Vrushali Gaud, environmental consultant and Live Green in Plano volunteer, explained five areas her five year old daughter practices on a daily basis.

1. Recycling: helping with the process of sorting trash from recyclables at home and making note of products made from recycled materials.
2. Conserving water: short showers, water is turned off when brushing teeth or washing hands, using stale water for watering plants, using reusable water bottles. (Vrushali showed the water conservation devices available free to Plano residents through the utility billing offices. Children can count how many shower heads, sink aerators, and toilet flaps are needed, ask for the items at the utility billing counter and help install them. Checking for toilet leaks is a simple and fun activity for a five year old.)
3. Natural drying: hanging washed towels, sheets and bedspreads outside to dry.
4. Get one give two: giving two things away for every one gift received.
5. The world beyond ourselves: reading about animals and how they relate to the planet and learning from books about other cultures. Read more great ideas. 

There are many different ways to conserve energy without sacrificing too much comfort and convenience. Window treatment is one of the ways to control the room temperature.

Control the sun: Sun's heat can be blocked out by keeping curtains and drapes drawn during the day in warm months. White blinds and draperies will also do a better job of reflecting the sun light from your windows. Adequate weather stripping should be used on your windows and doors to make sure there are no leaks. Make sure windows are closed when running your air conditioner.

Read more.

Greg Sidon recently sat down with an extremely interesting book, Plastic: A Toxic Love Story. Once he finished it, he shared his impressions with Tanis Roelofs over a cup of coffee.

Though plastic has literally built our modern world, in many ways it is having a profoundly detrimental effect on the planet. The book describes the development of early plastic as well as the many stages of plastic progression. Famous designers and their use of plastic in the production of furniture, cars and household items are detailed. Plastic is a very important resource in the medical field such as in kidney-dialysis.

The dangers of plastic include: vinyl chloride causes cancer in PVC workers, tubes used in blood transfusion sometimes contain the toxin DEHP in high doses, 260 species of animals are being killed or injured by plastic! Our oceans are being polluted by plastic. Other harmful effects are also documented.  Read more.

Composting is a great way to help the environment and improve your lawn and garden. It's simple: just throw organic scraps into a pile, mix them up, and let them rot in combination with air and water. In as little as four to six weeks you can have an ideal gardening amendment that provides nutrients vital for plant health while improving the quality and structure of your soil.

The Mix

Four basic ingredients are required to strike an effective balance with your compost: water, air, greens, and browns. Greens include nitrogen-rich items like produce peels, coffee grounds, and grass clippings. Browns are carbon-rich material like dead leaves, newsprint, and wood chips. All this material works best when cut into strips or small pieces to speed up decomposition. Read more.

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