildings, and don’t have much need for powered lawn mowers, a major contributor to greenhouse gases. TIP: Painting a roof white reduces the energy needed to both heat and cool a building. Step 2: …

Instructions Step 1: Lessen the impact Reduce, reuse, and recycle your personal trash to achieve zero waste. Lessen your impact by looking for and using only biodegradable products, and not buying anything with excessive packaging. Step 2: Eat organics Buy organic foods, which have less impact on the earth and don’t diminish topsoil or add …

Instructions Step 1: Identify exposure Identify your primary exposure sources to environmental toxins, then commit to reducing exposure to lower or escape the associated health risk. Step 2: Eat naturally grown food Eat naturally grown or organic foods and avoid foods processed with chemicals, as well as artificial sweeteners, MSG, and other food additives. Step …

Transcript Got junk in your trunk? Tag your green!Take it out. One percent of fuel efficiency is lost for every 50 pounds of extra weight your car holds. Lighten up!

Instructions Step 1: Get a bicycle Ditch the car, and run errands on a bicycle built for 2. All that peddling will keep your buns tight. Step 2: Shop locally Make food shopping a sensual experience by feeding each other samples at your local farmers market. Step 3: Dine by candlelight Power down! Every meal …

Instructions Step 1: Have a videoconference It’s bad enough going to work, but having to take a business trip? Good grief! Get a webcam for your computer and videoconference instead from your office or, even better, your home. You’ll save the energy that would have been expended on the flight, rental car, and hotel stay …

Instructions Step 1: Make them feel guilty If you’ve learned one thing from your mother, it’s the art of the guilt trip. Use it to your advantage with this shame-inducing info: Americans buy almost 30 billion plastic water bottles each year, and 80 percent of them end up in landfills, where it takes hundreds of …

Instructions Step 1: Build yourself a home Move into a 1-room log cabin — that you build yourself. Make sure it’s near a water source, because you won’t have indoor plumbing. Or outdoor plumbing, for that matter. Hello, outhouse! TIP: Giving up a bathroom means huge water savings. The average person uses about 80-100 gallons …

Transcript Woman 1: Woke up with a full bladder? Woman 2: Tag your green! Woman 1: Skip the toilet and pee in the shower. By not flushing, you’ll save up to 3.5 gallons of water. Wow!

Instructions Step 1: Hunt and gather Supermarkets and restaurants — who needs ’em? Hunt and gather your food! You’ll only eat what you can consume, not waste surplus and generate trash like you do with packaged or prepared foods. TIP: If you can’t hunt or gather, join a community-supported agriculture program to fund production of …

Instructions Step 1: Network carpoolers Connect carpoolers. Send out a group e-mail, post a notice at work, a carpool network service found online. Step 2: Meet the interested carpoolers Meet interested carpoolers to make sure you are compatible. Discuss everything from where they live and what time they start work, to personal eating and smoking …

Instructions Step 1: Play milk jug soccer Play milk jug soccer by using an old plastic milk jug for the ball. TIP: Use any type or size plastic jug. Step 2: Play “guess how many” Play “guess how many” by filling a clear glass jar with shells or pine cones. Whoever gets the closest wins. …

Instructions Step 1: Visit the USGBC website Visit the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) site. USGBC is an organization promoting standards for cost-efficient and energy-saving green buildings. TIP: Attend a USGBC state chapter meeting. Some chapters may offer help to LEED candidates. Step 2: Learn about LEED Learn about LEED, a world recognized green building …

Instructions Step 1: Color Earth-themed drawings Draw or color pictures with Earth Day themes if the weather does not permit an outdoor activity. Step 2: Write a haiku poem Have the class write haiku nature poems based on seasonal observations. TIP: Haiku poems have 17 syllables and describe an observation in nature. Step 3: Make …

Instructions Step 1: Eat right Eat organic fruits and vegetables to limit your exposure to pesticides during pregnancy. Choose grass-fed, organically raised cattle and free-range, organic chicken and eggs to avoid hormones. Eat low-mercury fish like trout, tilapia, and sardines. TIP: Non-organic apples, strawberries, potatoes, and spinach have high levels of pesticide residue, even after …

Instructions Step 1: Research ways to be green Go to your library or use the internet to learn how your school can become green. Get ideas by reading about what other schools have done. TIP: Use the summer to do research and to develop a plan for starting a green initiative. Step 2: Talk with …

Instructions Step 1: Move compost bin to warm area Move your compost bin to a warm area such as your garage, a storage shed, or in a smaller container under your kitchen sink when winter’s wind gushes in. Step 2: Set bin in the ground Set the bin in a hole in the ground with …

Instructions Step 1: Get natural rubber mat Rest and practice yoga on a mat made of natural rubber. Make sure it is PVC-free. Step 2: Use organic cushions Prop up your body while you meditate with cushions made from organic cotton or buckwheat. TIP: Stick with organic cotton instead of cotton that is genetically engineered …

Instructions Step 1: Create a frame of reference Have your kids draw a timeline and fill in the major events of the past year. Explain that in the same amount of time Earth traveled 1.6 million miles around the sun, lost 50,000 acres of forest, and expanded its population by 211,000 people. Step 2: Get …

Instructions Step 1: Shop eco-friendly Shop eco-friendly by buying products in bulk or concentrate to reduce paper packaging waste. Choose products with minimal packaging. TIP: Nails, screws, wire, and other hardware items may be purchased loose from many home improvement and hardware stores to reduce paper packaging. Step 2: Go electronic Go electronic and text …

Instructions Step 1: Research ways to be green Get information from the library or on the internet to read about how you can be green. Find out what other people have done and think about how your family could use those ideas. Step 2: Create a list of changes Look around your house and make …

Instructions Step 1: Start with packaging Look for products with the least amount of packaging, and try to buy ones that indicate that they are packaged with ‘biodegradable’ or ‘recycled’ material. TIP: Whenever possible, buy in bulk to cut down further on packaging. Step 2: Know your chemicals Have a basic understanding of what chemicals …

Instructions Step 1: Serve heritage meat At holiday dinners, serve heritage meat – meat from animals raised on sustainable or organic farms that comes from less common breeds. Heritage turkeys, pigs, and cows are just a few of the choices available. Most are antibiotic- and hormone-free, plus they’re more flavorful. Step 2: Prepare heirloom crops …

Instructions Step 1: Find eco-soulmate Find someone who shares your eco sensibilities. Check online green dating sites. Step 2: Wear organic fabric Prepare for the best by wearing organic cotton or hemp underwear. Step 3: Get local flowers Offer a hand picked bouquet of local flowers from your own yard or the farmer’s market. Don’t …

Instructions Step 1: Educate yourself Educate yourself about the local, state, and federal environmental regulations that apply to your business. Failing to follow applicable regulations can lead to costly fines and penalties. Step 2: Evaluate your business Take a look at the waste your business produces, and see how you can reduce it. Step 3: …

Instructions Step 1: Dial customer service Dial the customer service or regular ordering phone number in your catalog. Step 2: Ask for name to be removed Say that you’d like your name removed from the catalog’s mailing list, or, if you’re receiving multiple copies of the same catalog, that you’d like them to be merged …

Instructions Step 1: Locate a carbon footprint calculator Use an online search engine to locate a website with a ‘carbon footprint calculator.’ If you provide the information, these sites will determine your footprint for free. Step 2: Provide the requested information Provide the requested information, which will include the number of people in your house; …

Instructions Step 1: Plan a small wedding Planning a small wedding is greener than a big wedding. Less waste, less transportation usage—and it’s a great excuse not to invite the bazillion annoying people you’d rather not see. Step 2: Skip the paper invitations Skip the paper invitations and direct your guests to your wedding website. …

Instructions Step 1: Make bundle Tie the cinnamon sticks and cloves together in the cheesecloth to create a spice bundle. TIP: If you like, add whole spices like cardamom or star anise to your bundle. Step 2: Put bundle in pot Drop the bundle into a saucepan containing four cups of water. Step 3: Simmer …

Instructions Step 1: Save paper Save paper by using digital files and printing double-sided whenever possible. Print only when necessary. Step 2: Use recycled paper Encourage your office to purchase chlorine-free paper with high post-consumer recycled content. Reuse mailers and cartons, and recycle paper after use. Step 3: Use a ceramic mug Bring in your …

Instructions Step 1: Pack eco-friendly lunches Prepare eco-friendly lunches by creating your own snack-size portions in reusable containers. If they can’t use the school’s cutlery, pack them off with the non-disposable kind… if they can be trusted to bring it back! Step 2: Supply your kids with notebooks made from recycled paper, biodegradable pens, recycled …

Instructions Step 1: Find markets Look in the local paper and ask around to find out where and when there are farmers’ markets in your area. Step 2: Visit markets Visit the markets to see what produce is in season. TIP: Carry your own cloth bags—or reuse plastic ones—to avoid using wasteful new packaging. Step …

Instructions Step 1: Choose a spot Choose a spot to plant your new sapling. Step 2: Take a soil sample Dig a small sample of the soil and take a look. If it is heavy with clay or very sandy, plan to add one part compost to every three parts soil that you shovel out. …

Instructions Step 1: Obey speed limits Stay under 60 mph and you’ll increase your gas mileage by 23 percent. Plus, think of all those pricey speeding tickets you’ll avoid. Step 2: Drink tap water Drink filtered tap water. It won’t kill you. There are government regulations in effect that guarantee it. Step 3: Wear a …

Instructions Step 1: Begin the day by not bathing Begin the day by not bathing. And, sorry, no using antiperspirant either. Or any other beauty products. Step 2: Unplug all appliances Unplug every single appliance in the house, including your coffeemaker. Wake yourself up with a bracing cup of rainwater instead. Step 3: Turn off …

Instructions Step 1: Wear a dirty outfit Wear an outfit that looks like it hasn’t been washed in weeks. Tell your carbon-neutral cohorts you’ve just gotten back from an early morning tree planting ceremony. TIP: Put an Earth Day countdown button on your website to show your excitement. You can get one at “www.earthday.net”:http://www.earthday.net. Step …

Instructions Step 1: Consider eco-friendly destinations Consider taking a vacation with a small carbon footprint. Options include traveling by rail to an area where you can get around without a car, staying in an eco-friendly resort that’s made of recycled building materials and uses renewable energy, or booking a working vacation through an organization like …

Instructions Step 1: Dumpster dive Learn to love dumpster diving – that is, literally climbing into dumpsters to forage for food and other goods. Just be discreet. Dumpster diving is illegal, and can lead to a fine. TIP: Sometimes it pays to take a direct approach and ask a store or restaurant manager if you …

Instructions Step 1: Cut energy at home Reduce emissions created by your home with better design, more insulation, and green electricity. Try installing solar panels on your roof. Step 2: Reduce car emissions Reduce your car emissions by buying a hybrid car, taking trains instead of planes for regional trips, carpooling, biking, and walking. TIP: …

Instructions Step 1: Collect the poop Collect the cow poop. Large confinement dairies and feedlots have the most concentrated manure piles. Step 2: Put the poop in a tank With a special scraper, put the fresh poop down a drain leading to a digester tank. Step 3: Make poop soup Heat the poop to about …

Instructions : Don’t even think about tailgating big rigs to catch their drafts or cutting the engine and coasting in neutral. Getting brag-worthy mileage isn’t worth risking your life. Step 1: Slow down Stay within the speed limit. For every 5 miles per hour you drive above 55, your fuel efficiency is reduced by up …

Instructions Step 1: Turn thermostat up/down Turn your thermostat up in the summer or down in the winter by just two degrees, and you’ll prevent hundreds of pounds of carbon dioxide from being released each year. TIP: Close doors to rooms that you are not using to maximize heating and air conditioning. Insulate windows and …