First off, click on this link http://www.storyofstuff.com to watch a FABULOUS video called The Story of Stuff by Annie Leonard.
14 WAYS TO GO GREEN
1. Bring Your Own Bag To The Grocery Store
Starting this fall, San Francisco is the first U.S. city to ban petroleum-based plastic grocery bags. This will save 450,000 gallons of oil a year and remove 1400 tons of debris from landfills. Buy some cotton, mesh, or canvas bags and take them with you next time you shop so next time they ask you, “Paper or Plastic?” say “Neither! I brought my own!”
2. Use Imperishable Water Bottles
Stop buying disposable water bottles made from petroleum and use stainless steel or corn-based personal bottles. The oil used to make plastic water bottles could fuel about 100,000 cars for one year. If every household recycled one out of every 10 bottles used, it would keep 200 million pounds of plastic out of landfills.
3. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and Rot
Reduce your waste by reusing! Buy from yard sales, consignment shops, and Craiglist.org. Recycle your used stuff at freecycle.org or earth911.org. Recycle plastic, aluminum, cardboard, newspaper, magazines, and even food scraps. Compost fruit and vegetable waste, eggshells, coffee ground, and shredded newspaper.
4. Turn Off Your Car Instead Of Idling
EPA estimates that for every minute of idling, a typical auto engine emits 6.6 grams of pollutants. If, over a year, 2 million drivers stopped idling their cars unnecessarily for 2 minutes just once a week, it would reduce these emissions by over 1500 tons!
5. Turn Off Your Computer
Turning your computer off or putting it to sleep can eliminate a quarter of the energy it would otherwise consume. Plus your computer will last 10 years longer if you simply turn it off. Better yet, plug in all your appliances to a power strip that you can turn off when you are not using them. This saves energy and saves you money!
6. Bring Your Own Travel Mug When You Buy Coffee
Americans throw away more than 14 billion paper cups each year. Bring your own container and save money! Starbucks and Caribou Coffee give a 10 cent discount for filling up a reusable mug. You can also choose Certified Coffee: Two brands are Rainforest Certified Yuban coffee and Fair Trade Certified Green Mountain Coffee Roasters.
7. Don’t Microwave In Plastic
Every plastic thing you buy starts as oil and never degrades. Heating plastic releases potentially toxic chemicals into the air that you breath! Use glass containers instead.
8. Buy Local and Organic
Buying local keeps fuel usage at a minimum. It also supports the local community and encourages the family farm. Organic food are produced without chemical pesticides and herbicides, as well as without antibiotics and hormone. Check out your local Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program or go to eatwellguide.org to plug in your zip code and find local suppliers!
9. Install Energy-efficient Appliances
If every American changes the 5 most frequently used bulbs to Energy Star bulbs, one trillion pounds of greenhouse gases are prevented. That’s equivalent to the annual emissions of 8 million cars, the annual output of more than 20 power plants, and 6 billion in energy savings!
10. Change The Thermostat And Your Shower Practices
Setting the thermostat a few degrees lower in the winter and a few degrees higher in the summer can translate to substantial savings on your energy bill. Install low-flow shower heads (a family of four can cut water usage by as much as 280 gallons a month) and take shorter showers to save water and the energy used to heat it. Wash clothes in cold water whenever possible and use a drying rack or clothesline.
11. Buy More Plants
Certain plants can help remove indoor air pollutants like formaldehyde and benzene. Try peace lilies, English ivy, philodendron, gerber daisies, spider plant, and mums.
12. Adjust Fridge And Freezer Temps
Refridgerators eat up the most electricity in the household. Maximize efficiency by keeping the fridge at 37 F and the freezer at 0 F.
13. Get Off Junk Mail Lists
Register with the Direct Marketing Association’s Mail Preference Service (dmaconsumers.org) and watch your junk mail pile shrink in 3 months or less.
14. Use Low VOC Paints
Most paints emit VOCs, the same chemicals found in gasoline and nail polish. Use Sherwin-Williams water-based paints or Krylon’s H20 paint. Download the Proposition 65 list of chemicals known to cause cancer and don’t buy standard latex paint.
