What are the littlest things one can do to protect the environment?

Answer 1

Never throw anything away that you can re-use.

Never buy anything you do not need.

For example:
Re-use plastic bags. No need for a new designer tote bag...just re-use the bags you already have.

Re-use water bottles.

Take your own cup to get coffee.

Don't buy chemicals in the first place and if you already have take them to a hazardous waste disposal site.

Grow a little garden....reconnect with Mother Earth!

Answer 2

Since the jury's out on how much energy it actually takes to recycle, the first thing I'd say is reduce the amount of waste you produce - use your own coffee mug when you go to Starbucks and/or the gas station in the a.m. for your morning jolt. If you're a water drinker, use the 1, 3, or 5 gallon jugs of reverse osmosis water from the grocery store - I've read that this is better than tap and bottled... and it's way more economical to refill. Also, related to this, use your own water bottle - there's debate on the amount of toxins that leech from Nalgene-type bottles, but there are aluminum water bottles that you can buy (Klean-Kanteen is one brand).

I think the simplest thing, though, is to turn off and/or unplug anything requiring electricity when that thing is not in use - lights, computers, microwaves, televisions, and so on.

Use rechargeable batteries.

Walk or bike more than you drive.

Use washable rags for household cleaning rather than disposable paper towels. In fact, use washable rather than disposable anything.

Hope that helps.

Answer 3

Plan your shopping. Surplus food is often thrown away, think whether you really need everything you buy.

Turn off your home computer when it is not in use. Leaving appliances on standby still uses energy.

Water can be reused. Save some rainwater to water your plants.

Choose the products with the least packaging. It means less garbage, less wastage of energy and resources and savings for you.

Recycling saves the earth’s resources. Every tonne of recycled glass saves over a tonne of raw materials.

Unplug your mobile phone as soon as it has been fully charged. Otherwise it is wasted power.

Answer 4

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.

Eat dolphin safe tuna, or don't eat tuna at all.

When you are out enjoying nature, no matter how tempting it may be, DO NOT FEED THE WILD ANIMALS! Feeding wild animals makes them dependent upon human food, which will ultimately lead them to starve when humans are not around (usually during winter).

Answer 5

Every day people use toxic chemicals in their homes.
Toxic Facts: 90% of all poison exposures occur in the home, 20 million Americans have asthma, 90% of our time is spent indoors. EPA reports that air pollution is up to 70 times higher inside than outside, The average US household generates more than 20 pounds of hazardous waste each year, EPA reports the typical home now contains over 63 hazardous products that together contain hundreds of different chemicals.
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Answer 6

I believe the littlest thing we can do is to open our mouths. By telling others how to protect the environment each small thing will add up faster to make a much larger difference!

Answer 7

If you must use your AC, set it at the highest temperature that you can handle. Many people have theirs set at 70 degrees, but that is WAY too cold if you ask me. First of all I don't even turn it on unless the weatherman predicts 90 or above for a high the next day. And when I do turn it on, I never set it lower than 75. It really makes a big difference.

And in the winter, set your heat to 65 or lower.

Answer 8

Recycling aluminum cans is easy and saves a lot of energy. With the energy you save from recycling one aluminum can vs. making a new one, you could power a TV for three hours! Plus, aluminum cans will be back on the shelves in Wal-Mart in only 4-6 weeks! There is no reason not to recycle aluminum.

Answer 9

Always do the 3Rs: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. When doing anything; from taking a shower to buying groceries you can do one of the 3Rs. It may not be much each time but it will eventually add up to a whole lot.

Answer 10

Even now, I am doing an infinite number of infinitely small things to protect the environment. If an infinite number of people would join me, we could change the environment, well, uh, infinitely!