Because we don’t think about future generations, they will never forget us. ~Henrik Tikkanen

Our children are the future generation. Not only do we need to teach them how to take care of our planet, we need to take care of our planet for them.

Our family tries very hard to reduce our carbon footprint, yet I know we’re not trying anywhere near hard enough. Here are some helpful, basic hints with a little bit of interesting trivia so you can impress all your friends!

Recycling cans and bottles may seem basic, but it is one of the easiest ways you can reduce your carbon footprint with little or no extra effort. Recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to run a TV for three hours!!!!!
Recycle old scrap paper that may be hanging around the house. Between junk mail and used pieces of computer paper, you’ll be surprised at how fast you can fill the recycling bin up. Americans use 85,000,000 tons of paper a year: about 680 pounds per person.
Check labels to see if some of your favorite household products are recyclable. Products such as aluminum foil are often overlooked, but can be thrown in the recycling bin along with (aluminum) cans and glass. Americans toss out enough aluminum every three months to rebuild our entire commercial air fleet, according to the Aluminum Association.

Pack your child’s lunch with the environment in mind:

1. Use reusable lunch bags – I couldn’t find any statistics on paper lunch bags specifically, but in 1999, 14 million trees were cut to produce the 10 billion paper grocery bags used by Americans that year alone. Paper bag production delivers a global warming double-whammy forests (major absorbers of greenhouse gases) have to be cut down, and then the subsequent manufacturing of bags produces greenhouse gases. I’m hoping that in the last 10 years, that number has gone down.

2. Use reusable water bottles – in America, 38 billion water bottles end up in land fills each year!

3. Snack and sandwich bags – Americans spend about $85.00 a year on plastic baggies!

4. Cut waste and save by buying in bulk while using reusable containers to portion out lunches.

5. Napkins, utensils, icepacks and more – check out this web site for some amazing products that will actually help you save money and the environment. And they look cool!

http://www.reusablebags.com/store/lunch-bags-more-utensils-more-c-4_28.html

Remember, it is easy being green!