11 ways to have an environmentally sound season.
Want to make sure the things you do during the holidays are friendly toward the Earth? Here are 11 tips from the Sierra Club that will help you do just that.
1. Recycle your old cellphone. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org/cellphones.
2. Give the gift of guilt-free chocolate. Ever thought you could eat your way to a better planet? Now you can! Sierra Club chocolate is not only organic, it’s fair-trade, and a portion of the proceeds directly supports environmental programs.
3. Make your own wrapping paper. Most mass-produced wrapping paper you find in stores is not recyclable and ends up in landfills. Instead, here’s a great chance to get creative! Wrap presents with old maps, the comics section of a newspaper, or children’s artwork. If every family wrapped just three gifts this way, it would save enough paper to cover 45,000 football fields.
4. Add organic and local foods to your holiday feast. Support local family farmers who grow sustainable meat and produce. Not only does it taste better, you’ll be doing your part for the planet too. Looking for an organic turkey or ham for Christmas dinner? Find out where to get local green products in your neighborhood by visiting www.sierraclub.org/zoomer.
5. Stuff your stockings with eco-knowledge. Do you have a family member who loves the outdoors? Stuff their stockings with Sierra Club Knowledge Cards, which come in a variety of outdoor themes ranging from survival skills to baby animals. www.pomegranate.com
6. Do a “cool home” tour with the Sierra Club’s energy-saving checklist. Take a pledge this New Year’s to reduce your home energy use by buying energy-efficient light bulbs. Installing only six compact fluorescent light bulbs will save the average American family $60 per year. You also can use our handy “Cool Homes” checklist to see what easy things you can do in your home to save energy. If there’s a fire in your fireplace this Christmas, turn down that thermostat! Lowering the temperature even five degrees can take 10 percent off your energy bill. Check out a complete list of energy-saving tips at www.sierraclub.org/coolhome.
7. Buy energy-saving LED holiday lights. Now you can decorate your house with LED lights that use 90 percent less energy than conventional holiday lights, and can save your family up to $50 on your energy bills during the holiday season!
8. Get a pesticide-free tree. Search for an organic tree farm near you at www.localharvest.org.
9. Recycle your Christmas tree. Call (800) CLEANUP or visit www.earth911.org to find a tree-recycling program near you.
10. Donate your time or money to an environmental group. Get into the holiday spirit by volunteering!
11. Last but not least: Get ready for dinner-table debate. Are you likely to be the lone environmentalist at the dinner table sometime soon? Win arguments and influence people with the Sierra Club’s famous holiday survival guide (www.sierraclub.org/talk). You’ll find ready responses to the predictable dinner table arguments that’ll be directed at you. Who knows, you might even make a few converts!
Excerpt taken from the December 2007 issue of the Radish Magazine. This article can also be found, in entirety, online at www.radishmagazine.com
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