30 Ways to Help the Planet in 30 Days

April 17, 2007 — -- Whole Foods Markets will take part in "The Whole Earth Weigh In: 30 Ways in 30 Days," and give people 30 small things they can do to make a big difference in global warming.

Our little contributions do help. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, every American creates on average 94 pounds of carbon daily. As of 1999,the U.S. contribution to global warming was 30.3 percent, equivalent to the outputof the entire continent of Asia.

Below find 30 thing you can do:

Eco-Action TIP: Sun Power. Adjust your window blinds to reduce energy used for heating and cooling. In the summer, keep sunnyside blinds closed. In the winter, open up and let the sunshine in to help heat your home.

Eco-Action TIP: Get Involved. Join a local action group that promotes environmentally friendly practices, organize car pools or petition your municipality to increase local energyconservation measures.

Eco Action TIP: Plant a Tree, Seriously. A single tree can absorb one ton (2,000 pounds) of carbon dioxide over its lifetime. One acre of tree cover in Brooklyn can compensate for automobile fuel use equivalent to driving a car between 7,200 and 8,700 miles.

Eco-Action TIP: Go "Green" When You Clean. Many household cleaning products contain various chemicals and toxins detrimental to the environment and to your health. Read the labels!

Eco-Action TIP: Grow Your Own. Plant a garden or a few pots of veggies without pesticides and chemicalfertilizers that can harm both human health and the environment. Howdelightful to step out the back door and pick a ripe, organic tomato!

Eco-Action TIP: Avoid Products With a Lot of Packaging. You can save 1,200 pounds of carbon dioxide a year if you cut down your garbage by 10 percent.

Eco-Action TIP: Drive Smart. Every gallon of gasoline saved keeps 20 pounds of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. Keep your car tuned up, combine trips, limit idling to 30seconds, never "top off" the tank, drive less aggressively and maintainproper tire pressure. Keeping you tires inflated properly can improve gasmileage by more than 3 percent.

Eco-Action TIP: Office Overhaul. At home or on the job, switch to "green" office supplies, such as recycled paperclips, tree-free note pads and 100 percent recycled paper. Producing recycled paper requires about 60 percent of the energy used to make paper from virgin wood pulp.

Eco-Action TIP: Turn Out the Lights. Before leaving your home or office, make sure all the lights are turned off. This simple task will save energy and save you money.

Eco-Action TIP: Buy Recycled Products. Buying new products made from recycled materials allows you to "close the loop," creating a market for the recycled material items recycled curbside or in other recycling programs.

Eco-Action TIP: Switch to Organics. Organic agriculture protects the health of all Earth's inhabitants bylimiting input of toxic and persistent chemicals into the air, soil andwater. Organic methods support natural ecosystems by using long-termfarming solutions that help preserve the earth's resources for futuregenerations.

Eco-Action TIP: Start a Compost Pile in Your Yard. As landfill space becomes increasingly scarce and expensive, composting is an extremely valuable idea for reducing needless garbage. Composting requires little effort and, in time, will create an earthy, crumblysubstance to help your plants flourish.

Eco-Action TIP: Buy in Bulk. Purchasing food in bulk may seem like an old hippie thing to do, but it isvery practical and "green." It allows you to choose just how much or howlittle of a certain product you want. This reduces both food waste andpackaging waste.

Eco-Action TIP: Quench with Respect. Eight out of 10 of the 25 billion single-serving plastic water bottles Americans use each year end up in landfills. The other two might be recycled, but you can do better! Choose to reuse with a refillable water bottle madeof a refill-safe material.

Eco-Action TIP: Recycle More. You can save 2,400 pounds of carbon dioxide per year by recycling just half of your household waste.

Eco-Action TIP: Support Eco-Smart Packaging. When shopping for packaged products, seek out companies that use minimal amounts of recycled and/or recyclable materials to package their products.

Eco-Action TIP: Be Disposable Conscious. To decrease waste, purchase durable, long-lasting products that can be reused or refilled such as a rechargeable batteries and refillable razors. If you do use disposables, choose those made with eco-friendly materialsfrom companies you can trust.

Eco-Action TIP: Choose Your Food Like It Matters. Choose products from companies and businesses that do something to support the health of the planet. And eat as many whole foods as possible. Not only are they better for you, but they're better for the planet. The more whole the food is, the fewer the resources used to get it to your plate.

Eco-Action TIP: Reuse Your Bags.More than 1 billion single-use plastic bags are handed to consumers eachday, and it takes a 15-year-old tree to produce just 700 grocery bags. Paperor plastic is no longer the question. Reusing shopping bags significantlyreduces both emissions and waste. Make it a habit to bring your own bagswhen shopping. All Whole Foods Market stores offer at least anickel-per-bag refund to encourage you!

Eco-Action "REDUCE" TIP: Change a Light .Twenty percent of the electricity consumed in the United States is forlighting. Replacing one regular bulb with a compact fluorescent light bulbwill save 150 pounds of carbon dioxide a year.

Eco-Action "REDUCE" TIP: Tread Lightly.Walk, bike, carpool or take mass-transit more often. You'll save one poundof carbon dioxide for every mile you don't drive, reducing your carbonweight, and maybe some body weight, too!

Eco-Action "REDUCE" TIP: Turn Off Electronics. Simply turning off your TV, DVD player, stereo and computer when you're not using them will save thousands of pounds of carbon dioxide a year. Some appliances even use electricity when turned off, so unplug those used infrequently.

Eco-Action "REUSE" TIP: Think Before You Print.It takes 390 gallons of oil to produce a ton of paper. To reduce the amountof paper that gets thrown away or recycled, triple check documents beforeprinting. When you print drafts, try printing on the other side of usedpaper.

Eco-Action "REDUCE" TIP: Keep Your Appliances Clean.Cleaning your refrigerator coils and heating vents regularly allows them tooperate much more efficiently. When appliances aren't forced to work ashard, you reduce your electric bill while reducing energy.

Eco-Action TIP: Cut Back on Water Use. In the United States, 27 percent of our water is used in bathing. Instead of taking a bath, take a quick shower and use a water-conserving showerhead, which can save 350 pounds of CO2 a year. Repair leaky faucets, too, as they could leak up to 100 gallons of water per day!

Eco-Action "REDUCE" TIP: Stop the Junk Mail Overload. The public landfill is approximately 36 percent waste paper products. Unwanted junk mail contributes to that, while also wasting energy and trees. Sign up for a mail preference service that can decrease the amount of mail you receive by up to 75 percent.

Eco-Action "REUSE" TIP: Don't Trash Clothing.Use worn out T-shirts, towels and bed linens as rags for cleaning around thehouse. Pass along unwanted clothes to friends, family or charitableorganizations.

Eco-Action "REDUCE" TIP: Adjust Your Thermostat. Moving your thermostat down just 2 degrees in the winter and up 2 degrees in the summer could save 2,000 pounds of CO2.

Eco-Action "REDUCE" TIP: Buy Local. Purchase locally grown food when possible to support independent, local farms and the environment. They use less resources on their way to yourplate, and they're usually fresher, too, since they're typically picked morerecently.