I dedicate this book to others who also like to protect the environment, and want to learn more ways to do it.

Table of Contents

How to Save Electricity                                                         4

How to Reduce Fuel Consumption when Driving                               6

How to Save Water                                                             8

Recycling                                                                        10

Composting                                                                     12

How to Reduce your Solid Waste                                             14

Avoid Wasting Food                                                            16

How to Buy Food that is Better for the environment                       18

How to Buy other Products that are Better for the Environment          20

How to Spread Awareness                                                    22

Template letter to a Government Official                                     24

How to Save Electricity

One way to reduce your carbon footprint is to save electricity. If possible, it is best to switch to clean, renewable electricity. You can move into a house or apartment that has solar pannels, or call a company to install them, if you can.

✿ Use more energy efficient light bulbs. The best are LEDs. Get more energy-efficient models of other appliances and look for the Energy Star certification.

❀ Download an app that tells you when energy is cleaner or less clean (for example, Apple's Home app) and try do tasks that use more electricity during those cleaner times.

✿ Turn off lights, electronics, devices and appliances you are not using.

❀ Do not leave your charger plugged in the socket if it is not attached to a device.

✿ Lower your thermostat, turn it off when you do not need it, and set it to auto, so it stops when the desired temperature is reached. Other appliances can also do thisl.

How to Reduce Fuel Consumption When Driving

Something you can do to reduce your carbon footprint is to reduce your fuel consumption, unless you charge/fuel your car using 100 percent clean and renewable energy.

How to Save Water

It is important to save water to reduce droughts and water pollution, and because electricity is used to bring water to your home.

✿ Take shorter showers or baths.

❀ Take showers instead of baths, so you do not use extra water filling the bathtub with water.

✿ Turn off the water when you are not using it, like when you brush your teeth or wash your hands.

❀ Wash fruits and vegetables in a bowl with water, and then rinse them, to leave the water running less (soaking also cleans them better).

✿ Use a brush, sponge, or something else used for scrubbing instead of a stream of water, so you do not leave the water running for too long.

❀ Check for leaks and fix those that you find.

✿ Do not use your toilet instead of a trash can (this also prevents clogs).

❀ Use water-saving dishwashers, washing machines, faucets, shower heads, toilets, e.t.c., instead of older models.

Recycling

Recycling something is better for the environment than throwing it away because it will be made into something else using its materials, so fewer resources are used. Making something from recycled materials uses less energy than making it from raw materials. Also, it will not go into the landfill.

At most centers, you can recycle:

✿ Aluminum cans and other items made of aluminum

❀ Paper (including cardboard)

✿ Glass

❀ Some plastics, such as Polyethylene Terephthalate (type one), High-Density Polyethylene (type two), and Polyvinyl Chloride (type three), are usually recyclable; consult your local recycling center to find out what you can and cannot recycle.

✿ Old electronics and batteries (only at special recycling centers that recycle electronics; check to see what you can and cannot recycle; batteries and small electronics are usually allowed at these special recycling centers).

Composting

Compost can be used for farming and gardening because when it decomposes it can be used as a natural fertilizer. Composting something instead of throwing it away is better for the environment because it will not go into the landfill. 

You can compost:

✿ Some kinds of paper

❀ Food that doesn't have animal products.

✿ Fruits and vegetables

❀ Compostable plastics

How to Reduce Your Solid Waste 

Reducing your solid waste reduces how many resources are used and how much waste goes into landfills (or wherever your waste goes). Waste from landfills can sometimes get into bodies of water or the ground.

✿ Do not let your food become expired or rotten (see "Avoid Wasting Food" on pages 16-17).

❀ Only buy what you need.

✿ Donate and reuse things you do not need instead of throwing them away.

❀ Buy things with less packaging.

How to Avoid Wasting Food

Wasting food also wastes the resources used to produce it. Also, producing food and bringing it to stores causes pollution.

✿ Ethylene is a gas. Some fruits and vegetables are ethylene producers and make ethylene, and others are ethylene sensitive, and ripen faster when exposed to ethylene. Reaserch which fruits are ethylene producers/sensitive and avoid storing them together, or use ethylene-absorbing packets.

❀ Bread, meat, fruits, and vegetables can be frozen if you can't eat them before they expire.

✿ Bananas ripen and expire faster in the refrigerator or freezer.

❀ Only buy food that you will be able to eat before it expires.

✿ Preserved food expires later than fresh food.

❀ Keep fresh produce on the top shelf or in the crisper drawers in the refrigerator.