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50WaystoHelpthePlanet

PLANTANOTION
"Goinggreen"doesn'thavetobea
dauntingtaskthatmeanssweeping
lifechanges.Simplethingscan
makeadifference.
Thecontentsofthislistmightnotbe
new,buttheybearrepeating.
Sometimesittakesafewreminders
forthingstakeroot.

1.CHANGEYOURLIGHT
IfeveryhouseholdintheUnited
Statereplacedoneregularlightbulb
withoneofthosenewcompact
fluorescentbulbs,thepollution
reductionwouldbeequivalentto
removingonemillioncarsfromthe
road.
Don'tlikethecoloroflight?Use
thesebulbsforclosets,laundry
roomsandotherplaceswhereit
won'tirkyouasmuch.

2.TURNOFFCOMPUTERSAT
NIGHT
Byturningoffyourcomputer
insteadofleavingitinsleepmode,
youcansave40watthoursper
day.Thataddsupto4centsaday,
or$14peryear.Ifyoudon'twantto
waitforyourcomputertostartup,
setittoturnonautomaticallyafew
minutesbeforeyougettowork,or
bootupwhileyou'repouringyour
morningcup'ojoe.

3.DON'TRINSE
Skiprinsingdishesbeforeusing
yourdishwasherandsaveupto20
gallonsofwatereachload.Plus,
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4.DONOTPREHEATTHEOVEN
Unlessyouaremakingbreador
pastriesofsomesort,don'tpreheat
theoven.Justturnitonwhenyou

5.RECYCLEGLASS
Recycledglassreducesrelatedair
pollutionby20percentandrelated
waterpollutionby50percent.Ifit
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you'resavingtimeandtheenergy
usedtoheattheadditionalwater.

putthedishin.Also,whenchecking
onyourfood,lookthroughtheoven
windowinsteadofopeningthedoor.

isn'trecycleditcantakeamillion
yearstodecompose.

6.DIAPERWITHACONSCIENCE
Bythetimeachildistoilettrained,
aparentwillchangebetween5,000
and8,000diapers,addingupto
approximately3.5milliontonsof
wasteinU.S.landfillseachyear.
Whetheryouchooseclothoramore
environmentallyfriendlydisposable,
you'remakingachoicethathasa
muchgentlerimpactonourplanet.

7.HANGDRY
Getaclotheslineorracktodryyour
clothesbytheair.Yourwardrobe
willmaintaincolorandfit,andyou'll
savemoney.

8.GOVEGETARIANONCEA
WEEK
Onelessmeatbasedmealaweek
helpstheplanetandyourdiet.For
example:Itrequires2,500gallons
ofwatertoproduceonepoundof
beef.Youwillalsoalsosavesome
trees.Foreachhamburgerthat
originatedfromanimalsraisedon
rainforestland,approximately55
squarefeetofforesthavebeen
destroyed.

9.WASHINCOLDORWARM
IfallthehouseholdsintheU.S.
switchedfromhothotcycleto
warmcold,wecouldsavethe
energycomparableto100,000

10.USEONELESSPAPER
NAPKIN
Duringanaverageyear,an
Americanusesapproximately2,200
napkinsaroundsixeachday.If

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Yourfavoritetshirtwilllastlonger
too.

11.USEBOTHSIDESOFPAPER
Americanbusinessesthrowaway21
milliontonsofpapereveryyear,
equalto175poundsperoffice
worker.Foraquickandeasywayto
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barrelsofoiladay.
Onlylaunderwhenyouhaveafull
load.

12.RECYCLENEWSPAPER
Thereare63millionnewspapers
printedeachdayintheU.S.Of
these,44million,orabout69%,of
themwillbethrownaway.Recycling
justtheSundaypaperswouldsave
morethanhalfamilliontreesevery
week.

everyoneintheU.S.usedoneless
napkinaday,morethanabillion
poundsofnapkinscouldbesaved
fromlandfillseachyear.

halvethis,setyourprinter'sdefault
optiontoprintdoublesided(duplex
printing).Andwhenyou'refinished
withyourdocuments,don'tforgetto
takethemtotherecyclingbin.

13.WRAPCREATIVELY
Youcanreusegiftbags,bowsand
eventpaper,butyoucanalsomake
somethinguniquebyusingold
maps,clothorevennewspaper.Flip
apapergrocerybaginsideoutand
giveyourchildstampsormarkers
tocreatetheirownwrappingpaper
that'senvironmentallyfriendlyand
extraspecialfortherecipient.

14.RETHINKBOTTLEDWATER
Nearly90%ofplasticwaterbottles
arenotrecycled,insteadtaking
thousandsofyearstodecompose.
Buyareusablecontainerandfillit
withtapwater,agreatchoicefor
theenvironment,yourwallet,and
possiblyyourhealth.TheEPA's
standardsfortapwateraremore
stringentthantheFDA'sstandards
forbottledwater.

Moreideas:HGTV,Martha,DIY
Network

15.BANBATHTIME!
Haveanobathweek,andtake
showersinstead.Bathsrequire
almosttwiceasmuchwater.Not
onlywillyoureducewater
consumption,buttheenergycosts
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16.BRUSHWITHOUTRUNNING
You'veheardthisonebefore,but
maybeyoustilldoit.You'llconserve
uptofivegallonsperdayifyou
stop.DailysavingsintheU.S.alone
couldaddupto1.5billiongallons

17.SHOWERWITHYOUR
PARTNER
Sneakinashowerwithyourloved
onetostartthedaywithsomezest
thatdoesn'tcomeinabar.Notonly
haveyoumadeawisechoicefor
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associatedwithheatingthewater.

morewaterthanfolksuseintheBig
Apple.

theenvironment,butyoumay
noticesomeother
added...um...benefits.

18.TAKEASHORTERSHOWER
Everytwominutesyousaveonyour
showercanconservemorethanten
gallonsofwater.Ifeveryoneinthe
countrysavedjustonegallonfrom
theirdailyshower,overthecourse
oftheyearitwouldequaltwicethe
amountoffreshwaterwithdrawn
fromtheGreatLakeseveryday.

19.PLANTATREE
It'sgoodfortheair,theland,can
shadeyourhouseandsaveon
cooling(plantonthewestsideof
yourhome),andtheycanalso
improvethevalueofyourproperty.

20.USEYOURCRUISECONTROL
Youpaidforthoseextrabuttonsin
yourcar,soputthemtowork!
Whenusingcruisecontrolyour
vehiclecouldgetupto15%better
mileage.Consideringtoday's
gasolineprices,thisisaboonnot
onlyfortheenvironmentbutyour
budgetaswell.

21.SECONDHANDDOESN'T
MEANSECONDBEST
Considerbuyingitemsfroma
secondhandstore.Toys,bicycles,
rollerblades,andotherageand
sizespecificitemsarequickly

22.BUYLOCAL
Considertheamountofpollution
createdtogetyourfoodfromthe
farmtoyourtable.Whenever
possible,buyfromlocalfarmersor
farmers'markets,supportingyour
localeconomyandreducingthe

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Makeitmeaningfulforthewhole
familyandplantatreeeveryyear
foreachmember.

23.ADJUSTYOURTHERMOSTAT
Adjustyourthermostatonedegree
higherinthesummerandone
degreecoolerinthewinter.Each
degreecelsiuslesswillsaveabout
10%onyourenergyuse!In
addition,investinaprogrammable
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outgrown.Secondhandstoresoften
selltheseitemsinexcellent
conditionsincetheyareusedfor
suchashortperiodoftime,andwill
generallybuythembackwhenyou
nolongerneedthem.

amountofgreenhousegascreated
whenproductsareflownortrucked
in.

thermostatwhichallowsyouto
regulatetemperaturebasedonthe
timesyouareathomeoraway.

24.INVESTINYOUROWN
COFFEECUP
Ifyoustarteverymorningwitha
steamycup,aquicktabulationcan
showyouthatthewasteispilingup.
Investinareusablecup,whichnot
onlycutsdownonwaste,butkeeps
yourbeveragehotforamuch
longertime.Mostcoffeeshopswill
happilyfillyourowncup,andmany
evenofferyouadiscountin
exchange!

25.BATCHERRANDS
Feellikeyouspendyourwhole
weektryingtocatchupwiththe
errands?Takeafewmomentsonce
aweektomakealistofallthe
errandsthatneedtogetdone,and
seeifyoucanbatchthemintoone
trip.Notonlywillyoubesaving
gasoline,butyoumightfindyourself
withmuchbettertimemanagement
skills.

26.TURNOFFLIGHTS
Alwaysturnoffincandescentbulbs
whenyouleavearoom.Fluorescent
bulbsaremoreaffectedbythe
numberoftimesitisswitchedon
andoff,soturnthemoffwhenyou
leavearoomfor15minutesor
more.You'llsaveenergyonthe
bulbitself,butalsooncoolingcosts,
aslightscontributeheattoaroom.

27.GREENERLAWNCARE
Ifyoumustwateryourlawn,doit
earlyinthemorningbeforeany
moistureislosttoevaporation.
Haveafewweeds?Spottreatthem
withvinegar.Notsureifyoushould
rake?Normalclippingsactasa

28.PICNICWITHAMARKER
Sometimeinbetweentheartichoke
dipandthecoleslaw,youlosttrack
ofyourcup,andnowtherearea
seaofmatchingcupsonthetable,
oneofwhichmightbeyours.The
nexttimeyoupicnic,setout

29.RECYCLEOLDCELLPHONES
Theaveragecellphonelastsaround
18months,whichmeans130million
phoneswillberetiredeachyear.If
theygointolandfills,thephones
andtheirbatteriesintroducetoxic
substancesintoourenvironment.

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naturalfertilizer,letthembe.If
you'vewaitedtoolong,rakeby
handit'sexcellentexercise.

permanentmarkernextto
disposabledinnerwaresoguestscan
marktheircupandeveryonewill
onlyuseone.

Thereareplentyofreputable
programswhereyoucanrecycle
yourphone,manywhichbenefit
noblecauses.

30.MAINTAINYOURVEHICLE
Notonlyareyouextendingthelife
ofyourvehicle,butyouarecreating
lesspollutionandsavinggas.A
properlymaintainedvehicle,clean
airfilters,andinflatedtirescan
greatlyimproveyourvehicle's
performance.Anditmightnothurt
tocleanoutthetrunkallthatextra
weightcouldbecostingyouatthe
pump.

31.RECYCLEUNWANTEDWIRE
HANGERS
Wirehangersaregenerallymadeof
steel,whichisoftennotacceptedby
somerecyclingprograms.Sowhat
doyoudowiththem?Mostdry
cleanerswillacceptthembackto
reuseorrecycle.(CueJoan
Crawford.)

32.RECYCLEALUMINUMAND
GLASS
Twentyrecycledaluminiumcanscan
bemadewiththeenergyittakesto
manufactureonebrandnewone.

33.TELECOMMUTE
Seeifyoucanworkoutan
arrangementwithyouremployer
thatyouworkfromhomeforsome
portionoftheweek.Notonlywill
yousavemoneyandgasoline,and
yougettoworkinyourpajamas!

34.KEEPYOURFIREPLACE
DAMPERCLOSED
Keepingthedamperopen(when
you'renotusingyourfireplace)is
likekeepinga48inchwindowwide
openduringthewinteritallows
warmairtogorightupthechimney.
Thiscanadduptohundredsof

35.CUTDOWNONJUNKMAIL
Feellikeyouneedtoloseafew
pounds?Itmightbeyourjunkmail
that'sweighingyoudown.The
averageAmericanreceives40
poundsofjunkmaileachyear,
destroying100millionstrees.There
aremanyservicesthatcanhelp

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Everytonofglassrecycledsaves
theequivalentofninegallonsoffuel
oilneededtomakeglassfromvirgin
materials.

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dollarseachwinterinenergyloss.

reducetheclutterinyourmailbox,
savingtreesandthepreciousspace
onyourcountertops.

36.CHOOSEMATCHESOVER
LIGHTERS
Mostlightersaremadeoutofplastic
andfilledwithbutanefuel,both
petroleumproducts.Sincemost
lightersareconsidered"disposable,"
over1.5billionendupinlandfills
eachyear.Whenchoosingmatches,
pickcardboardoverwood.Wood
matchescomefromtrees,whereas
mostcardboardmatchesaremade
fromrecycledpaper.

37.LETYOURFINGERSDOTHE
WALKINGONLINE
Considerifyoureallyneedapaper
phonebook.Ifnot,calltostop
phonebookdeliveryandusean
onlinedirectoryinstead.Some
estimatethattelephonebooksmake
upalmosttenpercentofwasteat
dumpsites.Andifyoustillreceive
thebook,don'tforgettorecycle
youroldvolumes.

38.GIVEITAWAY
Beforeyouthrowsomethingaway,
thinkaboutifsomeoneelsemight
needit.Eitherdonatetoacharitable
organizationorpostitonawebsite
designedtoconnectpeopleand
things,suchasFreecycle.org.

39.GOTOACARWASH
Professionalcarwashesareoften
moreefficientwithwater
consumption.Ifeveryoneinthe
U.S.whowashestheircar
themselvestookjustonevisittothe
carwashwecouldsavenearly8.7
billiongallonsofwater.

40.PLASTICBAGSSUCK
EachyeartheU.S.uses84billion
plasticbags,asignificantportionof
the500billionusedworldwide.They
arenotbiodegradable,andare
makingtheirwayintoouroceans,
andsubsequently,thefoodchain.
Stronger,reusablebagsarean
inexpensiveandreadilyavailable

41.FLYWITHANETICKET
Thecostofprocessingapaper
ticketisapproximately$10,while
processinganeticketcostsonly$1.
Inthenearfuture,eticketswillbe
theonlyoption,savingtheairline
industry$3billionayear.In
additiontofinancialsavings,the
sheeramountofpapereliminated

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option.

bythisprocessiscommendable.

42.DOWNLOADYOURSOFTWARE
Mostsoftwarecomesonacompact
disc,andmorethanthirtybillion
compactdiscsofalltypesaresold
annually.That'sahugeamountof
waste,nottomentiontheassociated
packaging.Anotherbonusto
downloadingyoursoftwareisthat
it'softenavailablefordownloadata
laterdatewhenyouupgradetoa
newcomputerorareattemptingto
recoverfromacrash.

43.STOPYOURANSWERING
MACHINE
Answeringmachinesuseenergy24
hoursaday,sevendaysaweek.
Andwhentheybreak,they'rejust
onemorethingthatgoesintothe
landfill.Ifallansweringmachinesin
U.S.homeswereeventually
replacedbyvoicemailservices,the
annualenergysavingswouldtotal
nearlytwobillionkilowatthours.

44.SKIPTHECOFFEESTIRRER
Eachyear,Americansthrowaway
138billionstrawsandstirrers.But
skippingthestirrerdoesn'tmean
drinkingyourcoffeeblack.Simply
putyoursugarandcreaminfirst,
andthenpourinthecoffee,andit
shouldbewellmixed.

45.FINDABETTERWAYTO
BREAKTHEICE
Whenabigwinterstormheadsour
way,mostofususesomesortof
icemeltertotreatstepsand
sidewalks.Whilethismakesthe
sidewalkssaferforpeople,itmay
poseahazardforpetswhomight
ingesttheseproducts.Rocksaltand
saltbasedicemeltingproductscan

46.USECOTTONSWABSWITHA
PAPERBOARDSPINDLE
Somebrandsofcottonswabshave
apaperboardspindlewhileothers
aremadeofplastic.If10%ofU.S.
householdsswitchedtoa
paperboardspindle,thepetroleum
energysavedperyearwouldbe
equivalenttoover150,000gallons
ofgasoline.

47.PAYBILLSONLINE
Bysomeestimates,ifallhouseholds
intheU.S.paidtheirbillsonlineand
receivedelectronicstatements
insteadofpaper,we'dsave18.5
milliontreeseveryyear,2.2billion
tonsofcarbondioxideandother
greenhousegases,and1.7billion
poundsofsolidwaste.

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Determinedtostir?Breakoffa
pieceofpastafromthecupboard.
Youcannibbleafterusingit,
compost,orthrowawaywithless
guilt.

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causehealthproblemsaswellas
contaminatewellsanddrinking
water.Lookforapetsafedeicer,
readilyavailableinmanystores.

48.STOPPAPERBANK
STATEMENTS
Somebankswillpayyouadollaror
donatemoneyonyourbehalfwhen
youcancelthemonthlypaper
statementsyougetinthemail.If
everyhouseholdtookadvantageof
onlinebankstatements,themoney
savedcouldsendmorethan
seventeenthousandrecenthigh
schoolgraduatestoapublic
universityforayear.

49.USERECHARGABLE
BATTERIES
Eachyear15billionbatteries
producedandsoldandmostofthem
aredisposablealkalinebatteries.
Onlyafractionofthoseare
recycled.Buyachargerandafew
setsofrechargeablebatteries.
Althoughitrequiresanupfront
investment,itisonethatshouldpay
offinnotime.AndonChristmas
morningwhenallthestoresare
closed?You'llbefullystocked.

50.SHARE!
Takewhatyou'velearned,andpass
theknowledgeontoothers.Ifevery
personyouknowcouldtakeone
smallsteptowardbeinggreener,
thecollectiveeffortcouldbe
phenomenal.
ShareThis

Backtothetopofthepage.
Sources:41pounds.org,ArborDayFoundation,CaliforniansAgainstWaste,EarthEasy.com,EERE
ConsumerGuide,TheGreenGuide,CellPhones,TheGreenBook,Treehugger:Reasonstoditch
bottledwater,HowtoGreenYourCar,...YourPet,...YourElectronics,...YourKitchen,Paper
TicketsAreFlyingAwayForGood

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