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101 THINGS YOU CAN DO TO HELP THE EARTH Recycle plastic, glass, and newspapers. Save your aluminum cans and bring them to school to be recycled. Plant new trees and flowers - plants use carbon dioxide and release oxygen into the air. If the place you are going to is close enough, walk or ride your bike rather than have your parents drive you. Take shorter showers- a ten-minute shower uses over 100 gallons of water. Save water- use a broom rather than a hose to clean patios and walkways. Don't use artificial fertilizers on your lawn or garden. Start a compost pile and use it to fertilize the garden. Take a reusable bag to the store when you are only buying a couple of items. Tell the clerk to save a tree and carry your items out of the store in your hands- don't forget the receipt. Use paper cups rather than Styrofoam cups. Better yet, don't use disposable cups at all- wash them instead. Turn off items that use electricity when you are not using them. Reduce the amount of time you watch TV. Read a book or play outside instead. Form car-pools to school and encourage your parents to get in a car-pool for work. But products that use recyclable materials. Example: Downy Fabric softener. Use plastic bottles made from 100% recycled plastic. Use biodegradable items whenever possible. Example: when packing breakable items in a box to be mailed, ask for new biodegradable packing material instead of the old Styrofoam pellets. Wrap presents in newspapers and grocery bags. Bring parts off your lunch in plastic butter dishes instead of plastic bags. They can be used over and over again. If you get plastic bags at the grocery store, reuse them and take them back to the store to be recycled. Use cloth napkins instead of paper napkins or paper towels. Don't put clothes in the laundry unless they are really dirty. Sometimes it easier to put them in the laundry than to hang them up but it uses more energy. Replace high wattage light bulbs with lower wattage ones where bright light is not needed. Set the thermostat on your hot water heater no higher than 120 degrees F. Whenever possible, use cool water instead of warm or hot water. Set the thermostat on your refrigerator at 38 degrees F. When possible buy things that don't need batteries. Example: Buy a solar operated calculator rather than battery operated one. Use a hand can opener instead of an electric one. Ask your parents to buy fluorescent light bulbs-they use less electricity. When you get a book that your friend likes, let him or her read it so they don't buy the same one. Better yet, borrow the book from the library. Buy eggs in recyclable cartons and take them back to the store to be recycled. Write smaller on your paper at school so you don't use as much paper. Put your used paper in the recycle box at school. Don't use a piece of clean paper when you need scrap paper, use the other side of a paper you don't need. Use both sides of your paper. Buy recycled notebook paper. It doesn't erase as well, but it can be used for most everyday assignments and it saves trees. Write to Rainforest Action Network; 301 Broadway, Suite A, San Francisco, CA 94133 for information about what you can do to save the rainforests. Buy only tuna brands that say that they are dolphin safe on the can. Encourage family and friends that do not currently recycle to start. Offer to take their cans, bottles, newspaper, etc. to the recycling center when you take yours. Don't buy a fur coat. If you are in a fishing boat, use the paddles instead of the motor whenever you can so you don't pollute the water. Encourage wildlife to come to your backyard by building a birdhouse or a birdfeeder. Buy gifts from organizations such as National Wildlife where part of the profits goes to help save animals. Try to reduce the amount of junk mail you get. If you get catalogs that you never order from, write to the company and ask them to take you off their mailing list. Plant plants in your yard that encourage wildlife like honeysuckle and bushes with berries that birds like to eat. Ask at a nursery. Don't kill snakes because you are scared of them. Snakes are part of the cycle of life. Buy products with the least amount of packaging. If a product that you like uses two or three layers of packaging, write to the company and ask them to reduce the number of times the package is wrapped. Learn as much as you can about the environment by reading books and magazines, such as "Ranger Rick." Tell others about what you have learned and how they can help. Put a litter bag in your car. Don't litter. Use a trash can. Carry an extra bag with you when you go to the park, beach, etc. and leave it cleaner than when you came. Use a pump bottle of hair spray instead of aerosols. Use stick deodorant instead of sprays Encourage your parents to use natural cleaning products, such as vinegar, baking soda, and ammonia. Don't burn trash or leaves, bag it or put it in a compost pile. Share a newspaper or magazine subscription with a neighbor or friend. Encourage your parents to use cloth diapers instead of plastic disposable diapers for younger brothers and sisters. Use white toilet paper. The dye in the colored paper pollutes the water. Decide what you want out of the refrigerator before you open it. Don't stand and leave the door open longer than necessary. Don't throw stuff in the ocean, rivers, lake, and streams. Raise money and support an organization that works to save the land and the animals. Instead of killing bugs, put them in a jar and take them back outside. Most bugs are beneficial to the environment. Ever time you cut down a tree, plant another one. When a tree has to be cut down, have it shredded and used as compost. After you are finished with your Christmas tree, put in your backyard as for a cover for wildlife or take to a park and have it shredded for compost. Take your old phone books to a recycling center. Ask your parents to use a phosphate free laundry detergent - check the labels. Use kitty litter or sand instead of salt for ice. Don't let the water run when brushing your teeth. Ask your parents to fix leaky faucets and toilets, so water is not wasted. Put a brick in your toilet tank to reduce the amount of water used to flush. Don't throw trash items in the toilet. It uses a lot of extra water to flush it away. Run wash machines and dryers only when you have a full load. Make sure to clean the lint filter on the dryer before every load; the dryer runs more efficiently with a clean filter, which means it uses less electricity. Collect the water that drips from your air conditioner and use it to water plants. Use rechargeable batteries instead of throw away ones. Use grass clippings in the garden. Write to President George Bush; 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW; Washington, D.C. 20500 and tell him how important cleaning up the air and water is to you. Find out about other issues to tell him about like your opinion on drilling for oil in Alaska. If you think something is hurting the environment, let your political leaders know how you feel. Don't buy furniture made from mahogany, rosewood, or teak - it comes from the rainforests in South America. Write to UNEP (United Nations Environment Program) for a free booklet that tells you can do for the air, water, and endangered species. Write to Friends of UNEP; 2013 Q Street, NW; Washington, D.C. 20009. Run the dishwasher only when there is a full load. Use one cup all day instead of getting a new cup every time you need a drink. Buy products from the bulk department of the grocery whenever possible - they have very little wasted packaging. Cut open plastic rings from six pack of soda before throwing them away. Animals can be trapped and injured or killed. Don't use paper plates. Use real plates and wash them. Don't dump paint water or other chemicals, such as paint thinner and gasoline into sewers or the ground. Find out what to do with them at your local EPA. When your parents change the oil in the car, ask them to take it to a garage or recycling center were it will be disposed of properly or recycled. Ask your parents if they have a catalytic converter on their car. Encourage your parents to have the pollution devices on their car checked and if they are inadequate, spend the money to have them fixed. Use a reusable fabric or plastic lunchbox instead of using a paper bag. In the winter, put more blankets on the bed and wear warmer clothes in the house so that you can turn the heat down. Turn the thermostat down when you are sleeping or when no one is home. During the summer, open windows or use less covers so you can turn off the air conditioner. Hang laundry outside to dry instead of using the dryer all the time. Make useable items from discarded items. You might make a bird feeder from a milk carton or plastic soda bottle. Buy milk in glass containers and return the bottles to the store to be reused OR recycle your plastic milk containers. Provide water in your backyard for wildlife. Use throw-away envelopes that come in the mail to bring money or notes to school. Close the door behind you when the heat or air conditioner is on in your home. Think about the toys that you buy. Don't buy fad toys that will be played with for a short time and then thrown away. Look for quality in the toys that you buy. Buy things that will last. When you've outgrown your toys, books, or clothes, give them to someone that can use them again. Don't keep exotic pets - many birds or trapped illegally and smuggled into the United States. Don't buy products made from endangered animals, such as jewelry made from ivory.