In honor of Earth Day: ways to help the environment

(Publisher’s Note: Today, April 22 is Earth Day. Below are a few ways you can help the environment every day.)

By Julia Strimer

• Use cold water in the washer whenever possible; 90 percent of the energy that washing machines use goes toward heating the water.

• Use dishes, glassware and coffee cups instead of disposable dishes and cups.
• Use cloth bags for shopping; each year the U.S. uses 84 billion plastic bags, a significant portion of the 500 billion used worldwide. They are not biodegradable.
• Twenty-seven million trees a year are destroyed to support our paper towel addiction. Clean up your spills with cotton kitchen towels.
• Americans throw away 44 million newspapers every day. That’s 500,000 trees a week, which is a good reason to recycle your paper or read it online.
• Keep thermostat at 68 in winter and 78 in summer.
• Reduce your junk mail; The Direct Marketing Association’s (DMA) Mail Preference Service (MPS) lets you opt out of receiving unsolicited commercial mail from many national companies for five years. To register with DMA’s Mail Preference Service, click here, or mail your request with a $1 processing fee to: DMAchoice, Direct Marketing Association, P.O. Box 643, Carmel, NY 10512
• Skip the coffee stirrer; each year, Americans throw away 138 billion straws and stirrers. But skipping the stirrer doesn’t mean drinking your coffee black. Simply put your sugar and cream in first, and then pour in the coffee, and it should be well mixed.

EARTH DAY PLEDGE
I pledge allegiance to the Earth
And all the life which it supports.
One planet, in our care,
Irreplaceable, with sustenance and
Respect for all.