What are things we can do to live a green life/save the environment?

Question

What are things we can do to live a green life/save the environment?

Answer 1

Tons of stuff!  Cut your water short, carpool, unplug phone chargers or anything else that is plugged in (not your TV or computer unless you are going away)- because even though they're not charging, they're still using energy.  Switch to energy saving light bulbs, DON'T USE STYROFOAM!!!  (it's horrible fore the environment, and is rarely recycled)  Recycle, of course, get a hybrid car, (only if you want to) and make sure your thermostat isn't too high.  If you can go down just 2 degrees, that's fine.

Answer 2

yeh what she said.

Answer 3

Recycle/reuse; don't throw away thoughtlessly.  Donate whatever is still usable to someone else.  Give wire hangers to a dry cleaners or laundromat.  Clear out your clutter four times a year and donate it to a local charity.  And/or join your local Freecycle:

http://www.freecycle.org/

You can donate cellphones you no longer want:

http://www.phones4charity.org/

http://www.rbrc.org/call2recycle/

http://www.recellular.com/recycling/

You can donate worn-out sneakers:

http://www.letmeplay.com/reuseashoe

Use energy-efficient appliances:

http://www.energystar.gov/

and replace your old light bulbs with energy efficient ones:

http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=li...

Recycle plastics #1 and 2, glass, aluminum (some places will pay by the pound for pop cans), paper & paperboard, etc.

Use relatively nontoxic ingredients for safe and healthy cleaning around the home.  Examples are white vinegar, salt, lemon juice, borax, baking soda, washing soda, & club soda.  

http://www.angelfire.com/cantina/homemak...

http://www.dialcorp.com/index.cfm?page_i...

http://www.wisebread.com/254-uses-for-vi...

http://www.versatilevinegar.org/usesandt...

http://www.thelaundrybasket.com/Our_Prod...

You can probably find many books on cleaning "green" at your local library, which is an excellent source for music, movies, sometimes even video games & artwork as well.  Sharing with others instead of purchasing your own is another way of being thrifty with your resources, both financial and material.

Shop secondhand at thrift stores, garage sales, clothing consignment shops, used bookstores, and secondhand music & movie stores.  I don't mean that you can never buy something nice and new at a retail store--that's too fun to cut out completely (at least for me)!  But anytime you do choose to shop secondhand, you know that you are helping to save the earth as well as helping your pocketbook.

For more info and ideas, check out:

http://www.greenerchoices.org/

Answer 4

this link is easy to read and gives you some different ideas on how to be green AND save $$$>

http://www.gomestic.com/Personal-Finance...

Answer 5

My fiance & I eat ALL organic & I am a vegitarian because I feel that humans have lost respect for animals

Answer 6

Here's 10 things that can actually save you money and help the environment.

1. Get rid of your car and use public transportation, your feet, or a bicycle. The average family would save $1200 a month if they weren't paying for vehicles, gas, plates, or insurance.

2. Live close to work. See above!

3. Only one five minute shower a day! You're just as clean after five minute as you are after twenty and you're water bill will go down and your faucets last longer if you cut down on the water.

4. Put off buying new carpets or remodeling a home for at least two years. Most homes are remodeled or recarpeted every four years. Waiting just two more will not change the appearance of the carpet much, but will prevent the trash from remodeling/recarpeting six times in one human generation.

5. Don't buy new appliances until the old ones QUIT. Don't go buy something new and throw away the old just because somebody said it used a fraction less energy. Energy savings is more than offset by the number of functional appliances taking up room in landfills.

6. Get a motion detector yard light so the darn thing can be off if there's nothing going on! Saves electricity.

7. Wash clothes when the are dirty, not just because they were worn for five minutes. Your nose and eyes will tell you when they're dirty. Reducing laundry by one load a week can save hundreds of gallons of water and several bottles of detergent in a year's time.

8. If you have to own a car DON'T wash the stupid thing. It's not going to run longer, get better gas mileage or anything else if you wash it, but it IS going to cost money and water.

9. Own an apartment, not a house. Apartments don't have yards with acres of grass that has to be watered, and several families can live inside the same building footprint reducing land and habitat destroyed by buildings.

10. This is actually probably the best one: Get a pedal powered generator to run non-essential home electronics: TV, video games, computer, those sorts of things. Decreases obesity and related problems, while reducing the electric bill and dependence on fossil fuel or water powered generation.

Happy green living!

Answer 7

Save 25% if your income and give it to a carbon credit scam to assuage your guilt.

Answer 8

We can do a lot about not damaging the Environment more,and be more frugal or economic with our Natural resources ,since we get an additional 70 million people every year with an accumulative factor included ,

And we can do a lot about contaminations,especially of the soil,Air and water.

water conservation

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;...

pollution

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;...

ECO FRIENDLY BEHAVIOR

The best we can do as individuals is be more responsible ,in our own neck of the woods

Organize well publicized clean up parties ,talk on the radio

Have citizen meetings

Get the schools involved to plant trees and listen to environmental awareness talks,

If you do any cleaning up leave signs behind saying who cleaned,why and ask people not to start dumping rubbish again ,leave a hole or bins ,in case people come with trash ,

POSITIVE ACTIONS)

Classify trash take out all the organic waste and make compost with it ,the worst you can do is throw it with the trash

70% of contamination is due to organic waste that is mixed in with the garbage .

And it is just as bad in the sewer where it helps to breed rats and in the landfill it poisons the ground

And it is the easiest to take care of

o first of all we have to classify trash at least keep the organic to one side ,like in a plastic bin with a lid

If you got a few meters of ground ,you only need 1 or 2 square meters in a shallow hole ,in the shade ,that you can wet now and again ,where you dump everything that is organic ,from toilet paper,bones vegetable cuttings ,eggshells,,,excrement ,and cover regularly with leaves to keep humid and to hide any smell

the worms will come and decompose the wastes turning it into beautiful black soil for the garden of flower pots .

If you are in a apartment ,if you have a balcony get a big plastic bin drill some holes in the side and lid ,

Add a few buckets of sand now and again to put over the trash ,you should really stir or move the stuff at times to aerate it and ensure that the decomposition is overall ,keep moist

This rubbish does not get big very fast and the thing works for a long time with out getting full

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these are Al gores sites

http://events.stepitup2007.org/............

http://www.stepitup2007.org/

http://events.stepitup2007.org/............

If you want to help the planet ,plant a tree every week ,if everyone on the planet did we we would be able to slowdown the destructive processes

Reduce carbon emissions,and they are already working on that by alternative forms of energy and regulations on carbon producing materials,aerosol cans,burning rubbish,industrial chimneys,power plants etc.

Water harvesting projects ,such as millions of small dams.to redirect over ground water flows from the rains into the ground to supply subterranean water supplies.

The protection of existing forests.

Stop building more highways,urban planning to include vegetation stop building cities encourage people to return to the land to conduct their business from there which now has become possible thanks to the internet.

Education to motivate people to auto sufficiency by building more home food gardens.

Education on environmental awareness

education on family planning to curb over´population

Agricultural education and improvements to follow the principals or sustainability and soil management.

More environmental or land ,design to prevent bush fires,such as--fire breaks

More dams.regulations and control for public behavior

Alternative efficient public transport to discourage the use of the internal combustion engine

101 Ways To Live More Ecologically,may be you find something that applies to you

1. Avoid disposable in favor of reusable

items.

2. Avoid drying rags in a clothes dryer.

3. Avoid power appliances when hand power works.

4. Avoid highly processed foods.

5. Avoid using styro foam—it can't be recycled.

6. Avoid watering driveways and sidewalks.

7. Be responsible and creative with leftover foods.

8. Buy in bulk goods to reduce wasted packaging.

9. Buy energy efficient electric appliances.

10. Buy foods without additives.

11. Buy foods without preservatives.

12. Buy food and goods from sources you trust

13. Buy large quantities to reduce shopping trips.

14. Buy living Christmas trees.

15. Buy locally grown food and produce.

16. Buy organic, pesticide-free foods.

17. Compost your food scraps.

18. Discover and protect watersheds in your area,

19. Don't burn trash or other smoky materials.

20. Drain cooking grease onto paper bags, not paper towels.

21. Drive a fuel-efficient car.

22. Drive less: walk, bicycle, carpooland use public transportation.

23. Eat foods low on the food chain; avoid meat.

24. Eat more natural, nutritious foods.

25. Educate elected representatives on ecology.

26. Exercise regularly.

27. Explore and learn about your bio region.

28. Grow your own food, even a small amount.

29. Hang dry some or all of your clothes.

30. Heat your home less and wear warmer clothes.

31. Heat your home more with renewable energies.

32. Hold a potluck dinner to discuss local ecology.

33. If you use a dishwasher, turn off the drying cycle.

34. Install a water-conserving device in your toilets.

35. Install a water-conserving shower head.

36. Insulate your home to maximum efficiency.

37. Invest for social responsibility as well as profit.

38. Invest in solar power, where practical.

39. Invest in well-made, long-lived clothing.

40. Keep hazardous chemicals in safe containers.

41. Keep appliance motors well adjusted for efficiency.

42. Mend and repair rather than discard and replace.

43. Oppose meddling in ecological balance.

44. Oppose private development of special areas.

45. Oppose roadside use of defoliants.

46. Organize or join a neighborhood toy exchange.

47. Pick up litter along streets and highways.

48. Plant native trees and shrubs around your home.

49. Plant trees throughout your community.

50. Plant your living Christmas tree.

51. Practice preventive health care.

52. Practice responsible family planning.

53. Prepare only as much food as will be eaten.

54. Protect your favorite distinctive natural areas.

55. Purchase goods in reusable/recyclable containers.

56. Put a catalytic converter on your wood stove.

57. Put toxic substances out of reach of children.

58. Recycle aluminum.

59. Recycle glass.

60. Recycle newspaper.

61. Recycle old clothes.

62. Recycle plastic.

63. Recycle used motor oil.

64. Recycle your unneeded items.

65. Re-use paper bags.

66. Re-use plastic bags for storage and waste.

67. Save up for full loads in clothes washers.

68. Save up for full loads in dishwasher.

69. Shop by phone, then go pick up your purchases.

70. Speak out about your values in community groups.

71. Support efficient energy sources in your bioregion.

72. Support elected representatives on ecological issues.

73. Support energy conservation in your bioregion.

74. Support global ecological improvement efforts.

75. Support local credit unions.

76. Support local merchants before large chains.

77. Support neighborhood food cooperatives.

78. Support proper waste water and sewage treatment.

79. Support the cultural diversity in your bio region.

80. Support the plants and animals in your community.

81. Take shorter showers.

82. Teach your children ecological wisdom.

83. Turn down the thermostat on your water heater.

84. Turn off the lights when not needed.

85. Turn off the water while you brush your teeth.

86. Use biodegradable soaps and detergents.

87. Use cloth diapers.

88. Use cloth table napkins.

89. Use less tap water whenever possible.

90. Use non-toxic pest control.

91. Use only medications you trust/understand.

92. Use rags or towels instead of paper.

93. Use rechargeable batteries.

94. Use the second side of paper for scratch paper.

95. Use water from cooking vegetables to make soup.

96. Volunteer for work in a community garden.

97. Volunteer to maintain local parks and wilderness.

98. Wash clothes in cold water.

99. Wash dishes in still, not running water.

100. Weather-seal your home.

101. Work to unlearn poor ecological habits

Answer 9

trju

Answer 10

Keep honing your awareness.  Watch out for all those little "conveniences" that we have become accustomed to, like paper cups at Starbucks -- bring your own reusable travel mug.  Think about the packing involved with your purchase.  Can you buy the same thing with less impact?  Buy reconditioned appliances instead of new ones, when practical (sometimes older models are less energy efficient, though).Communicate with producers about changes you would like to see in their products.  Use less bags -- bring your own, get some tote bags.  The more we look for ways to be gentler on the earth and each other, the more we will discover about what we can do.