Welcome to Gaia! ::

I guess I say what it is I do about going green? Sorry in advance that I type too much ^_^'

My parents & I are have been environmentally conscious forever, because we're big nature lovers. Our current lot was barren with only a willow & a pitch pine, so my mom has planted over 300 trees & plants, every year we buy more! She has designed our lot to be environmentally friendly & natural- with a leyland forest, deciduous trees in semi-wooded areas & an open field. She planted them like this to look natural & to help attract the wildlife. Currently we have hundreds of species of birds including hawks, ducks & geese, raccoons, possums, bats, garden snakes & insects. Planting many trees & having a diverse landscape benefits both wildlife & the environment.

We don't believe in pesticides or herbicides because those chemicals are so toxic it kills birds, small mammals, helpful insects & creates run-off. Run-off is a severe problem out here because of lawns. Living next to a lake with a low water table & using chemicals increases feral weed growth in the lake, reducing the indigenous food supply to herons & other water fowl, also poisoning frogs & trout. When we walk the dogs & talk to our neighbors, we tell them about the hazards of pesticides & herbicides (I'm surprised many of them care about going green too! cool).

Things we do:
-recycle cans, plastics, paper & glass bottles
-buy recyclable & organic goods
-we don't use plastic bags but tote bags
-plant many trees
-we don't buy products from companies that support harm to the environment
-when we need our Yoshino & Egonoki trees sprayed from scale infestation, we use environmentally safe spray
-we regularly pick up the litter around the lake
-reduce the amount of electricity running in the house
-we support WCS & other conservation groups

There's alota stuff we do, but I can't think this late. ^^; We also want to buy land in remote places. We want to buy it in order to preserve it from being destroyed by land developers. Currently we have another lot upstate by the Adirondack Mountains. It's an abandoned farm but someday, we will plant several hundred trees! I love trees, the more there are, the better! lol We have deers, foxes & many birds up there...Um, I hope I stayed on topic razz

i grew up during the 60's and 70's, when 'going green' was 'going back to nature' or 'finding your roots'. i don't know, they called it a lot of things, mostly the 'hippy' movement. my parents weren't hippies, far from it. but, they did like saving money, and taking care of what they had, including the land. i learned a lot from this era, and started 'going green' then.
in the '80's, i married into a well-to-do family, the parents being older and having gone through the depression era. they also had lived on a large ranch that had been in their family since the 1800's, and were very nature oriented, and environmentally aware. picked up a lot there.
now, it's just the same thing with a different name. normally conscious of my personal consumption and my environment, i've tried to teach my children the same habits. i'm happy to say that they're interested in the same concepts in that regard. it's not a religious thing, but it's part of our lifestyle, and actually kind of fun.

Well, I moved here to Missouri with my Significant Other about three months ago and he was absolutely terrible! He used paper towels for everything (like spoon rests and coffee mug drainers) and throwing away plastic? I don't even want to think about it!

Today, we use reusuable washable dishtowels to put under the coffee mugs and spoons, and I've actually got him using dishrags instead of paper towel or (yuck) sponges and I dust the furniture with old rags.... We use a lot less throw away plastic wrap and instead recycle containers that we get from the grocery store, and we wash and reuse storage bags. I've planted flowers to make the property look nicer, and we're talking about planting and herb garden and maybe a small veggie garden next spring. Oh, and he grows strawberries but they haven't been doing well lately, so I'm going to help him be more conscientious about their care.

I'm teaching him a lot about more respect for our planet and realizing what we are doing to it.

Dear fellow Treehuggers,

I would like to say, being born and raised as a hippie, I do take part in helping the enviroment in any way possible.

Here are the things I do to help the enviroment:

-I am a vegan at home, and a vegetarian everywhere I go.
-I eat and buy organics.
-I always buy recycled or sugar cane paper, note cards, and sticky notes.
-I always buy recycled tire pencils.
-I own a garden that I take care of and plant veggies and flowers every year.
-I always plant trees and flowers around two local firehouses every year. (My Papa helps me take care of them.)
-I don't leave the water running while I am washing my hair, brushing my teeth, washing my face, washing my hands, washing my body, etc, either in the shower or in the sink.
-I only do two loads of laundry a week, and I make sure they are all full loads and not small loads.
-I leave my clothes to dry on clothing lines rather than using my dryer.
-I ride my bike almost everywhere I go.
-I carpool.
-I limit my phone conversations (with the acception of my boyfriend XD) to one hour.
-I buy ecofriendly makeup, lotion, lip gloss and chap stick.
-I buy a lot of t-shirts that help save our planet. (Including organic t-shirts and WWF t-shirts.)
-I don't eat fast food whatsoever.
-I buy ecofriendly toilet paper, paper towels, and tampons.
-I don't leave my ipod in the charger if it is fully charged.
-I unplug every appliance I own.
-I recycle as much of what I get rid of as I can.
-I pick up whatever trash I see laying around.
-I clean up many hiking areas that I hike in.
-I use my flashdrive for many school projects rather than printing on paper. (When I do print, I use recycled paper.)
-I reuse and get the most out of everything I buy, including paper, pencils, many materials, clothing, etc.
-Instead of throwing away electronics, I trade them in to companies that want the appliances I am throwing away.
-If I am through using an appliance, I always give it away.
-Instead of throwing away unwanted clothes, books, or shoes, I give them away to children in need.
-I use green bags in the grocery stores rather than plastic bags. (When, on very rare occations, I forget or don't have enough green bags, I use paper bags. After I am finished with the paper bags, I recycle them.)
-I take two to five minute showers using warm water.
-I buy organic shampoo, conditioner and hair spray. (I give my thanks to Full Circle and Paul Mitchell.)
-I don't use any light during the daytime.
-I use ecofriendly light bulbs.
-I turn all lights off with the acception of one light which is the one I am using in a certain room I am in.
-I don't watch too much TV.
-I go on the computer for a maximum of two hours a day.
-When my parents bring home plastic bags, I recycle them at local grocery stores after I reuse them over and over again.
-I go to many vegetable stands to get fresh fruit, vegetables and flowers while the stands are up during the late spring, summer, and early fall.
-I go to libraries to get books instead of buying books for myself.
-I buy a lot of recycled plastic materials for items including dog bowls, etc.
-I buy organic dog biskets, etc. (Thanks to Petco.)
-I buy recycled hair products such as hair clips.
-I educate many people the importance of helping the enviroment and animals.

There is more...but I can't think of any more at the moment. XD

Peace and Love,
Sazzie

Here's my list:
- I bike everywhere, or I carpool
- I unplug appliances and rechargers
- I take short showers
- I buy fruits and veggies from my town's farmer's market
- I use CFLs instead of incandescents
- I don't use aerosols
- I use soaps/deodorants/cosmetics that aren't tested on animals

I'm really sleepy because school just started, so I can't think of anything else at the moment.

Well, I live with people who don't know how to turn off lights/electrical items not in use, so I turn them off and remind them to when they're not using them.
I also use a flashlight at night instead of using the lights in my house when I really need light (plus it's fun ^^)
I got my dad to plant alot of tomatoes and instead of using the hose water or anything like that we use our fish pond water, it's also alot healthier for the plants as it has natural fertalizer in it which I thought was cool
And I planted my own little green onion plant because my mom always goes out to the store and buys them
I like to turn somethings into plant pots and stuff like a coffee tin and soda bottles or some cans or pretty much ANYTHING I try to use it like that in some way
My friend also likes to help me pick up rubbish at my school..we usualy do it when we're walking to classes or at lunch or any free time
I try to keep my clothes a little clean so that I don't have to wash
I only wash them when I absolutely need to and when I shower I turn off the water wile I was my hair and body because I sort of take a while to wash my hair.
I'm trying to get my parents to let me do vermi-composting with earth worms so that we could not trash so much food and stuff that the worms could eat
I am currently searching for more ideas :3