What are ways inwhich we can help the environment?

Question

i need information...

[do not just speak out of your derriere to get point ]

Answer 1

RECYCLE!!!RECYCLE!!!!

Find programs near you; there should be lots of options.

          o toner cartridges

          o aluminum cans

          o newspapers

          o 2 liter plastic soda bottles

          o milk jugs

          o steel containers

          o organic material/cuttings

          o glass

          o telephone books

    * Stop Junk Mail -- The junk mail Americans receive in just one day is not only a nuisance, but could produce enough energy to heat a quarter of a million homes! If you saved up all the unwanted junk mail for one year, you would have the equivalent to one and a half trees, which would add up to 100 million trees every year in just the United States. To help stop junk mail, write to: Mail Preference Service, Direct Marketing Association, 11 West 42nd St., PO Box 3861, New York, NY 10163-3861. By writing to them, you can reduce junk mail by up to 75%. You can recycle the rest of the junk mail you receive.

    * Add a Low-Flow Faucet Aerator -- This is a simple device which you can attach to your water faucets at home. By attaching one of these devices, you can reduce water flow by 50%, and the water flow will seem stronger! If only 10,000 4-person households would install low-flow aerators, 33 million gallons of water would be saved yearly.

    * Change your Kitchen Habits -- Use reusable containers for food storage instead of wrapping food in foil or plastic wrap. You can also use unbleached coffee filters, which does not produce the deadly toxin dioxin in its manufacturing. Use rags to wipe up spills instead of paper towels, and use biodegradable wax paper and bags.

    * Check your hot water heater -- Did you know your hot water heater accounts for about 20% of all the energy used in your home? There are a few simple things you can do to save energy and save money. Turn your water heater down to 130 degrees, which is hot enough to kill deadly bacteria, and still save energy. Also, insulate your heater with a pre-fab 'blanket,' but be careful not to block off air vents on gas heaters. This can save you 7-8% of your energy usage. You can also drain 2 quarts (or 2 liters) of water from your hot water heater every 2 months from the valve at the bottom of the tank. This prevents accumulation of sediment and prolongs the life of your water heater.

    * Be aware of your paint you use -- Use latex paint instead of oil-based paint. Oil-based paint is highly toxic, and its manufacturing produces nasty pollutants. Dispose of paint as hazardous waste, or with latex paint you can let it evaporate outside for one year. Then, you can dispose of it with the rest of your trash. Don't clean your paintbrushes outside, because this can contaminate groundwater; clean them in a sink. Instead of trashing excess paint, you can donate it to a school or to someone else who needs to use it.

    * Tires -- Every 2 weeks, Americans wear out nearly 50 million pounds of rubber off their tires. This is enough rubber to manufacture 3 and a quarter million new tires from scratch! To help prevent this, you can inflate your tires well. This preserves the life of the tires and saves gas, which ultimately saves money.

    * Home Appliances -- Did you know that America's refrigerators consume 7% of the nation's electricity, which is the equivalent to more than 50% of the power generated by nuclear plants. To allow your fridge to run more efficiently, you should clean the condenser coils annually. By raising the temperature in your refrigerator by 10 degrees, you can save 25% of your energy. With air conditioners, you should clean or replace filters each month. This will save electricity and money.

    * Recharge Your Batteries -- Batteries contain heavy metals, such as mercury and cadmium, which have become a major source of contamination in dump sites. They either break apart and are released into the soil or are incinerated and the deadly heavy metals are released into the air. Did you know that the average annual use of mercury in batteries is over what the government limits in dump sites by four times. Here is what you can do to help: use batteries which are rechargeable. Recycle alkaline batteries if you can. They can extract the mercury and cadmium for reuse.

    * Shopping Bags -- Plastic bags are not biodegradable even if they say they are they do not decompose fully. Also the ink is made up of cadmium, and is highly toxic when it is released. Whereas paper bags are reusable and biodegradable. However supermarkets use paper that has never been recycled before and they always say "recyclable" not "recycled". Here is what you can do: if your purchase is small don't take any bag, this alone could save hundreds of millions of bags. Bring a cloth bag when you shop, or use string bags.

    * Clean Up Your Beach -- Our oceans provide the earth with most of our oxygen, moisture, and weather patterns. To keep our oceans clean we have to start with our beaches. Every year on September 23 there is a nationwide 3 hour clean up, sponsored by the Center for Marine Conservation. In 1987 around the nation over 2 million pounds of debris was picked up off our beaches. When you go to the beach you can help by bringing a trash bag and spend a little while picking up litter, or you can join a beach clean-up crew.

    * Do Not Buy products from endangered animals -- As little as ten years ago there were over 1.5 million elephants on the earth. Today there are only 750,000. By the year 2,000 they may become extinct. Over 80% of the ivory that is taken, is from elephants- Americans buy 30% of it. Over 6.5 million dolphins have been killed by tuna fisherman. Fisherman's nets can reach 3/4 miles long and whatever gets trapped in them, dies. To help you can: not buy endangered animal products and substitute your purchase to; albacore and bonita. Or boycott products from endangered animals (Iceland gave up some of their whaling because consumers wouldn't by it's fish).

    * Use Low Flush Toilets -- In your household, 40% of the pure water is flushed down the toilet. You can use small plastic bottles, filled with water or stones to displace the amount of water in toilets. This will cause it to be a "low-flush toilet," or you can use a displacement bag in your tank. Both save you 1-2 gallons per flush. You can also install toilet dams which causes part of the water in your tank not to run out with the flush. If you can, 2 dams can be installed. These alterations can save you one gallon per toilet dam. With a plastic bottle you will be saving 8-16 gallons of water every day (if you flush 8 times a day), 56-112 gallons per week, and 2,900-5,800 per year. If we had 100,000 families do this simple thing, we would save 290 million to 580 million gallons a year!

    * Beware of Your Showers -- If a four person family showers each day for 5-minutes, in one week they would use 700 gallons of water. This is enough water for a person to live off of for three years. You can buy either an aerated, or a nonaerated shower head which cuts your water output by 50%. The aerated is as if not more powerful than a regular shower head, it mixes air with the water. The nonaerated shower head pulses, but you get a good sprat and it can be called a "massage showerhead". With a family of four taking 5-minute showers, with a low-flow showerhead you can save at least 14,000 gallons of water a year. So if 100,000 families installed low-flow shower heads we would save 1.4 billion gallons.

    * Recycle Your Motor Oil -- In the United States we use about a billion gallons of motor oil each year, and about 350 million of it ends up in the environment. About 2.1 million tons of oil are deposited up in our rivers and streams every year. Motor Oil can seep down into our ground water supply. One quart contaminates 250,000 gallons of water. If you get your oil changed at a gas station make sure they will recycle your oil. If you change the oil yourself, take it to a gas station or oil-changing outlet which recycles oil. They will take yours, but you will have to pay anywhere from a quarter to a dollar (the cost for having it picked up).

    * Use Fluorescent Lighting -- Lighting results in 1/5 of the electricity consumed by the U.S. By using electricity we are contributing to global problems by making power plants and industrial business generate more polluting emissions. Using a fluorescent light bulb, which doesn't flicker or hum, is much more efficient than an incandescent bulb. They last longer and use 1/4 the amount of energy. A normal incandescent bulb lasts 750 hours but a fluorescent bulb will give off the same amount of light yet last for 7,500 to 10,000 hours with 1/3 of the wattage. Also within a fluorescent lightbulb's life time it will stop 1,000 pounds of carbon dioxide from going into the atmosphere, if it is substituted for the traditional bulb. Even though fluorescent lights are initially more expenseive (around $15) it will take 13 traditional bulbs to last for the same amount of time (figure the savings on that!). Saving you even more money a fluorescent light will cost you $10 for electricity during its life time, whereas during the same period incandescents use up $40. However you might want to use fluorescent lights more where you are going to be using it for long periods of time. They don't fit in some of the small lamps or covered fixtures. Here is an interesting fact. By installing a single fluorescent light bulb in 100 million households in America, you would save the energy equivalent of all of the energy that is generated by a nuclear power plant running full time, over the course of one year.

    * Balloon Releases -- You should never release helium ballons into the air. Balloons cause the death for countless numbers of sea turtles and whales. Balloons cause them to suffocate or starve to death (

Answer 2

Do not run your air conditioner more than 23 hours per day.

Do not run your air conditioner lower than 45 degrees.

Cut back on your use of public transportation. You probably do not realize how much energy a city bus uses.

Put all trash in the regular trash. The George Bush wackos do not tell you this but putting things in rthe recycle bin only causes a greater use of energy. Remember all trash gets recycled regardless which is unknown to most people.

Al Gore recommends using the old fashioned light bulbs since they are cheaper and in the long run save energy. THe money you save MR Gore recommends giving to the Sierra Club.

Answer 3

By creating awareness in your surrounding like U may establish environment club and show how one can practically contribute. In the club u can organize discussion forums, planting trees, cleaning ur area, posting weekly messages in the public board and so forth. Hope U will try one of these.

Lots of luck.

Answer 4

Use environmentally friendly concentrated products to clean your house (not the stuff in the stores that are only 10% bio-degradable but good quality products that actually save you money as well),  don't drive unless you have to, don't smoke or litter and be as energy conserving as possible.

Answer 5

turn off the lights whenever you think you'll be away from a room for more than 15 mins?

just go to the library and check out an environmental book.

True Green, by Kim McKay and Jenny Bonnin is a good one because it has simple tips without getting boring.

( there are pics through out =]P )

Answer 6

I have a HUUUUGE list available at www agua-luna com it's like 33 pages long and would just spam this whole answer. But here's a few cut from the list below. if you'd like the entire list feel free to visit www agua-luna com or email me through the site directly and I’ll send you a copy.

Also Agua-Luna com now offers Carbon Offsetting Credits, since our Team of Volunteers is already accomplishing several carbon eliminating projects, we’re now converting the carbon offsets to you. Visit www agua-luna com for a FREE carbon calculator to calculate your carbon footprint for free and more info on carbon credits.

You could also Volunteer with us, planting a tree or working on a Sustainable Renewable Energy Building Project in Mexico with us. Again see www agua-luna com for more info.

I also do some free consulting, there's more info on the site about that too. Here’s some more ways to help the environment…

Recycle paper, cardboard, newsprint and magazines.

Recycle aluminum cans.

Recycle all batteries.

Recycle and reuse. Roughly 50% of the average person's trash can be recycled. Don't forget that hazardous waste like batteries, your printer's ink cartridges, and cell phones can be recycled too! Find out how and where to recycle in your area. Always buy recycled paper. Just 1 ton of recycled paper saves 17 trees.

Just because your community doesn't pick up all recyclables on the curb, it doesn't mean there are not viable alternatives nearby. Check with dry cleaners, supermarkets, manufacturers, your local public works department and civic organizations to find out where recycled goods can be dropped off, at a location near you.

Did you know that just in 1995 alone, recycled toner cartridges kept over 21,000 tons of trash out of landfills? Believe it or not, now you can recycle your printer's toner cartridges! Every year, Americans throw out enough printer cartridges to stretch from Los Angeles to New York City and back again. Toner cartridges can be recycled, having just as good a performance as an unrecycled cartridge. To recycle your toner cartridges, find a local business that does printer cartridge recycling, or contact the manufacturer of your current toner cartridge and ask about a cartridge recycling program.

Not only should you recycle, but buy products that are recycled. By purchasing these products, you are helping to conserve natural resources, and to protect the environment.

Wash clothes in cold water.

Hot water is unnecessary for most clothes. When needed, use warm water.

Fill your toilet tank.

Put a plastic bottle or two, filled with water and rocks, in your tank to reduce the amount of water used in each flush.

Clean your filters.

Clean the filters of your air-conditioners once a month to improve energy efficiency. While you’re at it, change your car’s filters as recommended in your manual.

Get a low-flow shower head.

Stop at the hardware store on your way home, and get a low-flow shower head. Takes a few minutes to install, and it’ll save gallons of water a day.

Lower your thermostats.

If you use heating, get by with less heat and wear warmer clothes. If you use air-conditioning, get by with less cooling and wear cooler clothes.

If it’s a nice sunny day, hanging clothes only takes a few minutes, and you’re using solar power instead of electricity to do the job. It also makes your clothes last longer.

Turn down your water heater.

Most people have their water heater’s thermostat turned up too high, wasting energy. Turn it down to 130 degrees, saving energy but still hot enough to kill bacteria.

Use CFC light bulbs.

If your light bulb burns out, replace it with a Compact Flourescent bulb (those spiral-looking ones). They’re more expensive, but if you just replace them one at a time, it doesn’t cost much, and the energy savings is great. And as they last longer, over the long run, you’ll save money.

Wash and dry only full loads of laundry and dishes.

Follow your community's water use restrictions or guidelines.

Install a low-flow shower head.

If you are not looking to change your car just yet there are a number of ways you can be more environmentally friendly and help you save money by conserving fuel.

Lighten your car to reduce weight by not carrying unnecessary items.

Cut your speed and stick to the speed limits

Drive smoothly avoiding heavy accelerating and braking.

When stationary for a long time, switch off the engine.

Closing windows will make the car more efficient by being more aerodynamic.  Remove roof bars when not is use also helps.

Make sure your tyres are properly inflated as under inflated tyres cause more resistance.

Where possible, walk, cycle or even use public transport.  

If possible lift share to reduce the number of cars on the road.

Try mass transit.

Millions of people use it, and it saves tons of fuel. If you don’t already, give it a try.

Unload your car.

Remove excess weight from your car (such as stuff that might be in the trunk) to reduce the amount of fuel you use.

Walk instead of drive.

You don’t have to do this all the time, but walking the short trip to a store, or to lunch from work, or some other short trip like that, can reduce the amount of fuel you use over the long term, and you shed some fat at the same time. Or at least burn off that morning donut.

Buy a smaller car.

You won’t be able to do this today, probably, but the next time you’re in the market for an automobile, get a smaller and energy-efficient car rather than a big, lumbering one. It’s one of the best things you can do to reduce your fuel consumption.

Inflate your tires.

Many people don’t realize that their tires are under-inflated. Check the recommended pressure for your tires, and fill them up to that pressure. It only takes a few minutes, but it will save you on fuel consumption (a little) and more importantly, make your tires last longer and reduce the rubber that’s worn off your tires.

Get creative with gift-giving. The gift of time, services, or environmentally positive gifts may be more appreciated than disposable goods that are not to the taste or needs of the recipient.

Look into those lifestyle changes you’ve been putting off

Work from home more. Many organisations, when prodded a little, will accept flexible work arrangements where there is no impact to the work that needs to get done.

Use your oven less.

The oven not only uses a lot of energy, it heats up your kitchen, requiring more cooling. Instead, use toaster ovens, crockpots, microwaves, and electric grills when you can. And when you do use your oven, open it less - you lose 25% of the heat every time you open the oven door.

Mend your stuff.

Try not to throw stuff away and buy new stuff if the old stuff can be fixed. Torn clothing? Takes a few minutes to sew up.

Install a water filter.

If you buy a lot of bottled water, use your tap instead. Some places need a filter to make tap water taste drinkable, but they don’t cost much and they can save money, water, and plastic bottles over time.

Unplug appliances.

If you don’t use an appliance several times a day, it’s better to unplug it, as they often use energy even when turned off

Use rechargeable batteries.

Instead of throwing your batteries away all the time, reuse rechargeable batteries. Costs a little more, but cheaper in the long run.

When you’re looking to buy appliances, be sure to research the most energy-efficient ones. They may cost a little more, but they’ll more than make up for that in the long run with lower energy bills.

Buy a smaller home.

The next time you’re home-shopping, instead of buying the McMansion, look for a smaller home that’s big enough to meet your needs comfortably. Reducing the amount of stuff you own is a good way to need less house. It’s cheaper, and requires less energy to heat and cool. And easier to clean at the same time.

Look for energy efficiency.

Use acryllic paint.

Compost.

It’s not hard to set one up (look it up online), and you can save a lot of waste from the landfill and help your garden at the same time

Water grass early in the morning.

Reduces the amount of water you need to keep your grass looking fabulous.

Plant shade trees near your house.

It’ll take awhile before they can make a difference, but shade trees greatly reduce the need to cool a home.

Coat your roof.

This’ll take up an afternoon, but you only have to do it once every few years. And it’ll save you a lot of money and energy in heating and cooling over the long-term, more than making up for the cost of paint.

Avoid fast food.

Instead, eat at home or at a sit-down restaurant. Fast food restaurants are one of the worst polluters of the environment, both in the massive amounts of beef they must raise, in the wasted packaging, and in the energy they use in so many ways. And they’re tremendously unhealthy.

Buy a manual reel mower or electric mower.

If you’re looking for a new lawn mower, and you have a small yard, consider getting a manual one. They’re much advanced from the reel mowers of our grandparents’ generation, much quieter, cheaper, and they save on fuel and pollution. Electric mowers are also quieter and use much less energy.

Clean up.

Hope this helped, feel free to contact me personally if you have any questions if you’d like assistance in making your first self sufficient steps, I’m willing to walk you step by step threw the process. I’ve written several how-to DIY guides available at  www agua-luna com on the subject. I also offer online and on-site workshops, seminars and internships to help others help the environment.

Dan Martin

Alterative Energy / Sustainable Consultant, Living 100% on Alternative & Author of How One Simple Yet Incredibly Powerful Resource Is Transforming The Lives of Regular People From All Over The World... In

Answer 7

Demand that your two Senators vote against Harry Reid as Senate Majority leader, because he is blocking the safe storage  of nuclear wastes at the Yucca Mountain site in favor of non- secure storage at nuke plants all across the USA.