Kids today have more power than ever to help save the Earth from human waste and pollution. Thanks to the Internet, you've got more resources at your fingertips than your parents could have found in an entire library when they were young. Read these steps to learn about just a few of the fun and helpful things you can do to make the Earth a little bit greener for all of us.

How to Take Action to Help the

Environment

On Your Own At Home

Help with recycling. Recycling programs are available practically everywhere. They clean and process certain kinds of waste so that the materials can be reused, which reduces the need for manufacturers to extract more resources from the planet. Help the adults in your home by organizing

and regularly delivering their recycling for the recycling truck to pick up from the curb.

On Your Own At Home

Usually, you can at least recycle paper, thin plastic (like milk jugs and shopping bags), thin metal (like pop cans) and glass. Depending on where you live, you might also be able to recycle thicker plastic, Styrofoam, and other materials.

Organize the recycling. Check bottles, jars, and cans to be sure they're reasonably clean. They don't have to be spotless, but they shouldn't be half-full, either. Once everything is in order, sort the recycling by type. If you use separate bins for each type, this will make it easier to fill the right bins. Even if you don't, it's a great way to get an idea of how much of each type of material your family uses every day.

On Your Own At Home

Reduce your energy consumption. Turn off lights and electronics (such as TVs and game systems) when you're done using them. Ask your parents before you turn off the family computer, though: sometimes, computers need to stay on for various reasons. During the day, open curtains and blinds, and rely on natural light instead of electric light.

On Your Own At Home

Keep the temperature at a moderate level. If you live in a home with air conditioning, ask your parents to set it no lower than 72 degrees Fahrenheit during the summer months. In the winter, don't turn the thermostat up any higher than 68 degrees. (Use blankets and robes to stay warm when it's cool in the house.) At night, turn the thermostat as low as 55 degrees in rooms that nobody sleeps in.

On Your Own At Home

Use less water. Take short showers instead of baths, and turn the faucet off when you aren't actually using it. This includes when you're brushing your teeth, but before you spit. Every little bit helps!

On Your Own At Home

Start reusing items. Ask your parents to invest in 3 or 4 reusable shopping bags. They'll drastically reduce the amount of paper or plastic shopping bags coming home from the grocery store.

As for your own items, start using a reusable lunch box for school, if you don't already. They look cooler than paper bags, anyway, and you can even pack home your paper towels and plastic baggies for recycling. Ask for a reusable water bottle for drinks, too. Either metal or rugged plastic will do fine.

Be sure to rinse and clean reusable shopping bags about once a week, to keep them from getting grimy. Scrub them out briskly in the kitchen sink with a dishcloth or sponge and let them dry on the dish rack for a couple of hours.Use what plastic shopping bags you have left as trash bags in the bathroom or your bedroom. They fit small trash cans perfectly, and will reduce your consumption of specially-made plastic trash bags.

On Your Own At Home

Be sure when you pick out a water bottle that it's made with “BPA free” plastic. This makes it safe to drink from even when it gets old. Plastics with BPA in them don't stay safe to use as bottles over a long period of time.

On Your Own At Home

In The Yard

Plant trees. Talk with your parents about the benefits of planting trees. They help reduce energy costs. And any kind of tree at all makes a great pollution sponge, sopping up carbon dioxide and processing it into fresh oxygen for you to breathe

Go over a tree guide with your parents and find trees that will grow to an appropriate height in your climate zone, without causing problems elsewhere in the yard. There's a tree for almost every height and climate.Be sure to get care instructions for your tree, and water it regularly after it's planted. Take care of the sapling, and by the time you're grown up, you'll have a fine, strong tree that grew up right alongside you.

In The Yard

Use environmentally sound chemicals. There are many fertilizers, herbicides (weed killers) and pesticides (bug killers) on the market to help maintain the beauty of your yard; however, some of them are dangerous for the environment when used regularly over time. Try to find out which chemicals your family uses, and then go online and look up “green” alternatives that don't hurt the environment as much. Show them to your parents and ask them to switch.

In The Yard

Let the lawn go a little. Herbicides are most commonly used on your lawn, to kill unsightly weeds. Which would you rather have: a lawn with some dandelions growing in it, or a lawn covered in plant-killing chemicals? Point this out to your parents and ask them to rely on weeding instead, even if the lawn ends up a bit less than perfect.

In The Yard

Introduce beneficial bugs. Just as there are bugs that will ruin your family's vegetable garden (such as aphids), there are other bugs that eat those bugs as a tasty snack. Many garden supply stores offer live supplies of these bugs, such as lacewings (which love to eat aphids and look pretty, too), for order through the mail. Rely on nature's own defenses, and you can use pesticide spray a lot less.Leave beneficial bugs where you find them, too. In many cases, your garden already has some guardian bugs in it. Garden spiders, for example, eat all kinds of other pests, and are totally harmless to your plants. When you find these bugs, leave them be and let them help out.

In The Yard

Family, Friend, and School Projects

Clean up a park. Get a group of your friends together, or find a day when your family can all go out for a morning to a nearby park. Bring a few large trash bags and some gardening gloves with you. Start at the parking lot, and follow every path in the park, picking up every piece of trash you find. Within a few hours, your park will be spotless!

If you see trash off the path, don't hesitate – go and grab it. If it's hard to reach, find a stick and try to knock and drag it closer.

This doesn't sound like that much fun when you read it, but actually doing it is a great experience. In fact, you might like it so much that you want to set up a regular event once or twice a year to go back and clean it again.

Family, Friend, and School Projects

Join a larger cleaning operation. If you ask teachers and look at the local news, you'll probably find that there are other groups of people doing cleanup operations similar to your park project. In almost all cases, these people are happy to have kids and families join up. You might get to clean up a beach, a campground, or a pretty mountain trail when you go out with a bigger crew. You'll also get the thrill of being part of a bigger movement.

Family, Friend, and School Projects

Join other volunteer groups. Whether you like to plant trees, clean up trails, or even just spread the word about environmental change in your hometown, there's probably a local group of people who are interested in doing the same thing. Reach out to them and ask how you can help. If there isn't such a group, why not talk to your parents or school about making one yourself? You're never too young to make a difference, after all. That's just as true out in public as it is in your own living room.

Family, Friend, and School Projects

TipsDon't forget to reward yourself for your hard work. Enjoy what you've helped protect: go outside and play or explore in nature whenever you can. As long as you respect and care for the natural world, it'll be yours to enjoy.This guide is only a starting point. Ask around and look online to find out more things you can do to help keep the world a safe and healthy place for us all to live.