What are some good helpful but efficient ways to live green?

Question

Im 14 and Im really into the enviornment. What are some good ways for wme to go green?

Answer 1

Drive a fuel efficient car and don't make unnecessary trips. Live close to work so you don't have to drive as much. Don't use the A/C too much in summer. Set the thermostat a little higher and use fans to make up the difference. Fans use WAY less energy than A/C. But turn off the fan in any empty room. Fans do not cool the air, they only help the human body cool itself better. If there is no person to feel the breeze then the fan is doing no good at all.

Answer 2

This would be a great discussion to have with your parents! Suggestions so far mostly good ones. A few to add to the list:

* Bring your own lunches to school in reusable containers. Challenge your friends to do the same.

* When shopping for school supplies, try to buy things made out of recycled materials, and materials that are produced locally.

* Talk to your teachers and see if you can come up with an extra credit project that involves the whole school. You'll learn a lot in the process, and it can turn out to be a lot of fun!

* If you get rides to school, try walking a few times a week or getting a carpool going.

I also suggest you check into volunteering at a local nature center or park, you can have fun while learning, and you meet a lot of cool people.

Answer 3

A good start is learning how to be a good cook. You could do a lot of cooking for your family who will not need to eat out, since no one has fixed dinner. Avoid fixing meat and go for vegetarian or vegan recipes. Also, taking your lunch to school in a reusable container. Avoid eating with friends in restaurants, making your own pizza from scratch can be fun. Try and follow other suggestions, too. For some reason, not much is said about eating, other than "eat low on the food pyramid.

Answer 4

Start off by ignoring the crap you read in Y!A. If you are truly serious about energy conservation, get a job working at an Amish farm around harvest time, those are the only people in the USA that truly are reducing their environmental impact, and they are doing it for non political reasons. If you insist on sticking with an urbanized lifestyle, just wear a T-Shirt with some green sounding slogan.

Answer 5

1. Adjust your thermostat to at least 2 degree increase in the summer and at least 2 degree decrease in the winter
2. If your AC is at least 10 years old, consider buying a new one because newer units are more energy efficient
3. Replace the filter in your AC once a month because you could save over 200 pounds of CO2 a year by doing this
4. Replace most or all of your incandescent or halogen bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs
5. Don't leave one light bulb on for more than 3 hours a day -- If you do this to a CFL, it could last up to 9 years!
6. Tell your parents to rarely turn the AC on in their car -- by doing this, their car can save 2 miles on gas and this makes a BIG difference
7. Tell your parents not to drive over 10 mph over the speed limit -- If a car is going 75 on a 65 mph highway, it could increase its fuel consumption by 10%
8. Tell your parents to consider buying cars with manual transmission and 2WD/FWD because they get better gas mileage than cars with automatic transmission and 4WD/AWD
9. Don't fly to destinations that are less than 500 miles away.
10. Recycle as much as possible especially CFLs, refrigerators, and computers
11. Replace your old household appliances with new Energy Star ones
12. Buy the book, 365 Ways to Save the Earth

Answer 6

-unplug anything you dont need: blow dryers, other hair appliances, computers that you don't use, tv's, lamps that just stand in the corner and nobody uses, etc. [Believe it or not, when appliances are still plugged into the outlets, energy is being generated.]
-replace all of your lightbulbs with the energy efficient ones. [Sometimes you can find them for super cheap-the ones i bought i saw it at the supermarket for about 45cents each and bought abotu 20 of them. These REALLY make a difference.]
-Recycle. Plastic, glass, paper, etc. One good idea that i convinced my parents to do is to buy another trash can [but bigger] and to use that for recyclables in our house. So instead of throwing away your old hw and wahtnot you can just toss it into the recycling bin instead.
-You know those plastic rings that 6pack sodas come in? Before recycling it, cut up the rings. There's a good reason for this, and i saw it somewhere, but i'm not sure-just cut it up anyway. :)

Easy ideas right? The little changes can make a really huge impact!

Answer 7

basically anytime you are using energy, whether a lightbulb or a car or whatever, ask yourself if you really need to use it. Leaving lights on unneccessarily and driving cars when most people can use public transport or bike are huge sources of greenhouse gases. Of course you have to some sort of life but make a conscious effort to reduce unneccessary energy. So many people us cars when they do not have to, I live in a city and ride my bike everywhere and I never miss having a car. Once you get used to it, it becomes enjoyable and very easy. Convince your parents and your friends to do the same, carpool maybe. You are young and you are the future of this planet, we need young people like you who are motivated to make the changes. Someday, the big polluters of today will pass on and you will be in the position of changing the world for the better or worse. Good luck.

Answer 8

I'm glad that you're concerned about the environment at such a young age. Always be mindful if you're about to waste something, or are already wasting it.

*When leaving the room, always check if there are appliances that are turned on (such as electric fans).
*Use a voltage regulator.
*Pour only what you can drink
*Don't leave the faucet open/water running when washing your hands or brushing your teeth
*Don't throw away water that you can't finish
*Try using a cloth napkin or handkerchief instead of tissue paper

Answer 9

Unplug your computer and phone charger when they are not in use. Only have lights on when you need them and turn them off when they are not in use. Try to walk or bike to places close to your house. Plant trees and don't leave the water on when you are brushing your teeth or doing anything when it does not need to be on, watch less tv, and, ya....things like that.

Answer 10

Go vegetarian then go vegan! Stop the unnecessary killing of animals. Eat healthier it really cuts out the bad foods that they try to get you addicted to.