An Earth Day Checklist

[sellitman]

Happy Earth Day!

I hope you are thinking about the earth today. We need to appreciate our planet since it is in very big trouble.

Here is a checklist to follow not just today but everyday.

1)Plant a garden, or a few containers on your deck/porch with some tomato plants or others items.
http://www.gardeners.com/Outdoor+Planters/OutdoorPlanters_Dept,default,sc.html?SC=XNET8019

2)Replace all the light bulbs in your house with CFL and dispose of dead CFL's at Ace Hardware stores.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compact_fluorescent_lamp

3) Eliminate the use of lawn chemicals, pesticides, and non organic fertilizers.
http://capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080420/LIFE/804200309/0/ARCHIVE

4) Compost all your kitchen waste in a compost tumbler and use rich soil in a garden or flower bed.
http://www.greenhousemegastore.com/products.asp?dept=1076&gclid=COGIu76l75ICFRkyFQodv0Aw4Q

5) Read newspapers online, instead of paper.
www.nytimes.com

6) Recycle everything possible.
http://www.state.me.us/spo/recycle/mainerecycles/index.htm

7)Use reusable shopping bags and leave them in your car.
http://www.bagsontherun.com/?gclid=CNaw8dml75ICFQpzHgod6W3TcA

8)Eliminate the use of bottled water, (you are wasting hundreds of pounds of plastic every year), fill up once and use the bottle over and over again!
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EUY/is_18_7/ai_74649331

9) Purchase only recycled computer paper, paper towels, napkins, toilet tissue and trash bags.
http://www.staples.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/StaplesCategoryDisplay?jspStoreDir=Staples&catalogId=10051&productId=144443&cmArea=SEARCH&interceptedCatEntryId=144443&identifier=BI55903&langId=-1&storeId=10001&ddkey=StaplesProductDisplay


10) Buy an electric lawn mower (Gas lawn mowers produce as much air pollution as a weeks worth of driving).
http://www.neutonpower.com/

11)Join the Sierra Club, Nature Conservancy or Wilderness Society or other environmental organizations
http://www.maine.sierraclub.org/
http://www.nature.org/
http://www.wilderness.org/

12) Sign up for CMP clean electricity source (clean Hydro and Wind power right from Maine)
http://www.meipl.org/Pages/Products/Supply2008.html

13)Shop at local markets for products and try to buy locally made products! Support local agriculture
such as farmers markets.
http://www.portlandbuylocal.org/

14) Try to carpool, vanpool, take a bus, ride a bike, walk or take a train once or more per week!
http://www.gomaine.org/

15) Start saving for a vehicle that gets 40+ MPG or more, as your next car---Prius, Civic, Yaris!
http://www.toyota.com/prius-hybrid/index.html
http://automobiles.honda.com/civic-hybrid/
http://www.toyota.com/yaris/index.html

16) Consider alternate power source such as Wind or Solar power for your home.
http://www.solarhome.org/

17)Consider buying an all electric vehicle they make fantastic scooters and motorcycles and are for sale today!
http://www.vectrix.com/portal/index.php
http://www.zapworld.com/

[GliderGuider]

1. Some more

1. Stop flying.
2. Stop eating meat.
3. Stop eating wild-caught fish.
4. Move to within walking distance of work.
5. Downsize your home.
6. Super-insulate your home.
7. Put in Solar hot water heaters.
8. Get out of debt and stay there.
9. Get involved in politics.

And the most important single thing you can do for the planet:
10. Get a vasectomy or tubal ligation.

[Warpy]

2. Another source for an electric cycle

http://www.egovehicles.com

It's more the size and speed of a bicycle with a 20+ mile range, perfect for city use. It costs about a tenth as much as the Vectrix.

Plus you can add collapsible wire panniers on the back that are just the right size for those canvas grocery bags.

[sellitman]

3. Thanks.

Interesting!

[Warpy]

4. I've had mine since 2003

and the original batteries are still holding a charge. The only thing I've done besides wash it once in a while is change the tube in the front tire, a standard tube that was in stock at a local bike shop.

I ride it everywhere I'd ride a bicycle, meaning I've mapped out the back way to get everyplace I need to get on less traveled streets and on bike paths.

[Quantess]

5. Compost!

Food-garbage has no business going to a landfill.
Anyone who has a yard is better off composting their kitchen scraps. Not only does it improve the soil, but it reduces the amount of trash.

Even when I lived in a flat in San Francisco city limits, the food-garbage was put back into the tiny yard.