As I read through the aforementioned book, I'll return to this page and edit it with more helpful hints. I added a couple others as well.
Garden and home
Recycle. Paper, cans, bottles, plastic, electronics, ex. Even old beds, ex, can be donated places.
Eat less meat.
Try to keep stuff out of landfills.
Start a compost bin. Or you can even bury some stuff around your garden if you don't have room for a bin. And non-recyclable paper (like used kleenex) is biodegradable too.
Use your yard waste cans. You can arrange for compost pickup if you don't get it already.
Be careful when disposing of paint.
Fix appliances instead of getting rid of them.
Donate old glasses. There's lots of people that can't afford their own.
Donate leftover medicines. People in developing countries die from lack of simple medicines.
When packing lunches, try to avoid plastic bags and other disposable wrappers. Use reusable containers for food and drinks.
Avoid plastic wrap. You can put a plate over a dish to help keep it fresh.
When printing from your computer, only print the stuff you need. You can recycle the ink cartridges too.
Find places that refill containers of laundry detergent, ex, so you don't have to keep buying new bottles.
Don't print out receipts that you don't need.
You can do online banking so you don't have to print out as many pages.
Know how banks invest the money they get from you? Figure out if their investments are environmentally friendly.
You can donate magazines to doctor offices so other people can read them in waiting rooms.
Use both sides of paper.
Make companies stop sending you junk mail. This will save you a lot of paper.
Don't get a telephone book if you're never gonna use it.
Don't waste food. If you think some food is about to go bad, figure out something to make with it. Soup, maybe? That can use lots of ingredients, and you can freeze it for later (my Mom makes the best soup...)
Don't use antibacterial soap or hand sanitizer. It may kill 99% of bacteria, but that remaining 1% will be more resistant to the soap. And slowly you get bacteria who are unaffected by antibacterial stuff. Just use normal soap.
For cleaners/laundry detergents, ex, don't use more tan the recommended amount. More doesn't work better.
You can make household cleaners out of water and baking soda.
You can find natural remedies for a lot of problems, including medicine.
Moth balls keep moths away for a reason. They're not good. They can cause lung and nervous system damage. You can use lavender and cedar chips instead.
Vinegar and baking soda can be used for cleaning.
Don't use air fresheners. There's other ways to make your house smell good - candles, incense, plants, ex.
Don't litter. Clean it up when you can. Especially in the wilderness.
When hiking, don't leave the path and trample the plants.
Try not to let seeds travel on your pants or shoes to places they don't belong.
When you go on vacation, make sure to turn electronics and everything off.
If you have to remodel your house, go with a green plan.
Ventilate your house. Yes, toxins and stuff can build up in your house. Not good for you.
Get double pane windows.
Watch out for erosion in your yards. Put mulch on open dirt to keep it from blowing or leaking away. Don't let gutters, ex, empty onto bare dirt. Put a buffer there.
Plant native plants. Since they're adapted to the habitat, you don't need to use as much water, pesticides, or fertilizers.
Weed by hand. Herbicides are bad.
Water your plant later in the day, when less of it will evaporate.
Your grass may die out in the summer. That's OK. It'll come back when the weather gets cooler. Don't waste too much water on it.
Don't water your plants if it's gonna rain.
Use mulch. It holds water in and prevents weeds from growing.
To keep away slugs, surround plants with ash or crushed eggshell. Also, slugs don't like herbs, so you can plant herbs around.
To kill weeds, you can pour hot water on them.
Think about a green roof.
Try growing your own food.
Use a manual lawn mower. Rake and sweep instead of using leaf blowers. You can get a workout, reduce noise, and reduce energy all at once. I always rake, sweep, and mow by hand.
Don't use herbicides/pesticides/fertilizers if you're near water.
Plant trees.
Use a broom/rake instead of those loud, obnoxious leaf blowers. Your neighbors will thank you for it too.
Use biological pest controls. You can plant marigolds to attract good bugs (that eat the bad bugs). You can actually plant plants that pests like, in order to draw the pests away from the plants you actually care about (called trap crops).
You can make organic pest sprays.
If you need to use pesticides in your garden, don't use pesticides that kill everything. Some bugs are essential to have around.
For a Christmas Tree, why not use a live tree in a pot? Even if you don't, make sure your old tree goes to compost, not a landfill.
During Christmas, try to find ways of wrapping where boxes and paper don't all end up in landfills.
Purchases
Buy in bulk.
Buy better quality stuff that lasts longer.
Buy eco-friendly stuff. Biodegradable, non-toxic, made with renewable, organic materials, ex.
Don't buy products with a lot of packaging.
Don't buy stuff you don't think you'll want to keep.
Avoid products that were tested on animals. The Humane Cosmetics Standard approves the good products.
If you want to get someone flowers, get a live plant. Bouquets are often transported from far away.
You can buy used stuff instead of new stuff.
Buy products that will last a long time and can be easily fixed.
Buy clothes made from organic materials. Lots of fake materials don't biodegrade.
Glass can be recycled infinitely. Buy stuff in glass bottles instead of plastic, but make sure to recycle!
By products made of recycled materials.
Buy Retreaded tires.
Quit smoking. Tobacco farming is not sustainable, plus there's lots of bad stuff in the smoke. At least don't chuck your cigarette stubs on the ground. Not only is it litter, but cigarette stubs have been known to start fires under certain circumstances.
Get biodegradable sunblock. The normal kind is bad for the rivers and lakes you swim in.
If there's a new baby in the family, their fast growth means you need new clothes all the time. Try not to buy new clothes, since they'll only fit for a short while. You can borrow, buy used, ex.
If you have a baby, use washable diapers. Not disposable ones.
Don't buy plywood, which has lots of chemicals. Buy wood that's certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. Buy sustainable, local wood.
Use less makeup.
Discourage disposable cups. Bring reusable cups if you're going to get a drink somewhere.
Limit dry-cleaning, or find places that use "wet cleaning" or liquid CO2.
If you're only gonna use tools a couple times, you don't need to buy them. You can borrow them.
Use low phosphate or phosphate free soaps.
Choose paints without harmful ingredients. Get natural paints.
Buy organic cotton.
Use reusable grocery bags.
Don't buy people gifts if you think they're just going to throw them away.
Buy fair-trade products. They're more environmentally friendly, and they're better to their employees.
Eat less meat and animal products.
Buy organic food.
Buy free range meat.
But fruits that are in season so they don't have to be shipped around the world.
Buy from local sources and farmers markets.
Beware of genetically modified organisms. Most of our food includes them. They're not really labeled, and we have no idea what they're doing to our bodies.
Avoid fast-food places.
Buy sustainably caught or farmed fish.
Don't buy endangered animals for food.
Buy seafood products that are certified by the Marine Stewardship Council.
Try buying heirloom fruits and vegetables, not just the generic brands.
If you go to a restaurant, eat in instead of getting food to go (it reduces packaging.)
You can buy carbon offsets.
When planning a vacation, try to choose environmentally friendly places.
Adopt an animal from a shelter, not from a pet store.
Energy
Open the window and use the beautiful sun to light your room during the day. Don't have lights on for no reason.
Turn off lights and TVs and stuff if you're not in the room. A simple and effective way to save energy.
Turn your computer off overnight. Seriously.
Put your computer on sleep instead of using screen savers, which don't really save energy.
Unplug electronic stuff you won't be using for a while. Even when turned off, TVs and lights and stuff still drain some energy. You can get one of those strip things where you plug in several things at once, and then you can turn the whole strip off at once.
Unplug chargers if they're not charging anything. They'll drain energy whenever they're plugged in.
You can turn down your heater a little bit. Heating takes up a lot of energy, and you can always wear a jacket.
Limit air conditioning too. Open windows, use window shades, and plant trees around the house to keep it cool.
Fridges take lots of energy too. Let hot dishes cool before you put them in the fridge.
Don't let ice build up in the freezer.
Make sure fridge/freezer doors close and seal properly.
Check that your appliances are working good and not taking more energy than they should.
Do you really have to use your treadmill when you can run around the block?
You can turn your oven off a couple minutes before the food's done. The oven will stay hot enough to finish the job.
Keep a lid on cooking pots.
You can let frozen food sit out and start to defrost. You don't need to heat it up.
Digital clocks take more energy than clocks with hands.
You can always hang-dry some of your laundry.
Don't leave the fridge/freezer open to long.
Gas ovens use less energy than electric ovens.
Use rechargeable batteries.
Get energy-efficient light bulbs.
You don't need to have your washing machine on hot for it to be effective. You can tun it on low. And don't use prewash.
Get efficient dishwashers.
Clean dust off light bulbs.
Replace Christmas lights with LED's.
Don't have the oven on too high.
Don't heat a big pan on a small burner.
Keep your fridge and freezer at the proper temperatures.
Wood heating is better than electric or gas. And burning wood only released the CO2 that the plant absorbed while it was alive.
Don't stay up really late if you can help it. It takes a lot of energy in lighting (and there are negative effects to your body).
When you deal with your energy bills and stuff, choose to get some of your electricity from renewable sources.
Insulate your house.
You can get a solar thermal collector to heat water.
If you need to buy a new appliance, get an energy-efficient one. And you can make some simple modifications to older appliances to make them a little better, like radiators.
Recycle old appliances and anything electronic (Although you should recycle as many things as you can). A lot of that sort of stuff is built with toxic chemicals and should NOT be put in a landfill. And they take a lot of energy to make.
Recycle batteries.
It can be inefficient to throw away an older appliance to buy a newer, more efficient product because of the amount of energy that goes into making something new.
Recycle old oil.
Transportation
Take public transportation as much as possible.
Bike and walk to places that are nearby.
If you live in a city, you don't need to own a car. You can use public transportation, carpool, bike, or rent a car if you need to. Cars are expensive. You have to buy one, pay for gas, parking, maintenance, ex.
For some businesses, instead of driving to a meeting, try to do them over phone or computer.
Don't take the plane for trips that are fairly close by.
When going by plane, take as little luggage as possible. The heavier the plane, the more fuel it uses.
An electric scooter or bike?
If school is close, walk to it.
Carpool.
If you need a new car, go with a green one. Something gas-efficient, or a hybrid if you an afford it.
Drive a little slower. The faster you go, the less efficient your car is. You can save a lot of energy by going a 60 mph. I rarely go much faster than that. And I'm never late either.
You don't need to have your car sit still while it warms up. Just drive slowly at first.
Check the air filters on your car. Dirty filters reduce the efficiency of your car.
Rent a green car.
Keep your car in good order.
Roof racks on your car increase the drag. Trailers make for better gas efficiency.
Opening the windows on your car increases drag and gas use.
Keep your car tires filled so they don't wear out as fast.
Try not to drive on very hot days, because that's when pollution in the cities is the worst.
Be cautious when driving off-road vehicles so you don't destroy nature.
Don't accelerate or break too hard when driving.
Tourists can cause a lot of damage to natural habitat through sheer numbers. Be careful when you visit a natural place, especially if it's already in a bad state.
If you're going camping, try to choose the off season so there's less of an impact from human overload.
When visiting developing countries, bring some of your garbage home, like batteries and plastic so they can be properly recycled/disposed of.
Water
Turn off the water when you wash dishes of brush your teeth.
If you're hand washing dishes, use a basin of water instead of letting the tap run.
Don't buy bottled water. Use a water filter for your tap.
Buy a reusable water bottle (but not made out of the bad kind of plastic).
Collect rainwater for your plants. You can use a bucket, or install a collection system.
You can reuse water. Noodle water, or water for washing veggies can be used to water plants.
Boil only as much water as you need.
Baths take a lot of water.
Don't take long showers.
When you're letting the water run to heat it up, catch some of it in a bucket to use in the garden, ex.
You can buy a water efficient dishwasher.
If you have a good dishwasher, you don't need to rinse dishes before you put them in.
Only run your dishwasher when it's full. Washing machines too.
You can put a bottle of sand or something in the tank behind the toilet (I don't know what it's called) to stop it from using as much water when it flushes.
Get a dual-flush toilet.
Get an aerator in your sink tap.
Fix Leaks.
Get a front-loading washing machine.
Don't dump stuff down storm drains. It usually goes to rivers, ex.
It's not good to dump oil down the drain. It messes with the water treatment.
Eco-friendly car washes.
Animals
This seems like a no-brainer, but don't buy products from endangered animals. Elephants, tiger, ex.
Make sure that zoos, circuses, ex, treat their animals well. Lots of foreign places are HORRIBLE to their animals.
Don't buy wild-caught pets.
When it comes to fishing, follow the rules. Don't catch too many fish, and don't catch little fish, ex.
Some people think hunters are good substitutes for predators. But predators go for weak animals. Hunters go for big animals, like the bucks with the biggest horns. If you're hunting, try to think more like a real predator.
If you're on a tropical vacation, don't trample the coral reefs.
Never release tame or nonnative animals into the wild.
Spreading News
You can get a job helping the environment. There's lots. A job in the field, a job at green businesses, ex.
Vote. Seriously.
Sign petitions.
Don't be afraid to write letters. To politicians or businesses or anything.
If someone's breaking the law, report them. There's often not enough enforcement to catch people and companies that break environmental laws. People try to get away with stuff because it's so much cheaper to break the law than to follow the rules.
Suggest composting to schools. Schools have a lot of organic waste, and it helps kids learn about composting. (You can arrange for compost pickup if they can't do it at the school).
Get schools to teach about the environment. Field trips are great too.
Encourage schools or businesses to go green.
Ask that they use organic foods at school or work.
Teach your kids about nature (If you got kids).
You can loan money to people in developing countries to help them start businesses.
Donate to environmental organizations. Some are better than others.
Get involved in a community garden, or start one if there's not one nearby.
Make good investments.
Tell your city to encourage biking and public transportation.
Tell everyone this stuff. Everyone's got to do this.
Take the eco footprint test. This nifty test tells you how many planet earths we would need if everyone on the planet lived the way you do.
Here it is.
And here's an older post with a few environmental sites.
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