You've found it. Probably what this site is most famous for... The List. Here is a list of things you, as an individual, can do to protect the environment, conserve the Earth's resources, and otherwise further the mission of The Nature Initiative. Some of the items on the list are easy to follow, heck, you might be doing a bunch of these already. But we will keep adding to this list and we hope that anyone and everyone, regardless of how dedicated you are to the cause, will be able to find some suggestions and challenges to change their lives. Remember, each of us can make a change, one step at a time.

Email us to suggest items for the list and to tell us your experiences with trying to complete all the items on THE LIST.

The List

Commute Intelligently - A bus or train is better than your car, and a bike is even better.
Don't waste electricity - Whenever we use electricity, we help put greenhouse gases into the air. Listen to your mom - turn off the lights and the television when you leave a room. Not only does it save you $ on the electric bill, you're helping the environment.
Plant Trees - Planting trees is fun and a great way to reduce greenhouse gases. Trees absorb carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, from the air. The fine folks at the National Arbor Day Foundation will send you 10 free trees when you join them. Check them out at www.arborday.org for great tree planting tips.
Recycle cans, bottles, and newspapers - When you recycle, you send less trash to the landfill and you help save natural resources, like trees, oil, and elements such as aluminum.
Lobby for Recycling - If your city or municipality doesn't have a recycling program that includes curbside pickup, start pressuring your local government to implement one.
Buy recyclable products - Buy recyclable products instead of non-recyclable ones. Look for the recycle mark - three arrows that make a circle - on the package.
Buy recycled products - Wait, isn't this the same as #6? What the heck! Nope, there is a difference between recyclable and recycled products. Recycled products are made from previously used materials and are often recyclable. Also, it usually takes less energy to make recycled products than to make new ones.
Go Solar - Solar energy can be used to heat homes, buildings, and water. It can also be used to make electricity. Today, more than 200,000 houses in the United States take advantage of the sun's energy. It is among the cleanest forms of energy available. Tax breaks are often available for individuals and corporations that use solar energy to power their homes and businesses.
Drive Smart - Aim for 40 miles per gallon or more. Hybrid cars aren't a solution if they don't top that (we're talking to you Lexus and you too Ford Escape).
Buy ENERGY STAR^{® _} Products such as computers, stereos, TVs and appliances with the ENERGY STAR^® label are made to save more energy than most alternative products.
Power Shower - Okay, this is something you can do everyday (we hope). Limit showers to 4 minutes or less. Focus on washing, soaping, shampooing and getting out of there! Tom Cruise claims to take 1 minute showers! That might be "mission impossible" for most of us, but if Americans limit their showers to only 4 minutes, water use would be reduced by almost 50%.
Take reusable bags when shopping - Not just for groceries, but anywhere. Small purchases can be put in a backpack or purse, instead of in paper or plastic. Just remember to get a receipt - you don't want to look like you're taking a "five finger discount"! Hey, Whole Foods will even give you a small credit on your purchase if you bring in some of their bags the next time you shop.
Sign up for Green Power with your electricity supplier - People are often surprised to find out that most large city electricity suppliers allow you to choose a Green Power (albeit at a slightly higher price). Just call them and sign up!
Compost - Forget filling up landfills, put food scraps and garden clippings in a compost pile in your yard. In a few months, decomposition will leave you with a good pile of fertilizer for your garden.
Less packaging - When choosing between similar products, choose the one with less unnecessary packaging. Such buying habits will encourage manufacturers to package more efficiently.
Pay Bills Online - Electronic payments save paper (the payment stub, the check, the envelope) and energy (less planes & trucks moving around our mail). And you save money on postage!
Go Green when you clean - Use biodegradable cleaning products that lack harmful chemicals that pollute groundwater.
Go native - When planting your garden, plant native species. Non-indigenous plants can disrupt the ecosystem of your community.
Give your monitor a rest - Don't leave your computer running all night at the office.
Conserve at the sink - Don't leave the water running while brushing your teeth or shaving. Not only will you conserve water, you'll save money on the water bill!
Stick it in the fridge - Put a pitcher or bottle of tap water in your refrigerator (a 2-liter soda bottle works great). That way you won't have to waste water running your tap to get cold water.
Re-read - Buy used books. And then recycle by giving them to a friend or selling them to a used bookstore.
Rent, don't buy - Rent movies instead of buying them. It cuts down on the number of tapes and DVDs made, and the accompanying packaging.
A tale of two sides - If possible, when printing or photocopying, use both sides of the paper.
Cut off the junk mail - Sometimes it seems like the credit card solicitations alone are enough to fill a landfill. Reduce junk mail by sending a postcard with your name and address to: Mail Preference Service, Direct Marketing Association, PO Box 643, Carmel, NY 10512.
Buy loose tea and use a reusable infuser instead of buying teas packaged in one-time-use paper or nylon bags.
Drink coffee? Use a reusable cloth or metal filter instead of paper ones. If you have to use paper, make sure those filters are made from unbleached, recycled paper.
Grounds for the ground - Don't toss those used coffee grounds in the trash. Used coffee grounds can prove beneficial in your yard or garden. Any acid-loving plant (e.g., blueberry bushes, evergreens, hydrangeas, or strawberry plants) will thrive when you sprinkle used coffee grounds on the ground before watering. You can also add used grounds to your compost pile.
Inflate those tires. If you have to drive, you might as well get the best fuel efficiency (i.e. pollution efficiency) you can get. One easy way is to keep your tires inflated to the right level. Under-inflated tires can hurt fuel efficiency by up to 10%.
Send emails instead of letters. It saves paper and money and cuts down on the number of planes and trucks needed to cart around the mail. Some bold souls have even turned to e-vites for their wedding invitations.
For the hardcore conservationists out there- Join the Compact. It's an informal group of people who promise to go one year without buying new products of any kind (other than food, drink, medication, etc.). Check out one Compactian's blog at http://sfcompact.blogspot.com.
If the Compact [see #31] is too tough for you, you can make a difference by buying used clothes. Ebay is a great alternative to the thrift shop - you can often find gently worn name brand and designer clothes at great discounts.
If even the Maytag man thinks your washing machine is a hopeless case - make your new washing machine a front-loading type, which use only 5 gallons of water per wash and spin clothes drier than standard top-loading machines.
VHS? Computer disk? - We know technology has come a long way in the past few years, but for those of you still holding on to your VHS tapes and computer disks consider donating them before tossing them to the curb. Organizations such as Alternative Community Training accepts donations of VHS tapes and floppy disks. Check out www.actrecycling.com for how to donate.
Think flat. Buying a new desktop computer? Go for the flat screen LCD monitor. It may a cost a bit more, but the Earth will thank you. The old-school Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) monitors take more materials to make, use significantly more energy to power, and create more heat which, especially for businesses, means more air conditioning and thus more pollution.
Download your tunes - If you download your music instead of buying CDs, you eliminate the environmental impact of making CDs, packaging them in plastic, and shipping them around the world. You also won't have to take your car to the record shop.
Go with hi-tech instead of tape - Use a DVR (Digital Video Recorder) instead of a VCR for recording your favorite tv shows. That will mean less discarded video tapes in the landfills and less clutter on your shelves.
Mug it - Instead of using disposable cups in the break room, bring your own reusable mug to the office. Coffee tastes better from a nice ceramic mug anyway.
Think green at tax time - We can probably blame the IRS for leveling hundreds of acres of trees every year to print up hundreds of millions of pages of tax forms and publications. And don't forget the fossil fuels it takes to ship those forms all over the country. How about downloading those forms and publications instead. The publications can be downloaded in searchable PDF format at www.irs.org.
E-file - By e-filing your tax forms instead of printing them and mailing them, you'll save our natural resources and keep the air cleaner. And you'll get your refund back quicker! Some taxpayers can even e-file for free. Check with the IRS.
Forget the fax - Instead of faxing a document, scan it and send it by email. That way you won't generate unnecessary paper waste like a cover sheet or a fax transmittal confirmation. And the person who gets the document can opt not to print it out if they don't need to.
Go paperless for bills - Get your credit card bills, phone bills, and other regular bills sent to you by email instead of snail mail. Most vendors will happily offer this as an option - it saves them postage and printing costs and helps the environment.
Invest green - When choosing your investments, put some money in a "green" or "clean tech" mutual fund or ETF. These funds tend to invest in companies that are developing technologies and products that will help the environment or regular companies that adhere to strict environmental standards.
Don't smoke - When you add up all of the people who smoke, we're talking about a lot of useless CO2 being added to our world. Not to mention the destruction of the environment within 3 feet of the smoker. Smoking is pollution. Cigarette butts are litter. Trust us, your lungs and your friends will thank you.
Exotic is not earth-friendly - Don't buy exotic pets. These pets, including certain reptiles, birds and fish, are often collected from foreign locales and of released into the wild (or if they escape) can wreck havoc on the local ecosystem.
Soy, it's not just for eating - Encourage businesses to print with soy-based inks. They are more environmentally friendly than chemical inks.
Be black and white and green all over - Cancel your newspaper subscription and read the news online instead.
Get a library card - Borrow books from the library instead of buying them.
Light Naturally - Place work areas at your home and office near windows. You'll be replacing electric light with free and clean natural light.
Be a Freegan! - You might already be a vegan, but how about rejecting consumerism and trying to be a freegan. It's a bit severe for most of us, but it is worth trying for at least a day or a weekend each year. www.freegan.com
A green garden doesn't mean you're GREEN. If you live in a warm climate, like the southwest U.S., consider a rock garden or a desert-style landscape. Such gardens require much less water and less chemicals to maintain. Also, using local plants and minerals creates less impact on the local ecosystem.
Computers need sleep too - Computers use (or waste) about 10 times more energy when you use a computer screen saver instead of putting your computer in sleep mode. Better yet, turn it off if you won't be using it for a while.
Fix that fridge! Check the seal on your refrigerator door using this simple test: Close the door on a dollar bill. If you can pull it out easily, your seal is too weak, and should get it repaired. Otherwise you may be refrigerating your whole kitchen, not just your food. The repair will also save you money on your electric bill.
Be your own power plant - We love this one. Save money, save the planet, and get in shape all at the same time. Check out www.windpower.com to pick up the Human Power Generator, which is a stationary-bike-style generator that can power electric items in your home.
Drive smoothly . . .- Accelerating quickly and breaking hard can reduce gas mileage up to 33%. Drive more smoothly and you'll not only keep the air cleaner, but you'll save money on petrol.
. . .and slowly - Driving over 60 mph may increase your vehicle's gas consumption 23% when compared to cruising at 45 mph. What's your hurry anyway? Slow down and enjoy the view.
Say no to the bottle - When eating out in a city where you know the municipal water is safe to drink, always choose tap water instead of bottled water. Tap water is delivered without any wasteful packaging and doesn't require the burning of fossil fuels for delivery. Tap water never tasted so clean, wouldn't you agree?
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BYOMK&D- That means "Bring Your Own Mouse Keyboard and Display". When replace your computer, don't pick up a package that includes a monitor, mouse and keyboard. Just pick up the computer itself - the chances are your old accessories will still work with it.
Sneeze green- Try using old-school handkerchiefs instead of tissues to blow your nose. They're washable, will last years, and are quite dapper, if you ask us.
Run around the garden - Instead of picking up a new pair of slippers or work shoes for garden work, just reuse an old pair of running shoes.
Be a fan of fans - Use fans more and air conditioners less, as you can keep cool while using less electricity.
Take a spin - If a building has a revolving door be sure to use it instead of the standard door. Revolving doors preserve the inside temperature of the building and reduce the need for heat or air conditioning.
Pool time! - If you have a swimming pool, add a timer to the pool's filter.
. Avoid 100-year-old bulbs - Okay, so maybe you only bought those light bulbs a few months ago, but if they are regular light bulbs, they are based on 100-year-old technology that is very inefficient and wasteful. Swap them with compact fluorescent bulbs which may be more expensive, but use 75% less electricity and last 10 times longer.
Out-smart your thermostat - Have a timer added to your thermostat so that you can have your air conditioning and heat turned down while you are away, but programed to come back on when you plan to return.
Choose rechargeable batteries over alkaline batteries - Alkaline batteries contain lithium, zinc, alkaline, all of which end up in a landfill and leeching into the ground. NiMh rechargeable batteries can be charged 100 times and offer much longer periods between charges than batteries from only 10 years ago.
...or go without batteries altogether - Try a hand-cranked battery or radio on for size.
The check isn't in the mail - If you run a business, consider a paperless payroll system where all paychecks are paid via direct deposit to employee bank accounts, and paystubs are emailed to employees and stored electronically for access online.
Read books of bytes, not paper - Electronic books, or e-books, do not result in tons of trees being cut down. E-books don't require carbon-spewing trucks to ship books all around the country. And used e-books don't clog up landfills.
Load it up - Only run your dishwasher or laundry machine when you have a full load - as a small load uses just as much energy as a full one.
Fix those faucets - A faucet leaking one drop of water per second will drip over 2,250 gallons of water down the drain over the course of a year. Replacing a 50 cent rubber washer in your faucet could preserve so much!
Move that mag - Sign up for electronic versions of your favorite magazines instead of the paper versions. Even magazines printed on recycled paper with soy inks need carbon-spewing vehicles to get transported to your doorstep. And anyway, some online versions are free!
Here's a tip for the rock climbers out there - Use earth-toned hand chalk to get your grip on the rock. The usual white stuff detracts from the natural beauty of the cliffs at your crag. Terra Firma makes a good product which is available at www.rei.com.
Ignore fashion - Wearing clothes longer is one of the best ways to be environmentally sound. Wear them until they wear out. Yup, if you needed an excuse to crack out that Member's Only jacket from high school, this is it.
Roll down the windows - Your car's air conditioner kills your gas mileage.
Drop that rack - If you aren't going to use your car's roof rack for a season (how many times do you load up that ski rack in the summer?) remove it from the car. Removing a roof rack can increase your mileage by 5% due to increased aerodynamics and decreased weight.
Collect free water - Your tap water isn't free, but rainwater is. And in the vast majority of areas it is very safe to drink and use for watering houseplants, etc. Search online for tips and tricks you can use to collect and use your rain water.
Dig - Consider drilling a well when considering water options for a property that is not on a municipal water system. Building an extension to the municipal system is far more environmentally damaging than drilling a well in your backyard. With today's technology, you won't notice any difference in your house.
Aer it out - Put an aerator attachment on your sink faucets to get maximum flow without using too much water.
Buy a comforter - In the winter, try to set your thermostat to 8 degrees cooler while you sleep. Each degree cooler will save approximately 3% in energy costs.
Fix that filter - When was the last time you changed the air filter for your furnace? Dirty filters use more energy than a clean one. Replace your filters monthly. Or better yet, buy washable/reusable filters and clean them monthly.
Chop down an old tree - What? Is that a typo? No, sustainable forestry is the way to go. Here's why: an average tree absorbs about 1,500 lbs of CO2 in its first 55 years, after which growth slows considerably. If left untouched, the tree will die and rot and release all of that CO2 back into the atmosphere. Turning the tree into lumber locks up that CO2 for a far longer time.
Turn on that AC - What? Air conditioning? Good for the environment? Well, yes, sometimes. At highway speeds, using your car's air conditioner is more efficient than rolling down your windows. The aerodynamic drag caused by open windows offsets any advantage of not running the air. At city speeds, it's the opposite - shut off the AC and roll down the windows.
Eat formally - Use cloth napkins. Even better, pick them up used at a tag sale or at a restaurant surplus store. Newer brands even have napkins made of bamboo or hemp.
You have enough credit cards! - Get off the lists of those credit card companies and stop getting all of those wasteful solicitations in the mail. Go to www.optoutprscreen.com or call (888)567-8688.
Buy smart cotton balls. When buying cotton balls, read the ingredients. Increasingly, fiberglass is used in cotton balls. 100% cotton balls are better for the environment.
A bar is better than the bottle. Use bar soap instead of liquid soap. Liquid soap is chock full of preservatives and comes in plastic packaging. Bar soap has few preservatives and usually has minimal paper packaging. Sometimes you can "slice your own" bar soap at the grocery and avoid packaging material altogether.
Let your trash bin go au naturale. No need to line your wastepaper bin with a plastic bag. Just toss your papers right in the empty unlined bin.
Plastic is sometimes better. For example, a plastic loofah in the shower is a better move than using a natural loofah since natural loofahs are pulled from sensitive oceanic ecosystems in bulk and do not last nearly as long as a plastic puff.

THE LIST - How anyone can make a difference!

The List