I’m taking a cue from David Letterman, TV’s new $16 million dollar man, in offering my Top Ten List of Reasons to Act Ecologically this year.
I’ll admit up-front that he’s a little funnier than I am, but hey: He’s making a little more money than I am, too.
Anyway, here they are, in reverse order, just the way Dave likes them:
10. Become an educated consumer. You’ll make the right choices and look smart at the grocery store.
9. Avoid over-packaged items. You don’t need all that extra paper, and the packages are too hard to get into.
8. Buy in bulk or choose economy sizes, and look for refillable containers. There’s less waste to toss and less to waste from your wallet.
7. Recycle old magazines (don’t forget neighborhood clinics and nursing homes) and newspapers (take them to your recycling center). You’ll have fewer stacks to dust and navigate around.
6. Choose plastic containers labeled “1” or “2” on the bottom – they’re recyclable. Avoid those marked with the other numbers. They’re trash, except to use for leftovers and craft projects.
5. Support plastic recycling. Once you buy the right containers, recycle them! Your chance to sit on a park bench made from recycled plastic depends on it.
4. Recycle glass and aluminum – it’s too easy. If you don’t, they will (not) waste away in the landfills and will outlive you and your children.
3. Use rechargeable batteries. You won’t have to run to the drugstore at the last minute because you didn’t notice that “batteries are not included.”
2. Don’t give up on City Hall. Contact (repeatedly) your Council member and the Recycling Office. The City currently is a recycling failure among our curbside-pickup suburban neighbors – and we should be ashamed!
1. Train yourself to become environmentally friendly. Your efforts will make a difference. There’s no one to pass this buck to – except future generations.
