How To Help Save The Environment

How to Help Save the Environment - wikiHow http://www.wikihow.
com/Help-Save-the-Environment
the how to manual that you can edit
How to Help Save the Environment

Things like hectic climate change, polluted air, acid rain, depletion of the ozone
layer, global warming, and an increase in poverty prove that the way we use things
is ineffective.
Imagine this. One day you come out from your house and all you see is big puffs of
black smoke and no trees! All you hear are cars and no birds! All you smell is
gasoline and no flowers! What kind of life is that?
All we need to do to reduce the problem is simply to be less wasteful. Here are Save it now while
some ideas on how to help everyone! you still can.
Steps
1 Switch off anything that uses electricity. Stick to a routine of shutting off as many electrical
appliances as possible when you leave a room. If it will be at least 36 hours before you use it again,
unplug it. Even when an appliance is off, it may still use power. Just imagine. You will save hundreds of
dollars and you could donate the money to a charity in need or buy yourself something nice.
Ads by Google
Lead Free Reusable Bags Ditch the toxic, Chinese made bags for lead-free and USA made NuBags!
www.ecomountainltd.com
Power strips are convenient devices. You can plug all your appliances in one area - say, your
computer, fax, printer, and modem; or your toaster, blender, and coffee maker - into a power strip.
Then when you're done using all appliances, simply turn the power strip switch from "reset" to "off".
It is important to note that cell phone and laptop chargers, as well as some other plug-in devices,
continue to drain energy from your electrical circuit, even when the item being charged or utilized is
no longer connected. Unplug the chargers altogether or use a power strip.
2 Use renewable energy sources. In the USA around 71% of electricity is produced by burning fossil
fuels. Burning coal or other fuels emits green-house gases and pollution in the environment. An average
home powered by a coal utility will burn 12,000 pounds of coal a year and will cause about the same
amount of pollution as 2 cars. By using renewable energy as the primary power source, the reduction of
pollution per household would be equivalent to that of planting 400 trees. Many electric companies offer
power from renewable sources (sometimes at a slightly higher fee). Another option is to rent solar
panels, as these are becoming increasingly less expensive. Contact your local energy provider for more
information.
3 Encourage your congressional representatives to support environmental issues and renewable

energy
Share Page Fan Page Like Connect via Meebo
1 of 10 11/23/10 12:47 PM
How to Help Save the Environment - wikiHow http://www.wikihow.com/Help-Save-the-Environment
4 Check your faucets and any other appliance that uses water straight
from your source. If your faucets drip, get them fixed, or at least put a
container under the drip in the meantime and use the water. To check your
toilets, put a few drops of food coloring (go for a strong color) in the tank, not
the bowl. Wait about ten minutes without flushing. If you see the dye in the
bowl, repair your toilet.
One drop per minute

can add up over time.
5 Turn off the water when you're not using it. As Ellen Degeneres says, "Turn off the water while
brushing your teeth." Why is the water running for so long? There is no point, is there? It is okay if you
forget a few times, but if you forget a lot, put a little sticky note on the wall in front of the sink, with the
reminder, "Turn off the faucet. Don't waste water!" This goes for shaving, washing dishes, and even
taking a shower.
6 Avoid salt-based water softeners. These require excessive amounts of energy and water, and leave
your local watershed's water quality impaired by excess salts. If you have hard water, use an electronic
descaling device instead, such as Scalewatcher or Small Wonder .
7 Use rechargeable batteries instead of disposable batteries. Batteries not only take up landfill space
(they can't be incinerated), they can leak acid into the Earth. Even then, only use the appliance when
you must. If you have the choice, plug in the device instead of using batteries.
8 Install low-flow toilets in your home, or put a brick in the reservoir (the back) of your current
toilet. The space the brick takes up in the bottom of the tank will permit you to use less water, but keep
the toilet functioning. Also try adjusting the water level down. Many toilets have an adjustment to lower
the valve float.
9 Use only as much toilet paper as you need, and don't use a mile of it for
one little wiping. Be reasonable. Go easy on the paper towels, too. More
importantly, to protect virgin forest from being cut down unnecessarily, use
paper products made from 80-100% recycled paper, preferably with a high
post consumer content.
Be Reasonable, and
care about the earth!
10 Organize a carpool for work or school. This way, if you take a highway with a High Occupancy
2 of 10 11/23/10 12:47 PM
Vehicle (HOV) lane, this can usually save time and money on gasoline. For bonus points, use a hybrid or
other car that gets high gas mileage.
11 Plan your errands to avoid going around in circles. This will use more gas and waste time. Group
outings into fewer, longer trips. This minimizes both trips out and cold starts (starting an engine that has
not been run lately). Cold starts are hard on your car and the environment.
12 Invest in a good bicycle and helmet. Use them when your destination is
within 5-10 miles of home. You can also buy pannier racks, a bike trailer, or a
sturdy basket to hold items. Get in the habit of riding your bike to local areas.
Plus, you will get more exercise and feel better!
Your low-cost,
low-emissions vehicle.
13 Avoid using disposable items as much as possible. Anything you use only a few times and throw
away consumes resources only to spend centuries in a landfill.
You can do this by carrying your own reusable mug, eating utensils, and cloth shopping bags with
you. Keep them in your car or bike panniers.
14 Avoid using plastic whenever you can; it is a poison of the earth (things like disposable plastic
cups, plastic bags, nonsense plastic items you don't need). It never breaks down, and has led to the
poisoning and death of numerous sea creatures. Look into ways that plastic can be recycled in your
area. Some cities have programs for recycling plastic bags and other difficult to recycle types of plastic.
Use resealable, reusable containers instead of plastic wrap or plastic bags.
15 Get a hybrid. If you have been looking for a new vehicle, hybrids are becoming more and more popular.
There are a wide variety of hybrids on the market from little sedans to big SUVs. They not only give off
less emissions into the air, they can save you money with fewer trips to the gas station.
16 Consider cloth diapers. They've come a long way from the things with pins and plastic covers that gen
x-ers and ALL previous generations wore. You will save a fortune (especially if you have more than one
child), keep potentially dangerous chemicals away from your baby's bottom, and do a good thing for the
planet while you're at it!
17 Use reusable cloth pads, or a menstrual cup. It may sound gross to reuse these kinds of things, but
imagine all the pads and tampons you use in your lifetime all piled up. Can you say "EW"?
If for some reason these are not options for you, consider using tampons and pads made of
unbleached, organic cotton, and tampons without plastic applicators. These are better for your health
as well as the planet.
3 of 10 11/23/10 12:47 PM
18 Trade in your dryer for a good old fashioned clothesline. It makes your clothes smell nice and fresh,
and, it's environmentally friendly! If you do use a dryer, make sure to keep the vent clear.
19 Switch to compact florescent light bulbs. While these cost more, they are
also longer lasting than conventional light bulbs, and they use only
one-quarter of the energy. They may cost more money, but last much longer.
These new light

bulbs look like this.
20 Coordinate with your neighbors and friends. If the local recycling depot is at some distance, make a
single drop-off spot in your neighborhood, where people can bring their recyclables, then use just one
car to drive them to the depot. A garage is a good place to store things until they are taken. You might
have different neighbors responsible for different kinds of recyclables, such as paper, glass, metal, etc.
21 Conserve water. Take shorter showers or fill the bathtub only 1/4-1/3 full. Run your dishwasher only
when it is completely full. Reuse water, if at all possible by boiling it. If you wash your own car, park it on
your lawn and use buckets and sponges. Use the hose to rinse. Use pool covers to reduce evaporation
and keep leaves out. Try installing eco-friendly faucets, such as Grohe faucets which are equipped with
low-flow fittings to reduce wasteful water consumption.
22 Compost. Designate an area in your yard to put your yard waste, fruit peels,
and uneaten food. Find some worms who can break the waste down and
produce a very rich soil that works great with your landscaping. Keep your
compost heap as far from a water source as possible, and if you can, put a
couple layers of concrete blocks or bricks around your heap to avoid a mess
on your lawn.
It may look yucky,

but it's a whole lot
better than gasoline!
23 Buy secondhand clothes, or if you have a neighbor with a child a year or so older than your child,
ask if they can send their old clothes to you. You can also find many 'organic clothes' at common
department stores. These clothes are made with organic cotton in a more environmentally friendly
factories. They are in style nowadays.
24 Stop Some of Your Junk Mail. If you get several catalogs which you do not need, then call one
company each day or each week and ask for them to stop sending this to you. This will save trees, and
will use less oil, as something you do not need will not have to be made and transported to you. There is
sometimes more paper in the local newspaper that you would use in 2 months. Remember to recycle the
old newspapers, or the ones that you do not need anymore.
4 of 10 11/23/10 12:47 PM
25 Get skylights. These windows go on your ceiling to provide more light,

reducing the electric light you use. Some types can even transfer sunlight into
electricity.
You can get a nice

view of the clouds, too!
26 Join your local chapter of www.freecycle.org. These groups offer unwanted or unneeded household
"stuff" for free to each other, usually through a Yahoo! Group. Keep your unwanted "stuff" out of the
landfill and in the hands of someone who will actually USE it. You will make someone happy, and the
earth happier too! Craigslist.org is another useful resource for buying, selling, and giving away used
items locally.
27 Don't use pesticides, herbicides, or chemicals. Pesticides kill hundreds of birds and other animals
per year. If you have unwanted weeds, pull or hoe them out yourself, clip them down, plant a ground
cover in their place, or use mulch to control weeds and limit evaporation.
If you are a gardener, check out permaculture, integrative pest management, polycropping, and
other techniques that reduce or eliminate the need for chemical inputs.
28 Reuse glass bottles. Buy a glass bottle and use it for a long time! It will not rot or go bad like a plastic
bottle will. You could decrease the amount of water bottles in the garbage dumps if you use 1 glass
bottle instead of 30 plastic water bottles per week. Glass bottles are also healthy! Plastic is not. All
different types of chemicals get released into your water from the plastic, and even more if you squeeze
it!
29 Turn useless junk into something fun and cute, or fresh and funky! Jewelery! You can take a look
around wikiHow and find tons of articles about how to make different things.
30 Stop reading newspapers if you can look up the news on your computer, it takes up less energy
than cutting down the trees, making the paper, and transporting it to your house.
31 Brew tea using bulk leaves rather than disposable tea bags. You can buy teas of all sorts in bulk,
more affordably than buying boxes of tea bags. Then brew using a mesh strainer, filter, teapot, carafe, or
french press.
32 Buy or make a few reusable fabric bags, and bring them with you whenever you go shopping. Or,
reuse your old plastic bags. Just imagine all of the plastic bags in the world added up. Isn't that a lot of
garbage?
33 Recycle old plastic bags. There are a lot of things which you can do with old plastic bags. Don't throw
them away! They will come in handy! You can reuse them when shopping. Check out how to recycle old
plastic bags.
5 of 10 11/23/10 12:47 PM
34 Ask for any leftover meat when you go to your meat shop. If the meat is OK to feed to dogs, feed
that to your dog instead. Maybe even your cat! They may even give it to you for free. You will also save
money by not having to buy dog/cat food. Also, at some super markets, they also give dog bones free
with any purchase.
35 Reuse clothing, and find something snazzy to do with it. You can reinvent wearable pieces or donate
them to charity. You could use an old t-shirt as housekeeping rags, make mop tie out of them, or sew
patches onto things. Be creative! Did you know you can make construction paper out of denim jeans?!
36 Start a neighborhood clean-up that will clean up the neighborhood, every week or so. Get the
whole neighborhood involved! Try and get the community involved with the projects, and even do a
public park clean up - this is everyone's home.
37 Recycle all you can. In many countries, recycling is taken seriously. They have one trash can for bags,
one for glass, one for cans, one for boxes, one for plastic, one for paper, even one for decomposed food.
Try disciplining yourself to recycling the necessities we use when done.
38 Put timers on lamps that will turn off lamps at the same time on a daily basis. Timers like these can
be found in hardware stores and they can be plugged into your lamp.
39 Buy less stuff. If you don't need it, don't buy it. Besides saving money and not cluttering up your house,
not buying things in the first place means never using the resources (materials, energy, labor) necessary
to create it. Could you borrow something, get it used, or simply do without it?
40 Close doors after you leave a room. When you leave the house, or even when you have dinner
downstairs, try to close the door to all the rooms you don't normally use or need. Doing this often will
save a lot of excess heating that is needed to make your home warm. Something simple anyone can do:)
41 Limit your shower water. Use less water when showering and don't take longer than fifteen minutes.
There are also devices there days that can limit the amount of heated water used per shower, such as
Grohe faucets, equipped with low-flow fittings.
42 Don't use too much fertilizer. Do you know what happens to all the fertilizer that is washed off lawns
and gardens? Some way or another, it ends up in a body of water. Stop this indirect pollution! Organic
fertilizer is better than chemical fertilizer. So next time you buy fertilizer, buy organic or even make your
own!
43 Don't use electronic exercise machines. Instead of using treadmills and similar, use a bicycle or a
unicycle maybe. Walking and push-ups work as well.
44 Plant a tree in your neighborhood or near your home; They suck up harmful CO2 gases. If you
can't plant one, try potted plants.
45 When you're not too dirty, plug up the shower and use the remaining water to clean your dog.
6 of 10 11/23/10 12:47 PM
46 Crank it up! At many electronic stores, they sell flashlights or radios powered by cranks. They're a tad
expensive, but they'll soon pay for themselves, as they don't need batteries!
47 Turn it off Buy a power strip, and plug your TV, computer, lights, etc. into it. At night, when you're
not using them, turn off the power strip, because even an appliance that is off sucks up energy if there's
nothing stopping it. Not only does it save electricity, it shaves money off your electric bill.
48 Use Canvas To Conserve. Using canvas bags help the environment because plastic bags take
hundreds of years to disintegrate. Also,using canvas bags is a very cheap way to help out planet.
49 Create a frog pond in your backyard. Frog populations are dwindling, If you create a habitat for them
in your backyard, they may breed there, which will help because their breeding areas are disappearing.
50 Eat less meat. The production of meat is one of the most significant contributors to the most serious
environmental problems, including global climate change. Meat production is highly resource intensive
and inefficient. Meatless Monday is a national non-profit public health campaign that encourages
people to give up meat one day a week. Attempting vegetarianism or veganism is definitely one of the
best things you can do for the environment and also for your health. Check out the site for some
meatless recipes.
51 Never eat fast food. Many fast food restaurants have grazing lands for beef cattle where rain forest
used to be. Not only does eating from these places cut down the rain forest, it uses CO2 to ship the
cows, or whats left of them, up in to wherever the restaurant is.
52 Load up that washing machine If you need to do laundry, try to wash as much clothes as
possible in it. It saves water, electricity, and time to wash those clothes.
Ads by Google
Solar For Your Non-Profit Watch Your Money Grow W/ Sunshine! We Help Getting You Green. Call
Us.
www.ARESunSolar.com/Non-Profit
North Jersey Coupons 1 ridiculously huge coupon a day. It's like doing Jersey at 90% off!
www.Groupon.com/North-Jersey
We Buy and Sell Plastics Post-Industrial, Plastic, Recycling Resin, Scrap, Post-Consumer
www.snowtreerecycling.com
Video
7 of 10 11/23/10 12:47 PM
Tips
Try organic fresh fruits and vegetables. Generally things with the fewest ingredients on the label are the
safest bet.
Ads by Google
We Buy and Sell Plastics Post-Industrial, Plastic, Recycling Resin, Scrap, Post-Consumer
www.snowtreerecycling.com
If you can't ride a bike or don't own one, try to walk to places as much as possible, but if you need
transportation, see if you can use mass transit (like a train, bus, or subway). Since more people use them
(so less people are using cars), less fossil fuels are being released.
Generally, don't waste anything (this does not mean eating every left-over you find; you can pack it in
containers and put it in the refrigerator or freezer). If you know of some poor people, they could appreciate
this a lot and look up to you for it. Help your neighbors! And, if you are sure you don't want it anymore or
that your fridge/freezer is full, try putting it outside of your house, or somewhere close to starving animals.
They would be more than happy to gobble it up. For example, bread from your breakfast that you just can't
eat anymore - break it down and leave it outside for the birds.
Although recycling is great, it's even better to conserve. That means reusing paper as much as possible,
or refilling your water bottle instead of buying a new one, and so on.
If you are just getting a soda, or something else that does not require a bag (or if you're just not going to
use it), don't take one. Otherwise, use scrap fabric to sew a 'Bag Bunny' to hold plastic bags to be reused.
When grocery shopping, bring your own bag(s) (cloth ones are the best kind). Some places even give
slight discounts for you bringing in your own bag. Some shops also make you pay for those plastic bags,
so you'll be saving money as well as do good deeds!
The next time you order a beverage, bring your own mug (or buy one of theirs). Not only will you save 15
cents, but you will also help by not wasting cups.
8 of 10 11/23/10 12:47 PM
Spread the word! Start a club at school, a fund raiser, or anything else that would help make people aware
of the environment.
When it comes to saving the planet's water, don't be boring! You're more likely to use something if you like
it, so buy a colorful water bottle or decorate your glass bottle with pretty glass paint!
Ask your local Waste Management Service if you could help out. Maybe you could make fliers and put
them around town, to make people aware of the earth. Start a day where you and the town will pick up
garbage.
If possible, drink your tap water! You'll have more cash in your pocket and reduce the chances of a factory
creating more unnecessary bottles, meaning less energy as well as resources used up.
If you don't have time and space for clothes that you no longer need, donate them to charity! Every time
you do, you make a lonely soul a grateful spirit, as well as motivate others to do good!
If you have a Facebook profile add the Greenbook application to it. The longer you're on Facebook, the
more carbon dioxide you help to reduce.
Before you recycle something, like an aluminum can, it's best to wash it out first. Did you know that one
aluminum can can be recycled 10 times?
Before recycling aluminum cans, take off the tabs and save them. There are many hospitals that will
accept them and use them to make medical equipment.
Warnings
Make sure that any meat that you feed to your animal is OK for them to eat. Don't give them dangerous
food that could make them sick.
Organic food is usually more expensive than "regular food".
Things You'll Need

Compost holder/place
Reusable shopping bags
Related wikiHows
How to Make a Difference
How to Pick up Litter
How to Reduce Your Greenhouse Gas Emissions
How to Stop Greenhouse Gases/Global Warming
How to Most Cost Effectively Help Slow Global Warming
How to Create Urban Rainforests
How to Save the Environment at Home
9 of 10 11/23/10 12:47 PM
How to Recycle
How to Be an Earthy Girl
How to Create an Eco Friendly House
How to Purify Water
How to Celebrate Earth Day
How to Take Action to Reduce Global Warming
How to Create Urban Rainforests
How to Be Environmentally Correct
How to Be More Green As a Teenager
How to Become an Environmentalist
How to Be a Kid Environmentalist
How to Be Green
How to Be Environmentally Correct
Sources and Citations

Wikia About Global Warming Topics
eco-friendly choices helping turn good intentions into everyday actions
StopGlobalWarming.org
ClimateCrisis.net
SavePhoenix.org
Power Of One - energy efficiency website
Information about solar panels
10 of 10 11/23/10 12:47 PM

How To Help Save The Environment - WikiHow

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

How To Help Save The Environment - WikiHow

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

How to Help Save the Environment - wikiHow http://www.wikihow.

the how to manual that you can edit

3 Encourage your congressional representatives to support environmental issues and renewable

One drop per minute

Share Page Fan Page Like Connect via Meebo

Share Page Fan Page Like Connect via Meebo

These new light

It may look yucky,

Share Page Fan Page Like Connect via Meebo

25 Get skylights. These windows go on your ceiling to provide more light,

You can get a nice

Share Page Fan Page Like Connect via Meebo

Share Page Fan Page Like Connect via Meebo

Share Page Fan Page Like Connect via Meebo

Organic food is usually more expensive than "regular food".

Things You'll Need

Share Page Fan Page Like Connect via Meebo

Sources and Citations

Share Page Fan Page Like Connect via Meebo

You might also like