| From MomShack.com Children
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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Wendy Shepherd :CREATOR : OWNER : FOUNDER : Studio Matrix