10 Easy Ways to Go Green

1.
Turn off your computer when you’re done surfing the web and IMing your friends. It can save your family almost $100 dollars a year in electricity bills if you turn off you computer every night before bed. Switching your computer to “sleep” or “hibernate” mode also saves power.
2.
Go home for lunch instead of going out for lunch. Fast food places always have paper and plastic bags, napkins, cups, and utensils that come with your food. These never get recycled. By going home for lunch you can avoid wasting these products and also save a buck! Eating lunch at home is a lot cheaper than going out and it’s healthier for you too.
3.
Don’t let the water run when your brushing your teeth or washing your hands. Also try to cut a couple minutes off your shower time every morning. It might feel nice to stand in the hot shower a few extra minutes, but you’re really just wasting water and energy.
4.
Refill your water bottles and soda bottles. I see lots of people at my school with Propel, Gatorade, Vitamin Water, Pepsi, and Coke bottles everyday. I doubt very many people recycle them, or even reuse them. It wastes fuel to ship these water bottles and even though they are 100% recyclable, millions of them end up at garbage dumps every year. When you get done slurping your Gatorade, try refilling it at the drinking fountain and drink water for the rest of the week. Water is better for you anyways and it doesn’t cost you a cent! Remember to recycle the bottle when you’re done with it also.
5.
Carpool, walk, or ride the bus to school. I know it’s not as cool to walk or catch a ride to school, but it helps to lower emissions that cause global warming, and leaves some extra dough in your pocket since you won’t have to fill up on gas as often. It’s also safer when you let someone else take the wheel for a change.
6.
Turn off the lights when no one is in the room. It’s just a big waste. Lighting makes up 11% percent of your parent’s energy bill, so be sure to flip the switch when you leave the room.
7.
Throw away you trash. It surprises me how much people litter. It might just be a wrapper here, or an empty cup there, but it sure adds up. It is bad for wildlife and releases toxic chemicals when it breaks down. It also really ugly! Do everyone a favor and put your trash where it belongs.
8.
Donate your old clothes to places like Deseret Industries or Plato’s Closet. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that more than 10 million tons of textile waste went to U.S. landfills in 2003. Help someone else out by giving them some hand-me-downs and help protect the environment.
9.
Recycle your old school assignments. It’s almost the end of the school year and you probably have a lot of old school assignments and papers to throw out. Even though it might be more satisfying to rip everything up into little shreds, try putting them in the recycle bin instead.
10.
Drive the least amount possible. Coordinate your errands into one trip. It saves gas money and cuts back the amount of pollution and carbon dioxide emissions in the air. We all know how smoggy the air in Salt Lake can get, so do your part to make our air quality better.
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Sarah Wheatley