Actions to Help the Environment

1. In winter put on a sweater; in summer wear a T-shirt or light blouse. Lower your thermostat in the winter, and raise it in the summer. This conserves natural gas or heating oil and electricity for air-conditioning. Make sure your home is well insulated.
2. Walk or ride a bike when you run errands; when you do drive, plan your trips to be more efficient. Drive an electric or fuel-efficient car.
3. Use your own cloth bags at the grocery store, not the store’s plastic bags, which can pollute streams, rivers, and the ocean.
4. Don’t buy bottled water. Buy a reusable water bottle and a reusable cup for coffee or tea.
5. Don’t throw away materials like batteries, used oil, and old electronics. They could pollute the ground for thousands of years. They should be recycled at a community recycling center.
6. Turn off lights in rooms you are not using. Buy efficient LED light bulbs and recycle them at a community recycling site.
7. Plant a tree. Trees use the carbon dioxide that is warming the Earth, and they release oxygen.
8. Eat food low on the food chain. Avoid meats, especially beef. Cattle require huge amounts of water to grow to maturity.
9. Use nontoxic pest control. Poisons in your environment can harm you and your family, birds, and animals, including outdoor pets.
10. Cancel shopping catalogs or junk mail you don’t want. Unless the companies use recycled paper, they use new paper made from trees.
11. Avoid using disposable plates, cups, and utensils.
12. Don’t use Styrofoam. It can’t be recycled.
13. Use nontoxic, biodegradable soaps and detergents
14. Put in a water-conserving showerhead. Take shorter showers.
15. Hang your clothes to dry when the weather is good.
16. Set your water heater’s temperature to 120 degrees Fahrenheit.
17. Buy energy-efficient electric appliances.
18. Research socially responsible investments.
19. Learn how your representatives vote. Write letters to them on environmental issues that concern you.
20. Donate to organizations that fight for environmental issues.
21. If you are the parent of an infant, use cloth diapers and perhaps a diaper service.
22. Teach your children about the environment.