Our President:
Cletus W. Bergen, II, Esq
• Home • Up • Reduce • Reuse • Recycle •
Reduce
- Turn off lights, radios, televisions, and other electric equipment which is not in use.
- Use both sides of a piece of paper, reducing your paper consumption by 50%.
- Draw, paint, and write on recycled paper.
- Buy only paints, markers, and glues which are water based.
- Open cans and sharpen pencils by hand.
- Use fans instead of air conditioners.
- Use the stairs rather than an elevator.
- Bike, walk, or use public transportation rather than driving a car.
- Involve others. Tell family and friends about ways they can reduce their use of products which harm our world. Write letters to government officials, senators and representatives, letting them know how you feel.
- Turn the water off while you brush your teeth.
- Dry clothes on a clothes line or rack instead of in the dryer.
- Join a car pool if other options are not available.
- Try to buy organic foods that don’t use pesticides or chemical additives.
- Start a compost pile for your food scraps (not including meat) and lawn clippings.
- Don’t buy products from the rain forest regions that hurt its natural growth. Furniture made from mahogany, teak, rosewood, and ebony and beef products raised in the rain forest, are two main problems.
- Do buy products from the rain forest which rely on the natural growth of the rain forest. Bananas, pineapples, chocolate, vanilla, Brazil nuts, cashews, and some medicines, perfumes, and gum are on this list.
- Avoid buying heavily packaged products or items wrapped in plastic film.
- Safely clean up litter around the neighborhood (wear gloves and have an adult help out).
- Try not to buy or use things which are used once and then thrown away. These items include paper and Styrofoam cups, bowls, and plates. Plastic flatware, bowls, and plates are also generally used just once.
- Use towels, cloth napkins, and rags in place of paper towels and paper napkins.
- Avoid using aerosol spray cans and Styrofoam. Instead by products in pump sprays and those made from biodegradable foam.
- Reduce your overall use of plastic packaging, dispose of it properly, recycling when possible, and cut a slit in the rings of a plastic six pack drink holder before throwing it away. Birds and fish are often trapped by the rings and die.
- Carry your own cloth bags to the grocery store for bagging, or reuse paper and plastic bags.
- Avoid fast food restaurants which use a lot of Styrofoam and paper packaging.
- Regularly plan some vegetarian meals into your overall diet.
- Boil water in a pan with the lid on. This heats the water more quickly and saves energy.
- Plant trees, which help absorb carbon dioxide and give shade reducing the need for air conditioners.
- Use a reduced flow shower head.
- Use rechargeable batteries.
- Give used toys, clothes, and books to organizations that will distribute them to people who need them.
- Adopt an animal through a zoo or other animal organization.
- Properly insulate your house (some of these activities are as simple as
adding strip insulation to windows or draft guards to doors)
- Buy energy saving bulbs (usually these cost more, but they have a longer lifetime).
- Use cloth diapers rather than disposables. If this seems like a daunting task, plan to use disposables at the most difficult times such as while traveling or at night. Use the cloth diapers for at home awake times.