Kids - Tips for Living Green

How to live in balance with a healthy environment.

1. Try to eat foods in their most natural state.  Prepared and packaged foods contribute a lot of trash to landfills.
2. Buy fruits and vegetables at the farmers' market.  Produce sold locally costs less to transport.
3. Wash and scrub all fresh fruits and vegetables under running water to reduce pesticides.
4. Grow and eat your own fruits and vegetables without using pesticides.
5. Try a new locally grown fruit or vegetable once a month.  Maybe you can go to the market with your parent and help make the choice.
6. Become a seed saver.  Use seeds from foods you eat to plant in your garden during the next growing season.
7. Try using a natural insect spray.  Here is the recipe:
   Chop together 1 garlic bulb and one small onion.
   Add 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper and mix with 1 quart of water.
   Let stand for one hour and add 1 tablespoon liquid soap.
   This is good for us to one week in the refrigerator.
8. The earth's surface is 70% water.  The human body is 70% water.  We need to preserve water.  A slow drip from a leaky faucet can waste 15-20 gallons of water a day.
9. In the United States , each of us uses 150 gallons of water each day on average.  Brushing your teeth with the water running uses 5 gallons of water.  If you turn the water off, you may only use 1/4 of a gallon or less.
10. In the United States , each of us uses 150 gallons of water each day on average.  When you wash dishes with the water running you can use 30 gallons of water.  When you wash and rinse in a tub, you may use only 5 gallons.
11. In the United States, each of us uses 150 gallons of water each day on average.  A two-minute shower uses 4-12 gallons of water.  A ten-minute shower uses 20-60 gallons of water.
12. Report leaking water fountains or water fountains that do not turn off to the office or janitor.  Many gallons of water are wasted when water continues to run when it is not needed.
13. Use florescent light bulbs when possible.  They last 10 times longer and are four times more energy efficient.  They are more expensive, but worth it.
14. Use florescent light bulbs when possible.  Four florescent light bulbs used six hours a day can save $48.00 per year compared to regular (incandescent) light bulbs.
15. Americans use 50 million tons of paper each year - about 580 pounds per person.  That is equal to about 7 trees per person per year.  Don't waste paper.
16. Americans use 50 million tons of paper each year - about 580 pounds per person.  That is equal to about 7 trees per person per year.  Use both sides of the paper, use scrap paper and don't use a huge sheet when a notepad works.
17. Americans use 50 million tons of paper each year.  Using one ton of recycled paper saves enough energy to power the average home 6 months.
18. Plant a tree to save energy.  Shade trees can reduce air conditioning use by 20 to 50% and they give us oxygen to breathe, too.
19. Walk, ride your bike or take the bus to school.  Driving to school uses a lot of energy because someone has to drive a round trip from home to school and back home two times a day.
20. Americans produce more garbage than any other people on the planet.  Try to buy products with little or no packaging to reduce waste.
21. Americans produce more garbage than any other people on the planet.  Buy food for your lunch in large packages and put them in reusable containers.  Raisins, nuts, seeds, granola can all be bought in bulk and packaged in reusable containers for lunch at school.
22. In the United States we throw away 500,000 tons of garbage every day.  That is enough to fill about 92 million school lunchboxes.
23. Almost 1/3 of the waste Americans send to the landfill is packaging.  It is better to buy products with little or no packaging.
24. Use reusable containers in your lunch box.  Then wash them and use them again the next day.  Water bottles are a good example of reusable containers.  Recycle the container when it finally cracks.
25. Make sure your parents have a reusable mug to use at work.  Remind every teacher or administrator to bring a reusable mug to school for coffee, tea or other beverages.
26. Use fewer plastic bags in your lunch.  When you do use plastic sandwich and snack bags, wash them out and let them dry so you can use them again.  Do not throw them away after a single use!
27. Five of the six most toxic chemicals in hazardous waste come from the production of plastics.  Try to use less plastic at school and home.
28. Plastic products cannot be recycled to make the same products.  Glass and aluminum can be made into the same product.  Foods and products packaged in glass or aluminum are better choices for our environment.
29. In Washington State, elementary school children recycled 733 pounds per school, or 1.41 pounds per child.  Can we do better than that at Coeur d'Alene?
30. A ton of 100% recycled paper saves:
    
    • 17 trees
    • 7,000 gallons of water
    • 60 pounds of air pollutants
    • 3 cubic yards of landfill
    • Enough energy to heat your house for 6 months
31. In the US, 4 billion drink boxes are consumed each yea.  If left out in a field, it would take about 300-400 years for a drink box to decompose.
32. What's in our trash?
    
    • 40% paper products
    • 9% metals
    • 8% plastic
    • 7% food waste
    • 7% glass