Use less water. Turn it off when brushing your teeth. Try to use low-flow faucets, toilets, and shower heads. Better yet, shower together! I’m sure Mr. Crapper, alleged inventor of the toilet, would have been appalled at how much water we all use. Since the mid-1990s, it’s easier to find a low-flow 1.6 gallon toilet.
FOOD
Start a compost pile in your backyard. No yard? Join your local community garden; they probably already have one. You’ll cut your garbage by nearly half.
Buy locally. Most food is shipped thousands of miles before it reaches the supermarket, resulting in added fossil fuels. Nearby farms do not have to ship food as far. Many small local farms also do not use herbicides and insecticides (possible carcinogens), unlike industrial, high-tech farms. If you’re not sure of your local farm’s practices, you can always ask. Even buying some food locally makes a difference.
LIGHT/ENERGY
When your bulb goes out (it’s probably a conventional incandescent), replace it with a compact fluorescent bulb instead. These bulbs last longer, saving you replacement costs and lowering your energy bills. Long-term benefit? Every time you choose a compact fluorescent, power plants produce less carbon dioxide and SO2—slowing climate change, improving the quality of the air you breathe, and reducing acid rain. Even one compact fluorescent bulb helps. According to Energy Star, if every American household used just one, we’d save enough energy to light 2.5 million homes in a year and prevent green house gases amounting to 800,000 car emissions.
Turn off the lights. Why not turn off the kitchen lights when in the bedroom? In fact, turn them all off—for added fun! Turn off your computer and other electronics when not using them. Although that green blinking light on my printer is comforting, it’s still using lots of juice while I sleep. Also, look for products that have the Energy Star-rating.
TREES/AIR
Recycle your newspaper so it doesn’t end up in a landfill. Methane gas is just one harmful byproduct of landfills, harming the atmosphere—and contributing to global warming. Oh, and you save trees, too—and by association, wildlife habitats.
