Starting Young

Have you ever wondered how to tech you children the importance of taking care of the environment?   There are a number of wonderful books and movies on the subject that are wonderful.  I am going to give you a list of some of my favorites:

1) WALL-E

This is a Disney movie that takes place in the future.  It is the story of a little robot that was left on earth to clean up the mess that humans had made.  I recommend this movie for kids of all ages.

2) If You Were A Panda Bear by Wendell and Florence Minor

This book introduces young children to various kinds of bears, their personality, their habitat, what they eat and what they can do to help the bears.  It is a great book, especially for younger children ages 3-7.

The Authors of this book also wrote a book called If You Were a Penguin.  I have not had a chance to check this book out but I would bet that it is just as good.

3) What If Everybody Did That by Ellen Javernick

This is a wonderful book that illustrates the damage that can be done to the environment is everyone disregarded the environment and littered.  It demonstrated the consequences of such carelessness. I recommend this book for children ages 5-8.

4) What Happens to Our Trash by D.J. Ward

This book introduced children to the to the idea of recycling and not wasting.  It also teaches you how to make a compost pile, with adult supervision and assistance of course.  This book is best for ages 4-8. 

5) Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes by Eleanor Coerr

This is the true story of a girl living in Japan during and after WWII.  It goes over the devastation that one atomic weapon can cause.  I recommend this book for children 8-13.  

6) Earth

This is another wonderful Disney movie that depicts just how beautiful this planet really is and really gives children a sense of responsibility and ownership for the planet.  The great thing about this movie is that it is for children and adults of all ages. 

I hope that the above books and movies help you instill an appreciation in your children for this amazing, beautiful planet.

Easy Ways to Help the Environment

Do you have the idea that it is hard to be environmentally conscientious? Here are some ways that you can help the planet that will take little to no effort on your part. 

1) Skip rinsing your dishes.  

You can save up to 20 gallons of water by just throwing your dished in the dishwasher.  So next time you are feeling lazy and don't want to rinse your dishes off, it is totally okay!

2) Have a vegetarian meal once a week.  

It takes 2500 gallons of water to produce one pound of ground beef.  If once a week you have a nice dish that is vegetarian this will help out a lot. 

3) Don't forget the back side of your paper!

A lot of businesses in America throw away paper just because they print their documents on one side.  There is a setting on most printers that is called duplex printing.  This allows printing on both sides.  You can also recycle paper that you don't need anymore. 

4) Use your  cruise control. 

By using cruise control you can get up to %15 better gas mileage.  This is good news for the environment and your checking account.  Imagine what you could buy with that extra money!

5) Buy second hand. 

With the use of the internet you can get almost anything you need second hand.  A lot of people use eBay and craigslist to obtain expensive items for a lower cost.  This cuts back on the amount of energy needed to produce more items that just eventually wind up in the garbage.

6) Give unwanted items to another

Before you throw something in the garbage think if there is anyone you know who might want it.  There are many things that you may not want that someone else might desperately need.  If you do't know of anyone who might want the item you can always donate it.  

7) Get your own coffee cup. 

By cutting back on paper coffee cups you can make quite a considerable impact in the way of helping the environment. You can find a nice coffee cup with a design you like and use it for your morning coffee.  Most places will even refill your coffee cup each morning for less than it costs you if you use a paper cup. 

 8) Fire the post office. 

 You can set your bills and banking up to go to your email address.  A lot of times your utilities, bank and even auto insurance will give you a discount for doing this.  My mom decided to go paperless when she could not get a key to the mail box.  This has worked out very nicely for her for the last 8 years or so. It is also good to know that you are getting all of your important documents no matter where you are.

  

9) Stop the junk mail.

The average American receives about 40 pounds of junk mail every year.  This is insane considering all that paper typically winds up in the trash. Many places will stop sending you all those ads.  All you have to do is tell them to stop. 

See doing all these things is easy!!!  I really hope that you start doing these simple actions today.