50 Green Tips for
Earth Day and Beyond
By: Kathleen
J. King
1. Lower your thermostat. Buy a programmable
thermostat.
2. Reuse your water bottle. Avoid buying bottled
water. In fact, reuse everything at least once, especially plastics.
3. Check out your bathroom. Use low-flow faucets,
showerheads, and toilets.
4. Start a compost in your back yard or on
your rooftop.
5. Buy foods locally. Check out Eat
Local Challenge and FoodRoutes to
get started. Buy locally made products and locally produced
services.
6. Buy in season.
7. Buy compact fluorescent light bulbs. You'll
find more on energy-efficient products and practices at Energy
Star.
8. Turn off lights and electronics when you
leave the room. Unplug your cell phone charger from the wall
when not using it. Turn off energy strips and surge protectors
when not in use (especially overnight).
9. Recycle your newspapers.
10. Car pool. Connect with other commuters
at eRideShare.
11. Consider a car sharing service like Zipcar.
12. Ride a bike.
13. Walk, jog, or run.
14. Go to your local library instead of buying
new books.
15. At holidays and birthdays, give your family
and friends the gift of saving the earth. Donate to their favorite
environmental group, foundation, or organization.
16. Get off junk mail lists. GreenDimes can
get you started. They’ll even plant a tree for you!
17. Buy products that use recyclable materials
whenever possible.
18. If you use plastic grocery bags, recycle
them for doggie poop bags or for small trashcan liners.
19. Bring your own bags to the grocery store.
Given a choice between plastic and paper, opt for paper.
20. Buy locally. Find farmers’ markets,
family farms, and other sources of sustainably grown food near
you at LocalHarvest.
21. Consider organic
cleaning products like vinegar, borax, and baking soda.
22. If you have a baby, consider using cloth
diapers. To sign up for a diaper service to do the dirty work,
check out the National
Association of Diaper Services.
23. Consider buying a fuel-efficient car or
a hybrid.
24. Landscape with native plants. Check out
the article on
the EPA
website.
25. Opt into a clean energy program. Check
out the Green
Power Network at the US Department of Energy.
26. Go paperless. Consider reading your newspaper
and magazine subscriptions online. Switch to electronic banking
and credit card payment, too.
27. Teach kids about the environment.
28. Take your batteries to a recycling center.
Earth 911 gives you the scoop.
29. Turn your car off if you’re going to
be idle for more than one minute.
30. Do full loads of laundry and set the rinse
cycle to “cold.”
31. Recycle. If you’re not at home, take
the extra steps, (literally), to find that recycling can.
32. Reuse. Plastic food containers make good crayon
and marker holders. Use padded envelops more than once. Buy your
toddler or preschooler’s clothes from a thrift shop and give
away those that don’t fit to friends. Goodwill or
the Salvation
Army can help.
33. Limit the length of your showers. Even better,
take a “navy shower,” shutting off the water while
soaping up and shampooing.
34. Don’t run the water when brushing your
teeth. Learn about water
scarcity.
35. Wash towels after several uses.
36. Purchase one case of water and provide
clean water to 24 people (for over twenty years).
37. Give away your goods and find new ones at FreeCycle.
38. Recycle your technology. Dell, Hewlett Packard,
Apple, and IBM, among others, offer recycling programs.
39. Go zero! Log on to the Conservation Fund’s Carbon
Zero Calculator and in less than five minutes, you can measure
and then offset your carbon dioxide emissions by planting trees.
40. Put your money where your mouth is—invest
in green investments. Web sites like Co-op
America's National Green Pages™ can help.
41. Learn about threats to ocean life and help Greenpeace take
action.
42. Whenever you can, try using green cleaning
products. Check out Cheap,
Clean, and Green.
43. Find
your local watershed and learn how to protect it.
44. Build
a greener home.
45. Opt for eco-friendly
and holistic health products.
46. Good to the last drop. Switch to fair
trade coffee.
47. Go paperless at work. Distribute company information
and post company material online.
48. Eliminate junk mail at work. For no fee, the EcoLogical
Mail Coalition will eliminate the junk that former employees
receive at work.
49. Plant
a forest and feed a family while you’re at it.
50. Shop smart. Choose eco-smart
products.
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