You may say to yourself, "Hey,
I'm just a kid. What can I do to help?"
Actually, you can do
a lot!
Did you know that "if
everyone in America simply separated the paper, plastic, glass
and aluminum products from the trash and tossed them into a recycling
bin, we could decrease the amount of waste sent to landfills by
75 percent"? (The Green Book, Pg.1)
The Smithsonian National Zoological
Park would like to know if YOU know that:
it takes one 15- to
20-year-old tree to make enough paper for only 700 grocery bags?
leaving your car at home
just two days a week will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by
an average of 1,600 pounds per year?
one kid's average school
lunch generates 67 pounds of garbage over a year?
we generate an extra million
tons of trash each week from Thanksgiving to New Year's?
food travels an average
of 1,500 miles from the farm to the store?
dry cleaning is a hazardous
process that uses toxic chemicals and poisons the environment,
our clothing, and us?
if every household in the
U.S. replaced just one roll of 180-sheet virgin-fiber paper
towels with 100-percent recycled paper towels, we could save:
1.4 million trees, 3.7 million cubic feet of landfill space,
and 526 million gallons of water, and prevent 89,400 pounds
of pollution?
the EPA has estimated that
using a computer's "sleep mode" reduces its energy
consumption by 60 to 70 percent and, on a large scale, ultimately
could save enough electricity each year to power Vermont, New
Hampshire, and Maine, cut electric bills by $2 billion, and
reduce carbon dioxide emissions by the equivalent of five million
cars?
Americans throw away enough
office and writing paper to build a wall 12 feet high, stretching
from Los Angeles to New York City?
12 percent of the matter
going to landfills daily is yard waste, including grass clippings
and leaves?
We have come up with the
first 50 items that you can do
by yourself. Some you can do at home
with your family or at school with your classmates. Some things
you can help do in you community and some you can do in all those
places.
Help us come up with the
remaining 50!KidZ Club Members
can send an Emailto Mamabear with your ideas and if our scientific committee
thinks they are good ideas, they will be posted on our next page.
Make sure your parents are aware of our Privacy
Policy. We will only post your idea, your first name,
last name initial, your age, and city where you live.
Remember, what is important
is that you take that first step, do something, and then share
what you learned with others!
We
should all practice the three R's (oops, don't forget the fourth
R is "rot"): Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle!
From National Geographic
Kids:
Reduce
means to use less of everything: less energy, less paper,
less gas, and less water. It means to ride a bike or drive
a hybrid car, and to turn off the water when you are brushing
your teeth.
Reuse
means to find new uses for your old products. Turn a pair
of jeans into a cool purse, or use broken flower pots and
create mosaic for a table or photo frame. Use newspapers to
make paper mache art for a friend.
Recycle
means to take your used products like cans, bottles, plastics,
and paper and donate them to groups that turn them into new
products.
If you would like to provide
us with additional recommendations, we may choose to publish them.
Pleaseemailus with your suggestions.
Also, check out these web sites
to help you be a greener family:
Read
about our environment and share what you have learned with family
and friends. IT IS YOUR OBLIGATION.
2
Turn of
the lights when you leave the room.
3
Turn off
the television when you are finished watching it. Turn off the
computer and put it in sleep mode to save energy.
4
Make sure the water faucets are completely turned off. No drips!
5
Use
a shopping tote instead of plastic bags or paper. If you have to choose between plastic and paper, take paper and then recycle it.
6
Help
recycle newspapers and magazines. Make wrapping paper out
of old comics or cool magazine ads. You can take a potato,
cut it in half, cut out a design, use it as a stencil with
some water-based paints, and there you have it. Custom, hand-stenciled
wrapping paper.
7
Five
ways to reuse old newspapers (from The Green Guide,
Donna Garlough).
Don't
ask why, but crumpled newspaper makes mirrors and
glass shine. Just spray the surface with your favorite
glass cleaner and use them as you would regular
paper towels. One caveat: Since newspaper isn't
terribly absorbent, it's best to use less cleaning
spray. You won't need much, anyway.
Substitute
shredded or crumpled paper for Styrofoam. Instead
of using non-recyclable, petroleum-based Styrofoam
peanuts to pack items for shipping, run sheets of
newspaper through a paper shredder to create stuffing
material, or just crumple them into loose balls
for extra padding.
Store
fragile dishware. When putting away fine china,
place folded squares of newspaper between plates
and bowls to protect them. Wrap the whole stack
in another sheet before placing them in fabric cases
or boxes.
Start
a barbecue. Charcoal chimneys (like this one) are
inexpensive and make lighting the grill a breeze.
But instead of soaking the briquettes in chemical
lighter fluid, as many do, try lighting them using
newspaper instead. Just crumple a few sheets and
stuff them in the bottom section of the chimney,
then fill the top portion with charcoal. Light the
paper and the briquettes will light themselves.
Make
"tablecloths." Sloppy meals (in my house,
boiled lobster makes a legendary mess) and kids'
art projects call for casual table coverings. Just
spread out a few sheets of the Sunday comics, set
your fixings on top, and feel free to leave your
manners behind.
8
Help
your family recycle plastic, glass, and aluminum cans. Have
your parents check the labels before you buy to make sure
the packaging is recyclable.
9
Separate
your recyclable goods if your local recycling agency requires
you to do so. It will help them do their job more efficiently.
If they don't require it, make sure they do it themselves.
If they don't, start a recycling campaign in your neighborhood.
8
Using
our water and electricity is not wrong. What is important
is that we use them wisely. Use what you only have to
use and Water your plants in the evening after it has
cooled down.
9
Practice
recycling at school. If your school does not recycle,
help your teacher and classmates join the Polar Ice
CapZ KidZ Club for recycling tips, or start a recycling
club of your own.
9
Use
both sides of your writing and drawing paper and recycle them
when you no longer need them. Buy 100% recycled paper.
10
Be sure to buy paper that does not contain chlorine (unbleached).
Did you know that the paper industry is one of the largest
contributors of air pollution and bleaching agents can result
in the release of dioxins to the environment?
12
Carry
a re-usable water container instead of buying bottled
water. At up to $1.75 a pint, it is much more expensive
than gasoline, requires plastic that needs to be recycled,
and for most areas the water is no better than your
municipal water supply! Some water even has the fluoride
filtered out, the compound that helps keep your teeth
from developing cavities.
13
When
possible, use a school binder more than one
year. Decorate it with "Campaign 2 Cool
it!"stickers.
14
When
you pick out school supplies, choose
Cool stuff! That is, try to
find things like binders, notebooks
and paper made from recycled materials.
Use refillable pens and pencils instead
of disposable ones. Pencils with refillable
carbon save on trees.
15
Choose
crayons made from soybean oil.
They are nontoxic! Paraffin wax
crayons are made from petroleum
hydrocarbons, the same thing that
gasoline comes from.
16
Choose
water-based markers. Those that
smell strong may contain strong
chemicals.
17
Choose
a backpack or duffle bag made
from recycled materials.
18
If
you live close enough to school,
walk or ride your bike. The
exercise will do you good and
think of all the gasoline your
family car will save!
19
If
you must ride to school, consider
carpooling or taking the bus.
20
Polar
Ice CapZ KidZ Alert:
Always remove tops of plastic
bottles before putting in the
recycle bins. The recycling places
may not recycle bottles with caps
and, if not, they will end up
in a landfill! A plastic bottle
will last for thousands of years
in a landfill.
21
Bring
your lunch
in containers
that can
be washed
instead
of paper
or plastic
bags that
need to
be recycled
and use
resources.
22
Ask
local businesses for their used scrap paper and use the
other side. Then recycle.
23
When
playing outside, be sure to take all trash and litter
with you when you leave the play area. Pick up litter
when you see it on the ground and recycle other people's
recyclables if they fail to do so!
24
According
to the Smithsonian National Zoological Park, we could
save up to two billion gallons of fuel a year just by
making sure our tires on our cars are properly inflated.
Tell your parents... and that's not just a bunch of hot
air!
25
Recycle
your phone books. Or even better, stop getting them and
use on line telephone directories. It's easy! Did you
know that telephone books make up almost 10 percent of
waste at dump sites? (The Green Book Pg.9)
26
Turn
the water off while you brush your teeth to save water.
27
Install
low-flow plumbing on the water faucets in you house. It
really helps use less water, and saves money for your
parents.
28
Wash
and rinse your clothes in cold water, and then hang them
out to dry if you have space. A dryer burns more energy
than just about any other household appliance.
29
Use
ceiling fans instead of air conditioning units.
30
Set
the thermostat a degree or two higher for air conditioning
and a degree or two lower for heating. This will save
energy and cost less money too!
31
Look
for the Energy Star label when your family purchases new
appliances. You will save money in the long run and may
receive tax credits.
32
If
you have a choice, select paper bags over plastic at the
grocery store. Plastic is much harder to recycle.
33
Use
leftover plastic and paper bags as liners for trash cans.
This saves money and we won't have to make so many trash
bags.
34
Use
rechargeable batteries for your toys, then there won't
be so many batteries to dispose of.
35
When
you buy milk or juice from the store, buy one big container
instead of two or more smaller ones. There will be less
waste to dispose. It also takes less energy to make only
one.
36
Use longer-lasting cloth towels instead of paper towels.
Re-wash by hand and use again.
37
Dust
light bulbs and when they burn out save energy by replacing
your standard incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent
bulbs. The new last about ten times longer and use about
one- to two-thirds less energy. See
Kidz alert.
38
Take
a shorter shower - every two minutes can save 10 gallons
of water. (The Green Book Pg.2). Use a kitchen timer
and set it to 6 minutes. When the buzzer rings, you have
to rinse off and get out. Dad
and older boys can brush their teeth while waiting for
the water to get hot for shaving.
39
Cut
the lawn grass 2 inches high and leave the clippings on
the lawn as fertilizer. And the best part? You won't have
to rake!
40
Plant
native vegetation like wild flowers and prairie grasses
instead of lawn grass. Then you won't have to mow or fertilize
and will rarely have to water.
41
Make
a compost out of your garbage instead of putting it down
the garbage disposal. Worms love it, your garden will
love it, and you will learn to love it!
42
Take
the family cars to the car wash. Believe it or not, they
actually use less water (up to 100 gallons less) per car
than washing the car yourself. Car washes also often recycle
and reuse rinse water (The green Book Pg. 10).
43
Use
fewer napkins. You only need one or two, so don't take
a whole handful from the napkin holder in the cafeteria
or at the restaurant. Even better, use cloth napkins at
home and school and wash them instead of using disposables.
44
Pack
a green lunch for school. Use a reusable lunch bag or
lunchbox instead of a paper bag. Also put foods in reusable
containers instead of throw-away papers and wrappers.
45
When
you buy new lights for your holiday trimming, select LED
(light-emitting diode) lights. They use much less energy
than traditional holiday lights.
46
When
buying CDs, choose Blu-ray Discs if you can. They are
½ paper and can be shredded and are easier to recycle
than regular CDs.
47
Recycle
your cell phones and all electronics and computers. Do
not put them in the regular recycling bin, as they contain
metals that need to be specially cared for.
48
Batteries
and light bulbs must be brought to special agencies for
disposal, as they contain heavy metals that can pollute
our water if left in a landfill.
