Kermit the frog said: "It's not easy being green." But these days "going green" is a hot topic everywhere. What Fashion today is simply pragmatic to my grandparents' generation. We seem to be coming full circle.
Earth Day, April 22, has been launched in 1970 by Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin as a grassroots effort to raise awareness of the environment. Since then it has spread an international day of awareness and activism.
Here are some things you can do on Earth Day and every day to help the environment at home, at school and in your neighborhood.
1. Take a 5-minute shower instead of a bath. You can save up 2000 liters of water per year.
2. Close the tap while brushing your teeth and you save 2 gallons of water.
3. Stop buying bottled water.
Up to 40% of bottled water comes from the same source as tap water, but it is sold consumers hundreds of times the cost. The bottle production to meet the demand of Americans need more than 17 million barrels of oil a year this year – enough fuel for American cars for more than 1 million a year – and generated more than 2.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide. Billions of these bottles end up in landfills each year. Source: thinkoutsidethebottle.org
4. Pack school lunches in reusable bags and containers washable. Use a lunch box. Buy bandanas to use towels. The average person generates 4.5 kg of waste each day. Think about the amount of packaging is simply serving containers of yogurt and applesauce. How long does it really take to applesauce spoon in Tupperware? You'll save money too.
5. cloth napkins instead of paper towels Use. Hang your towel so that it can be used again.
6. Carpool.
6. Just say "no" to a bag at the checkout. Keep reusable bags in the car for groceries. Or better still, a tote bag.
7. Plant a tree. The average tree can absorb 48 pounds of carbon dioxide per year.
8. Plant a garden with your children. Go organic. It is a great way to teach children about the care of the earth and living organisms. Use native plants that are accustomed to your climate.
9. Start a compost pile. Winter is over and it is time to start planting. You can make your own fertilizer and reduce waste in the same time. Your garden will thank you.
10. Pick up any trash left in the park or soccer field.
11. Donate old clothes and toys to be transmitted and used by someone else. The average American throws 68 pounds of clothing and tissues a year.
12. Donate books to a dealer or using the library. Continue the cycle. Buy second-hand goods whenever as possible.
13. Turn off the TV and computer when they are not in use.
14. Turn off the lights when you leave a room. Listen to your mother. You've heard all your life.
15. Set up recycling bins for paper, cans aluminum, glass bottles and plastic at school and at home. Paper represents 40% of solid waste in the United States, which is about 72 million tonnes per year. Recycling reduces the amount of waste in landfills.
Source: becomegreen.info
16. Dispose of batteries. You can prevent hazardous materials from seeping into the soil and water systems.
17. Recycle obsolete electronic items such as computers and televisions. Americans dispose of about 130 million mobile phones annually. This represents approximately 65,000 tons of cell phones. Source: becomegreen.info
18. Calculate your carbon footprint. Reduce your impact on the environment. Footprint measure the carbon impact of our activities in terms of quantity of greenhouse gases we produce. You can find several online calculators. What is yours?
Think about your impact on the environment. What can you do to protect it? Even the simplest of measures can be profound. We all have a role to play. All you have to do is start.
Copyright 2008 twenty-nine Press
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Rondi Hillstrom Davis is the co-author of the award-winning book Together: Creating Family Traditions. To check out her website that’s jam packed with family ideas, visit
http://www.TogetherParenting.com
Take a 1 minute glimpse into Together: Creating Family Traditions.
http://www.togetherparenting.com/book_glimpse.html
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