News feeds
E-mail alerts
SNS mobile
Twitter
Facebook
Home
99 things you can do to save the planet
Hot Topics
Page 2 of 5
• Eat seasonally. That's the second part of that equation: eat the foods grown locally, in season, and they'll be fresher. Oranges in summer? Don't go there!
• Eat lower on the food chain. According to charityguide.org, "by replacing just one meat-based meal with a vegetarian dish, you can save 2,500 gallons of water required to produce a single pound of meat." Not to mention the land that's cleared to graze cattle, the methane that's emitted, the livestock waste that's washed into our waterways, etc.
KIDS
• Turn off instead of tuning in. Have your family establish one day each week as Energy Savers Day. Turn off TVs, computers, video games and any other electronic gadgets. Use the time to read or play games. Have a family picnic to avoid using the stove or microwave. Bike to the park for that picnic instead of driving.
• Consider cloth. The 30-year debate over the environmental impact of diapers continues to rage. It can take up to 500 years for a disposable diaper to break down in a landfill, but cloth diapering puts four times the burden on water supplies, not to mention the energy consumed when diapers are washed and dried. Still, most experts now give a slight edge to cloth, especially if parents are willing to line-dry them.
• Cut up to cut down. Skip pre-packaged items for school lunches and cut up your own cheese, meats and veggies to cut down on wasteful packaging. Put food in reusable containers instead of plastic baggies — and pack in a cloth bag or lunch box.
• Learn to love hand-me-downs. Donate clothes and toys to charities, swap with friends, hold a yard sale, shop at consignment stores, or join an online organization such as freecycle.com, which matches people who have stuff to give away with people who need those items.
• Use it 'til it's used up. The start of every school year doesn't have to mean a brand new box of crayons, pack of pencils or bottle of glue. Encourage your children to use last year's items as long as possible.
• Breast-feed. Medical research shows that breast-feeding produces healthier babies and stimulates a closer bond between mom and child. It also saves money and is vastly easier on the earth. (Plus, you always have exactly the right amount, it's always ready and at the right temperature.)
• Drop out of the drop-off line. If possible, send children to school on the bus. If that's not an option, organize a carpool with other families. This saves gas, cuts down on auto emissions, saves time and is more fun!
• Get the kids excited. ... Have them research ways to reduce, reuse and recycle. Many organizations feature Kids Pages on their Web sites. Some to check out: www.epa.gov; www.eia.doe.gov/kids/; www.planetpals.com. (Bonus: This is a great way to come up with a winning project for the science fair!)
• ... and then put the kids in charge. Children may resist your rules, but they love to turn the tables and police each other (and parents). Have each child create a family plan to put their research ideas into practice. Make one kid Ruler of Recycling, another the Queen of Compost, still another the Emperor of Energy. Have them track the ways in which their plan is saving the earth.
VACATION
• Support "green" hotels.
• Be a conservation-savvy guest even if the hotel doesn't have an eco-program. Use lights, water and towels only when you need to. Turn off the air conditioning if you leave your room for the day. Tell housekeeping not to change the sheets every day to conserve water.
• Go eco. Use Internet travel booking engines that can steer you to eco-vacations, such as www.eco.orbitz.com that provides information on eco-friendly hotels that use solar power or wind power, natural soaps and energy-efficient lighting.
• Fish clean. Don't leave fishing line and hooks in the water. Sea birds and turtles die from swallowing fish hooks, and getting flippers and wings tangled in fishing line. Dispose of fishing line at a marina. The same goes for oil, gas and trash.
• Consider a volunteer vacation such as clearing trails in national parks, or join a tour with groups such as the Sierra Club (www.sierraclub.org). Visit volunteer.cheaptickets.com, a booking engine that joined with United Way, to search for volunteer opportunities at travel destinations.
• Give manatees a chance. Observe speed limits on Florida's waterways to give wildlife such as manatees and turtles time to get to safe depths.
• Never go over fishing limits. If there's a six-lobster limit, don't get seven.
• Put B&B bucks to a good cause. BedandBreakfast.com is a comprehensive resource for planning B&B eco-escapes and green getaways. Click on the links to Eco-Friendly B&Bs and Green Getaways/Eco Escapes in the lower left corner. Heavenly View Farm Inn in Mount Sterling, Ky., for example, gives 10 percent of the cost of your stay to the development of agri-tourism in Kentucky (rates, $100-225).
• Use public transportation when possible, such as trains and buses instead of driving. And, of course, taking off on foot or a bike is the best thing you can do for the planet and for your own health.
FUN
Share this article
Breaking news by e-mail
Start your day with top headlines in your inbox and get breaking news e-mail alerts at any time by subscribing to our Headlines e-mail newsletter.
See Sample | Privacy Policy
Latest News Blog Posts
About our ads
About our adsCopyright © Sat Nov 21 19:51:50 EST 2009 Springfield News-Sun, Springfield, Ohio, USA.All rights reserved.
By using this site, you accept the terms of our Visitors Agreement and Privacy Policy. About our ads. You may wish to note our other business policies.
Where does the water go? Isn't it just sent back around, recycled? I guess there'e energy expended to do teh recycling, but the water doesn't vanish or vaporize.
7:52 PM, 4/24/2009