Green Tip #1
Support one or more environmental groups with your money, time and talents.

Green Tip #2
Identify a local environmental issue and get involved. It is your community.

Green Tip #3
Compost your organic waste into a growing medium full of nutrients. This can be done in your back yard, or participate in your community composting program. Vermicomposters are self-contained composters that fit under your sink or on your balcony. A third of all household waste could be composted.

Green Tip #4
Choose the product that does the job; don’t overkill. Toxic chemicals are not needed to do most cleaning jobs. Why subject yourself to the hazards when soap and water would do the job?

Green Tip #5
Use vinegar and water 1:3 ratio to clean windows. Wipe with newspaper rather than paper towels.

Green Tip #6
In order to encourage power-generating companies to produce more green electricity, consumers must demand it. In Ontario, switch to Bullfrog Power. It buys power from wind and low-impact hydro generators.

Make the switch online at www.bullfrogpower.com
Canadian Wind Energy Association www.canwea.ca
Canadian Renewable Energy Network www.canren.gc.ca
The Green Electricity Marketplace www.greenelectricity.org/domestic.html


Green Tip #7
Learn how to knit and sew to make some of your own clothing. Stop catering to whims of the fashion industry and wearing items made in sweat shops.

Green Tip #8
Carry your own bags when shopping. Refuse plastic bags which are made from non-renewable petroleum products that create huge garbage problems. In South Africa plastic bags are called the "national flower", because so many are blowing around.

Green Tip #9
Buy a cleaner car the next time you are purchasing a vehicle. In 2005 one in five vehicles sold in Canada was an SUV. They are the most polluting form of personal transportation available, spewing out huge amounts of carbon that contribute to ozone depletion.

Green Tip #10
Turn the thermostat down by 2 degrees C and save 272 kg of greenhouse gases a year.

Green Tip #11
Replace three standard light bulbs with low energy bulbs and save 136 kg of greenhouse gas emissions a year.

Green Tip #12
Buy only fair-trade coffee, tea and chocolate. They provide a higher income and greater security for small producers.

Green Tip #13
Buy locally produced food items as often as possible to support local farmers. Learn when seasonal foods are available and use them often. By purchasing locally grown foods, you are reducing the amount of carbon released into the atmosphere, because the food only travels a very short distance. We are spoiled thinking that every kind of food should be available in our grocery store 365 days a year, regardless of how far it must be shipped.

Green Tip #14
Reduce the number of forest products that you use. Too many trees are wasted with excessive paper consumption, paper towels, office paper and Kleenex to name a few.

Green Tip #15
Keep reading. Many of these Green Tips have been taken from an excellent book called The Everyday Activist, 365 Ways to Change the World by Michael Norton, 2005; Anansi.

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