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Last Updated: Jun 29th, 2008 - 19:59:12 |
Teaching Your Kids to Go Green
By Rondi Hillstrom Davis and Janell Sewall Oakes
Apr 14, 2008, 23:58
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18 Earth Friendly Ways the Whole Family Can Help the Environment
Kermit the Frog said, "It's not easy being green." But these days "going green"
is a hot topic everywhere. What's fashionable now was simply pragmatic to our
grandparent's generation. We seem to be coming full circle.
Earth Day,
April 22, was started in 1970 by Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson as a
grassroots effort to raise environmental awareness. Since then, it has expanded
into an international day of awareness and activism.
Here are some
things you can do on Earth Day and every day to help the environment at home, at
school, and in your neighborhood.
1. Take a 5-minute shower instead of a
bath. You can save up to 2,000 gallons of water a year.
2. Turn off the
water while brushing your teeth and you'll save 2 gallons of water.
3.
Stop buying bottled water. Up to 40% of bottled water comes from the same source
as tap water, but it is sold back to consumers at hundreds of times the cost.
Producing bottles to meet Americans' demand required more than 17 million
barrels of oil last year – enough fuel for more than 1 million U.S. cars for a
year - and generated more than 2.5 million tons of carbon dioxide. Billions of
these bottles wind up in landfills every year. Corporations are seeking to
profit from water itself by bottling it and turning it into a $100 billion
global market. By 2025, two-thirds of the world's population – more than five
billion people– will lack access to water. Source: thinkoutsidethebottle.org
4. Pack school lunches in reusable bags and washable containers. Use a
lunch box. Buy bandanas to use as napkins. The average person generates 4.5
pounds of trash every day. Think about the amount of packaging there is in
single serving containers of yogurt and applesauce. How much time does it really
take to spoon applesauce into Tupperware? You'll save money, too.
5. Use
cloth towels instead of paper towels. Hang up your bath towel so it can be used
again.
6. Carpool.
6. Just say, "no" to a bag at checkout. Keep
reusable bags in the car for grocery shopping. Or better yet, get a tote bag.
7. Plant a tree. The average tree can absorb 48 pounds of carbon dioxide
a year.
8. Plant a garden with your kids. Go organic. It's a great way
to teach kids about caring for the earth and living organisms. Use native plants
that are accustomed to your climate.
9. Start a compost pile. Winter is
over and it's time to start planting. You can make your own fertilizer and
reduce waste at the same time. Your garden will thank you.
10. Pick up
any garbage left behind at the park or soccer field.
11. Donate old
clothes and toys to be passed on and used by someone else. The average American
throws away 68 pounds of clothes and fabrics a year.
12. Donate books to
a secondhand shop or used bookstore. Continue the cycle. Buy secondhand products
whenever possible.
13. Turn off the TV and computer when they are not in
use.
14. Turn off the lights when you leave a room. Listen to your mother.
You've heard it your entire life.
15. Set up recycling bins for paper,
aluminum cans, glass and plastic bottles at school and at home. Paper accounts
for 40% of solid waste in the United States, which is about 72 million tons
annually. Recycling reduces the amount of waste in landfills. Source:
becomegreen.info
16. Properly dispose of batteries. You can prevent
hazardous materials from leaking into our soil and water systems.
17.
Recyle obsolete electronic items such as computers and TVs. Find your nearest
location here.
Americans get rid of about 130 million mobile phones every year. That's about
65,000 tons of cell phones. Source: becomegreen.info
18. Calculate your
Carbon Footprint. Reduce your impact on the environment. A Carbon Footprint
measures the impact our activities have in terms of the amount of greenhouse
gases we produce. How
big is yours?
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About
the Author(s) : Rondi Hillstrom Davis and Janell Sewall Oakes are the co-authors of the award
winning book Together: Creating Family Traditions. To check out their
website that's jam packed with family ideas, visit www.TogetherParenting.com |
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