Ten Ways to Help Improve the Environment

Following these 10 simple suggestions will help improve the health of the environment. You may feel like your participation is insignificant and won't make a difference. This is not true because combined with and collective of others like you change will happen.

1. Reduce, reuse, and recycle-  doing so helps observe energy and reduces pollution and greenhouse gas  emissions from resource extraction, manufacturing, and disposal.

2. Use water efficiently - conserving water also conserves energy by reducing the amount of watered pumped, treated, and heated

   

3. Water saving action: Turn off the water when brushing your teeth or shaving

4. Water saving action: Fix leaky toilets, which waste 200 gallons a day (EPA, 2017)

5. Water saving action: Only run dishwashers with a full load - saves 100lbs of carbon dioxide (EPA, 2017)

6. Be green in your yard - compost food waste and yard debris

7. Drive smart - go easy on the brakes, avoid hard accelerations, reduce time spent idling, reduce excess weight by removing items from the trunk

8. Produce less waste - buy minimally packaged goods and reusable products 

9. Use dark curtains in south-facing windows. This reduces the amount of sunlight entering the room and reduces the temperature in the room. This reduces the amount of energy used to cool the house.

10. Stop junk mail by writing the sender and demanding your name be removed from their list. Junk mail wastes huge amounts of resources to produce something that is not wanted and ends up in a landfill. 

As insignificant as it may seem, following these 10 simple steps will improve the quality of our environment's health. Let us all lead by example and encourage others to follow. 

(Reference: www.EPA.gov/watersense)