What Can You Do to Help the Earth?

What Can I Do?

Turn off the lights when you're leaving any room for 15 minutes or more and utilize natural light when you can.

Turn off your computer and the power strip it's plugged into when you leave for the day. Otherwise, you're still burning energy.

Print on both sides or use the back side of old documents for faxes, scrap paper, or drafts.

Buy chlorine-free paper with a higher percentage of post-consumer recycled content.

Recycle toner and ink cartridges and buy remanufactured ones. According to Office Depot, each remanufactured toner cartridge "keeps approximately 2.5 pounds of metal and plastic out of landfills...and conserves about a half gallon of oil."

Recycle! Paper, including fax paper, envelopes, and junk mail, can be recycled. So can your old cell phone, PDA, or pager. Take your old computer, DVD player, or other electronics to a recycling center. This helps keep hazardous substances out of the landfill.

Don't let the water run while you brush your teeth.

Take short showers instead of tub baths.

Keep drinking water in the refrigerator instead of letting the faucet run until the water is cool.

Scrape, rather than rinse, dishes before loading into the dishwasher; wash only full loads.

Make sure your parents repair any leaky faucets in the house. A leaky toilet can waste 200 gallons of water a day!

Donate extras to people you know or to charity instead of throwing them away.

If you or your parents are some of the many people who change their own motor oil, make sure you are properly disposing of the used oil. Did you know that the used oil from one oil change can contaminate 1 million gallons of fresh water - a years' supply for 50 people! Used motor oil can contain toxic chemicals and heavy metals, and it’s slow to degrade. Take used motor oil to a service station or other location that collects used motor oil for recycling.



For more information on everything from how to green your furniture, clothing, pets and car, visit: http://www.treehugger.com/green-basics/?campaign=th_nav_green_basics. And for ideas on how to save energy, use less water, and dispose of hazardous household products properly, visit the federal government's Earth Day site.


Taken from:
http://sierraclub.typepad.com/greenlife/2007/03/10_ways_to_go_g.html
http://www.treehugger.com/green-basics/?campaign=th_nav_green_basics
http://www.epa.gov/earthday/#energy
http://www.history.com