One of the major ways to help save the Earth is conservation. Conservation is the wise use of and the preservation of natural resources. Conservation can save more oil than we now import. Since the country began conserving energy in 1973, 13 million barrels per day have been saved. Every time you practice conservation you are helping theenvironment by not causing pollution or wasting natural resources. It is not only air pollution that is becoming a problem. Soil and water pollution is beginning to take a toll on the environment.

Practicing conservation can best be described as using the three Rs: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. Following the guidelines offered below will not only help the environment but will also save money. This is a win-win situation.

Reduce: One-third of the waste materials from cities is packaging. Fast food is usually placed in plastic or Styrofoam containers. Styrofoam is biodegradable is very wasteful plus it takes up space in landfills for hundreds of years. Plastic isn’t much better. Using a paper bag is the best choice. Scientists are working to develop better biodegradable plastics. (Biodegradable means that it will decompose over a short period of time.)

Heating and cooling homes are the largest user of energy. (Americans spend about $200 million a year just heating hot tubs.) Refrigerators used approximately 20% of the home’s electricity. Windows waste 25% of the energy. There are many ways that you can help reduce the amount of energy your home uses. For other ways to reduce energy consumption, click here.

Another good way to help the environment is to reduce the amount of nonrenewable resources we use. Scientists are developing alternative forms of energy. Solar, wind, and tidal power are methods being developed. Even though solar cars are not on the market yet, hybrid cars are being sold. These cars greatly reduce the amount of fossil fuels being used and also create less air pollution.

Reuse: Reusing products is an important way to conserve resources and prevent pollution. Reuse is better than recyling because it creates no pollution.Every time you reuse a plastic bag, one less bag has to be made. Some stores allow you to bring in used plastic bags, such as Wal-mart. Rechargeable batteries are a very good idea. Disposing of batteries in landfills allow chemicals to escape and this causes soil and water pollution. Most areas have strict guidelines about disposal of batteries.

About 85% of the water you use at home goes down the drain. Try to use less water whenever possible. For example, when you boil eggs, save the water. It is full of nutrients and can be used to water your plants! For other ideas on conserving water, click here.

Recycle: Recycling is using an object again. It may change form and become of different object. Recycling aluminum cans still requires a use of energy but much less than creating a new can. Recycling aluminum foil and cans saves 95% of the energy needed to created new aluminum. Recycled plastic can be used to make many objects, even socks and t-shirts! Recycling newspapers saves trees. Every week, half a million trees are needed just to create the Sunday paper. Glass makes up 8 % of all our waste. It can be melted to create new jars and bottles. The easiest way to recycle is to separate your plastics, glass, paper and aluminum cans before you take the garbage to the landfill. Recycling is easy, yet only about 11% of the garbage in the United States is recycled. Japan recycles about 50% of its waste.

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