How You Can Make a Difference

Here are some simple, empowering changes YOU can implement that will make a difference for the planet.

1. Get rid of all the junk mail that comes to you by contacting www.greendimes.com, www.privacycouncil.org, and www.catalogchoice.org.  For those unwanted credit card offers, go to www.OptOutPrescreen.com, or call 1.888.5.Opt.Out.
2. Did you know that 38,000 miles of ribbon get thrown away every Christmas season?  Make a decision to wrap green.  Use old newspapers or grocery sacks to wrap your gifts.  Decorate them with colored markers or fancy calligraphy.  
3. Set it up with your bank to get your account statements online.  
4. Use low energy light bulbs.  
5. Unplug!  Keep all electrical gadgets and appliances unplugged if not in use.  They use energy even when you are not using them.
6. Make sure your wash loads are full loads, both in the dishwasher and when washing clothes. You'll save time and money.
7. Find one cleaning product that serves multiple cleaning purposes.  This will save you space and and reduce the amount of plastic going out your door.  There are some healthy, green products that are designed for this.
8. Recycle responsibly.  Know what your recycling company takes; the wrong kind of products in their collections can ruin their product process.  Many electronic items are getting into our landfills and causing serious health and environmental risks.  Women's shelters often take used cell phones.  Also, www.earth911.org is a good resource for recycling facts and information.  Remember that recycling can't fix everything.  We need to change our consumption habits, reduce our waste, and send new messages to manufactures 
9. Buy clothes, cotton balls and swabs.  Traditional cotton production uses 25% of the world's insecticides and 10% of U.S.-produced pesticides!  
10. Switch to reusable cloth shopping bags (preferably made out of organic or recycled cotton)! Hundreds of thousands of whales, sea turtles and other marine life die every year from ingesting plastic bags (which they mistake for food) that made it into our oceans. Plastic bags are one of the most common items found in coastal cleanups.  Even if they don't make it to the sea, they are harmful to our environment; they do not biodegrade, they photodegrade, breaking down into smaller and smaller into toxic bits that invade soil and waterways, thus putting toxins in the path of our food production.  You can get more facts about plastic vs. cloth bags at www.reusablebags.com.
11. Get a reusable lunch bag or box and try to create waste-free lunches.  Statistics show that disposable lunches average about $4.00, while waste-free lunches average $2.65.  Use these lunch-packing tips:   1) use reusable fabric lunch bags or lunch containers, 2) pack sandwiches and main courses in reusable wraps, bags or containers, 3) pack drinks and soups in reusable containers, such as a thermos, or recyclable containers, 4) buy snacks in bulk and repackage them in reusable containers, 5) buy whole fruits and pack them without wrapping them, 6) use cloth napkins, 7) use stainless steel or bamboo reusable utensils.
12. If you can, stay away from eating red meat and eat less meet of all kinds.  One study reported that it takes 2500 gallons of water to manufacture just one pound of ground beef.  This is equivalent to taking approximately 100 shows!  One major magazine once said, "the water that goes into a 1000-pound steer would float a destroyer."   With water in more and more demand on the planet, there is a new crisis arising.  Reducing the demand for red meat can make an impact on this front.
13. Be conscious of your water consumption.  Turn off water while brushing your teeth or shaving. Check for leaky faucets or toilets.  Install faucet and hose aerators to limit excessive flow.  Install low-flow shower heads.  A leaky toilet can waste 200 gallons of water per day, and a low-flow shower head can save a family of four as much as 14,000 gallons of water per year.
14. Take a look at your shopping habits.  Do you engage in "Retail Therapy?"  Apply the Golden Pause to your shopping trips, pausing to ask yourself whether or not you really need an item before purchasing it can save you money and aggravation later.  Try to switch to being a green shopper; online stores such as www.gaiam.com and www.vivaterra.com.  Get other green shopping ideas at www.earthmoment.com.
15. Track your carbon emissions and be rewarded for your savings by local businesses.  Go to http://www.shopgreengenie.com from your mobile phone.

Change is a process. Stick with it.  Try changing just one or two things each week.  Everything you do helps to improve our future and the future of the planet.  Just begin.

Together we can make a big difference in the quality of our future.