1. Insulate your
home.2. Buy
energy-efficient appliances.
3. Caulk and
weatherstrip doors and windows.
4. Install storm
windows.
5. Close off
unused areas in your home from heat
and air conditioning.
6. Wear warm
clothing and turn down winter heat.
7. Switch to
low-wattage or fluorescent light
bulbs.
8. Turn off all
lights that don't need to be on.
9. Use cold water
instead of hot whenever possible.
10. Opt for
small-oven or stove-top cooking when
preparing small meals.
11. Run
dishwashers only when full.
12. Set
refrigerators to 38°F, freezers to
5°F, no colder.
13. Run clothes
washers full, but don't overload
them.
14. Use moderate
amounts of biodegradable detergent.
15. Air-dry your
laundry when possible.
16. Clean the lint
screen in clothes dryers.
17. Instead of
ironing, hang clothes in the
bathroom while showering.
18. Take quick
showers instead of baths.
19. Install
water-efficient showerheads and
sink-faucet aerators.
20. Install an
air-assisted or composting toilet.
21. Collect
rainwater and gray water for
gardening use.
22. Insulate your
water heater. Turn it down to 121°F.
23. Plant
deciduous shade trees that protect
windows from summer sun but allow it
in during the winter.
24. Explore
getting a solar water heater for
your home.
25. Learn how to
recycle all your household goods,
from clothing to motor oil to
appliances.
26. Start
separating out your newspaper, other
paper, glass, aluminum, and food
wastes.
27. Encourage your
local recycling center or program to
start accepting plastic.
28. Urge local
officials to begin roadside pickup
of recyclables and hazardous wastes.
29. Encourage
friends, neighbors, businesses,
local organizations to recycle and
sponsor recycling efforts.
30. Use recycled
products, especially paper.
31. Re-use
envelopes, jars, paper bags, scrap
paper, etc.
32. Bring your own
canvas bags to the grocery store.
33. Encourage
local governments to buy recycled
paper.
34. Start a
recycling program where you work.
35. Limit or
eliminate your use of "disposable"
items.
36. Urge fast-food
chains to use recyclable packaging.
37. Avoid using
anything made of plastic foam. It is
often made from CFCs, and it never
biodegrades.
38. If your car
gets less than 35 mpg, sell it, buy
a small fuel-efficient model, and
spend whatever money you save on
home energy efficiency.
39. Maintain and
tune up your vehicle regularly for
maximum gas mileage.
40. Join a car
pool or use public transport to
commute.
41. Write to
automobile manufacturers to let them
know that you intend to buy the most
fuel efficient car on the road.
42. Reduce your
use of air conditioning.
43. Encourage auto
centers to install CFC recycling
equipment for auto air conditioners.
Freon is released during servicing
to become both a greenhouse gas and
an ozone layer destroyer.
44. Remove
unnecessary articles from your car.
Each 100 lbs. of weight decreases
fuel efficiency by 1%.
45. Don't speed;
accelerate and slow down gradually.
46. Walk or use a
bicycle whenever possible.
47. Urge local
governments to enact restrictions on
automobile use in congested areas
downtown.
48. Enjoy sports
and recreational activities that use
your muscles rather than gasoline
and electricity.
49. Buy products
that will last.
50. Rent or borrow
items that you don't use often.
51. Maintain and
repair the items you own.
52. Use colored
fabrics to avoid the need for
bleach.
53. Use natural
fiber clothing, bedding and towels.
54. Don't buy
aerosols, halon fire extinguishers,
or other products containing CFCs.
55. Write to
computer chip manufacturers and urge
them to stop using CFC-113 as a
solvent.
56. Invest your
money in environmentally and
socially conscious businesses.
57. Avoid
rainforest products, and inform the
supplier or manufacturer of your
concerns.
58. Use postcards
instead of letters for short
messages.
59. Eat vegetarian
foods as much as possible. Meat
makes less efficient use of land,
soil, water, and energy - and cows
emit 300 liters of methane per day.
60. Buy locally
produced foods; avoid buying foods
that must be trucked in from great
distances.
61. Read labels.
Eat organic or less-processed foods.
62. Start a
garden; plant a garden instead of a
lawn
63. Water the
garden with an underground drip
system.
64. Support
organic farming and gardening
methods; shun chemical fertilizers,
herbicides, and pesticides.
65. Compost
kitchen and garden waste, or give it
to a friend who can.
66. Inform
schools, hospitals, airlines,
restaurants, and the media of your
food concerns.
67. Stay informed
about the state of the Earth.
68. Talk to
friends, relatives, and co-workers
about preventing global climate
change.
69. Read and
support publications that educate
about long-term sustainability (like
this one).
70. Start a global
climate change study group.
71. Educate
children about sustainable living
practices.
72. Xerox this
list and send it to ten friends.
73. Go on a
citizen diplomacy trip and talk with
those you meet about averting global
climate change.
74. Get involved
in local tree-planting programs.
75. Join an
environmental organization. If
they're not involved with climate
change, get them involved.
76. Support zero
population growth.
77. Support work
to alleviate poverty. Poverty causes
deforestation and other
environmental problems.
78. Donate money
to environmental organizations.
79. Support
programs that aim to save rainforest
areas.
80. Support solar
and renewable energy development.
81. Work to
protect local watershed areas.
82. Pave as little
as possible. Rip up excess concrete.
83. Encourage
sewage plants to compost their
sludge.
84. Write your
senator now in support of S.
201, the World Environment Policy
Act.
85. Write your
congressperson now in support
of H.R. 1078, the Global Warming
Prevention Act.
86. Support
disarmament and the redirection of
military funds to environmental
restoration.
87. Write letters
to the editor expressing your
concern about climate change and
environmental issues.
88. Support
electoral candidates who run on
environmental platforms.
89. Run for local
office on an environmental platform.
90. Attend city
council meetings and speak out for
action on climate change issues.
91. Organize a
citizens' initiative to put a local
"climate protection program" into
place.
92. Learn how to
lobby. Lobby your local, state, and
national elected officials for
action on climate change and
environmental issues.
93. Organize a
demonstration at a plant that uses
CFCs.
94. In place of TV
and the stereo, spend time reading,
writing, drawing, telling stories,
making music.
95. Live within
the local climate as much as
possible, rather than trying to
isolate yourself from it.
96. Strive to
establish good communications with
friends, neighbors and family
including learning conflict
resolution skills.
97. Spend time
seeing, hearing, and rejoicing in
the beauty of the Earth. Feel your
love for the Earth. Make serving the
Earth your first priority.
98. Learn about
the simpler, less resource-intensive
lifestyles of aboriginal peoples.
99. Think often
about the kind of Earth you would
like to see for your grandchildren's
grandchildren.
100. While doing
small things, think big. Think about
redesigning cities, restructuring
the economy, reconceiving humanity's
role on the Earth.
101. Pray,
visualize, hope, meditate, dream.