50 Things You Can Do Tomorrow to be Kinder to the Earth

1. “No Mow May”

   • No Mow May is not enough on its own - if your lawn is only grass that is fertilized then there is no benefit to bees. No Mow May should encourage us to create a more biodiverse space by planting native flowers and shrubs, in place of grass, which will also reduce mowing in the future. Source: Xerces.org

2. “Leave the Leaves”

   • Leaves create a natural mulch, helping suppress weeds while fertilizing the soil as it breaks down. They also provide a habitat for wildlife, including creatures that consume pests and pollinate your garden. Source: USDA.gov

3. Reduce your lawn

   • Every year across the country, lawns consume nearly 3 trillion gallons of water, 200 million gallons of gas (for all that mowing), and 70 million pounds of pesticides. Sep 30, 2016 More Sustainable (and Beautiful) Alternatives to a Grass Lawn - NRDC

     Use lawn space to implement raised vegetable garden beds / Add a pond! You can get as creative as you want! Changes big or small will make a positive impact. Create more biodiversity by planting more native flowers, shrubs, and plants on your property

4. Grow native gardens

   • Plant Milkweed! Milkweed is the main source of life for Monarchs and is native to North America. Lupine, Cranesbill, Spotted Beebalm, Aster and Pussywillows are just a few native flowers to consider!

5. Plant native & edible trees & shrubs

   • Paw paw, hazelnut, black walnut, black berry, raspberry, blueberry, etc. Christmas Fern, Alternate-leaved Dogwood, Virginia Rose, & Buttonbush are some examples of native trees and shrubs. Check out Extapps.dec.ny.gov (New York State’s Department of Environmental Conservation website) for a complete list!

6. Remove invasive species

   • Invasives outcompete and displace native plants. It does this by shading them out and by changing the chemistry of the soil around it. Does not provide food for native insect and animal populations. Ex. Bittersweet, burning bush, barberry, buckthorn, privit, multi-flora rose, and bamboo. Vines choke out healthy trees. Often you can tell a plant doesn’t belong here by the name: Norway Maple, Russian Olive, Japanese Dogwood,  etc. (Invasives versus non-natives)

7. Skip lawn chemicals! Save the bees!

   • Reality:  Pesticides are dangerous by design. They are engineered to cause death. And harms to human health are very well documented, with children especially at risk. Here are a few recent examples from the news:

     • An entire class of pesticides (organophosphates) has been linked to higher rates of ADHD in children.

     • The herbicide atrazine, found in 94% of our water supply, has been linked to birth defects, infertility and cancer.

     • Women exposed to the pesticide endosulfan during pregnancy are more likely to have autistic children.

     • Girls exposed to DDT before puberty are five times more likely to develop breast cancer.

     • The World Health Organization recently designated the key ingredient in the widely used herbicide RoundUp a “probable human carcinogen.”

     Source: Panna.org

8. Feed the birds

   • Keeps birds around your property & birds are extremely beneficial! Birds control pests, pollinate plants, & spread seeds.

9. Create water features to support wildlife

   • You can add bee & birds baths, or go big by adding a small pond! Creating spaces with easy-to-access water stations attracts wildlife that plays essential roles in running our ecosystems.

10. Drive with care: watch for amphibians & other animals

11. Don’t throw out garbage & food scraps out the window

12. Protect even the smallest wetlands

    • Add more! Amphibians are endangered/ wetlands are some of the most biodiverse habitats in the world.

13. Set up bat, bee, & bird houses

    • There are many benefits to having a bat house on your property! They provide pest control as they can eat up to half their body weight in insects, and they are pollinators. Source: batcon.org.

14. Keep cats inside

    • Outdoor cats kill approximately 2.4 billion birds every year in the United States and have contributed to the extinction of 63 species of birds, mammals, and reptiles in the wild, according to abcbirds.org.

15. Turn off outdoor lights especially during migration

    Reduce your carbon footprint

16. Move towards a plant based diet

    • Reduce risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer AND Finally, meat consumption contributes to climate change though deforestation and methane emissions. Food systems make up a third of global greenhouse gas emissions caused by human activity, and animal-based foods contribute twice the emissions of plant-based foods. Switching from the typical Western diet to a vegetarian diet can reduce one’s personal dietary carbon emissions by 30 percent; a strict vegan diet can reduce them by as much as 85 percent.

      Source: Scientificamerican.com

17. Grow your own food

    • Join a local CSA, shop at farmers markets

18. Compost food scraps

    • Approximately 40% of food scraps end up in the landfill. Composting them improves soil health, reduces greenhouse gas emissions, & makes your garden more drought tolerant. Check out Foodscraps360 for more information about composting!

19. Let your body adjust to changing seasons: Lower thermostat in winter; Delay use of AC; set AC high in summer 

20. Use electric or manual mower

    • According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), gas-powered lawnmowers can emit as much pollution in one hour as a car driven for 100 miles. These pollutants include carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs).The emissions from one four-stroke lawnmower operating for one hour are equivalent to an average vehicle traveling 500 miles.

      • Using a gas-powered mower for one hour produces the same amount of emissions as 11 new cars also running for an hour.

      •  At least 17 million gallons of gasoline are spilled annually just filling these lawnmowers.

21. Use electric tools (weedwackers, chain saws, snow blowers, leaf blowers)

22. Avoid campfires, burning leaves, wood scraps or rubbish

    • Smoke releases methane, carbon dioxide, and black carbon into the air, all of which contribute to climate change. Secondly, the smoke pollutes the air with particulate matter – which is especially harmful to human health and has been linked to respiratory problems and aggravating existing conditions such as asthma.

23. Don’t cut down trees; let logs rot naturally

24. Line dry clothes & sheets

25. Avoid Single Use Plastics/Reduce/Recyle 

26. Carry refillable travel mug & water bottle

27. Reuse plastic ziplock bags for food storage 

    • No need to use plastic wrap, aluminum foil, or ziplock baggies!

28. Eliminate the use of plastic garbage bags.

    • Use paper or reuse plastic bag that food comes in. Freeze stinky meat until garbage day.

29. Buy reusable glass containers

    • Eliminate use of plastic garbage and zip lock bags / use recycled containers / buy or make beeswax wraps

30. Make the transition to laundry sheets 

31. Use fully dissolvable zero plastic dishwasher pods in cardboard packaging 

32. Purchase liquid hand soap in cardboard containers

33. Use soap, shampoo, and conditioner bars

34. Buy in bulk at the Honest Weight Food Coop. Bring your own containers.

35. Recycle - bottles, cans, paper, cardboard, plastics, clothes, shoes, batteries, metal, styrofoam, furniture

    • IPH, CIty Mission, First United Methodist Church - Donate your unwanted clothes to women’s shelters, homeless shelters, & places you know they will be used. Many thrift stores throw away lots of their donations.

    Reduce Consumer Spending

    “Use it up, wear it out, make it due, or due without.”

36. Shop consignment shops / Maintain & recycle old clothes

    • Waste occurs at every stage of the garment manufacturing process, harming wildlife, degrading land, and polluting soil and water. The fast fashion industry is a significant contributor to the climate crisis, responsible for as much as 10% of global carbon dioxide emissions.

      Center for Biological Diversity

37. Make homemade gifts; save wrapping paper; use cloth napkins; carry reusable bags; avoid plastic plates and cups 

    Save energy

38. Use shades, open windows, etc. to maintain a comfortable temp

    • Lower thermostat in winter/ Set AC temp higher in summer

39. Fly less & avoid connecting flights / Take the train or bus, carpool / use mass transportation when possible

    • The average passenger car emits approximately 400 grams of CO2 per mile & about 4.6 metric tons of CO2 per year. Source: EPA.gov

40. Get energy efficient & electric appliances (not gas); look for Energy Star rating

    • Reduce / eliminate use of natural gas; turn off pilot lights; buy an invenction stove;  see how your neighbors are doing

41. Install solar panels or sign-up for clean energy

42. Mitigate climate impacts

43. Plant native grasses & plants for water management, resilience

44. Reduce paved areas / Install permeable driveways & paths

45. Install bioswales to reduce runoff that pollutes streams

    • Bioswales are a type of green infrastructure facility that slows runoff velocity & cleanses water while recharging the underlying groundwater table. Source: NACTO.org

46. Plant trees for cooling

    • Urban forests are approximately 2.9 degrees cooler than urban areas without vegetation. Source: EPA.gov

47. Install a water barrel

    Odds & Ends

48. Shut off water when brushing teeth, washing dishes, etc.

    • Approximately 4 gallons of water is used when leaving the water running while brushing teeth. When shutting off the water, approximately .25 gallons is used. Source: NYC.gov, Water Use Calculation Chart

49. Move to digital subscriptions; get and pay bills online

50. Use white vinegar, lemon, and baking soda instead of household chemicals like bleach and ammonia. Make natural plant care mixes.

    • And bleach does enter the environment through waterways and the atmosphere. In waterways, bleach can form dioxins, known carcinogens, which seriously harm both aquatic and wild life (and human life if they get the chance). In the atmosphere, it is associated with ozone depletion, which obviously has long-term environmental effects. 

    • Source: Planetark.org