by Merri Sharp

Created on: August 17, 2006   Last Updated: April 05, 2011

So many people dismiss environment protection as unessential - money, politics, and social/humanitarian efforts often get priority. Here's why environmental protection should come first: It's like, if you're having a dinner party - you run around cleaning your house, setting the table, making sure there's enough toilet paper in the bathroom, and fixing your hair; but all this effort is useless if you have no food to serve. Same thing, what does it matter if your have $10 or $10 million in your bank account, if you can't grow food to eat or have air to breathe? It is time to make environmental sustainability a priority. Here are some easy ways to get started:

1. Shop locally: For produce, clothing, household furniture, you name it. When you shop locally, you help reduce the amount of pollution caused by shipping products around the continent.

2. Buy at least one organic product each time you shop: This means that you promote chemical reduction - none are produced to protect the crops, and none are ingested when you eat the harvest of these crops.

3. Reduce energy consumption: Turn off your computer instead of letting it sit on "sleep" mode, unplug your cell phone charger when you are not charging your phone, unplug appliances when not being used (it takes energy to keep that green light on), turn off your furnace before you go to bed and leave it off until you get home from work (you do not need to heat your entire house for the 30 minutes between when you get up, and when you leave the house - especially since you spend 15 minutes of that time in a warm shower anyway), hang your clothes to dry instead of using the dryer - put them in for a few minutes when they are almost dry (to soften them up) if you desire, repair air leaks and keep your house properly insulated, wash clothes in cold water, defrost food on the counter or in the fridge instead of using the microwave, etc.

4. Eliminate disposables: Use cloths/rags instead of paper towel, hankerchiefs instead of Kleenex, and - if you're brave enough - use reuseable pantyliners and maxi pads (www.lunapads.com).

5. Reduce water consumption: (gently!) put a brick or rock into your toilet's reservoir to reduce the amount of water used each flush, repair water leaks, turn off the water while brushing your teeth and washing your hands

6. Don't let your car idle at long lights or when you are stuck in traffic: If your car isn't going to be moving for at least 10 seconds, save the gas - and the emissions - by turning

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