ACT: Have an extra pair of running shoes with a little tread left to burn? Send them to Soles4Souls, a Tennessee-based nonprofit that has sent seven million pairs of shoes to those in need in over 125 countries. soles4souls.org.
FACT: A one-kilowatt solar energy system mitigates burning 170 pounds of coal.
ACT: Estimate the logistics and costs of installing solar energy in your home at pvwatts.org.
FACT: A short, four-mile round-trip by bicycle keeps 15 pounds of pollutants out of the air.
ACT: Incorporate bicycling or walking to work, school, or errands once a week. You’ll burn more calories and a lot less carbon.
ACT: One hour of daily unstructured free play is essential to a child’s physical and mental health (and your own). On average, kids spend more than 7.5 hours a day interacting with a screen but less than seven minutes playing outside.
FACT: Livestock produce 18 percent of the world’s greenhouse gases and consume 30 percent of the world’s land and water.
ACT: Eat less meat. Cutting meat consumption by 20 percent reduces greenhouse gas emissions more than switching from an SUV to a hybrid.
FACT: Two million plastic bottles are used in the U.S. every 10 minutes, and 51 billion plastic bottles go into U.S. landfills every year.
ACT: Use stainless steel, BPA-free containers or glass mason jars to drink filtered tap water.
FACT: In Japan, 15 percent of commuters bike to work. In the Netherlands, 50 percent of commuters bike to work. China has a 77 percent bike commuter rate. In the U.S., 1.6 percent of commuters bike to work.
ACT: Replace one trip a week with a bicycle. Mounting research shows bicyclists save $1 for every mile they pedal, while also sparing the air one pound of carbon dioxide.
FACT: There are more acres of golf courses than wilderness in the Eastern U.S. Less than 1 percent of the Eastern U.S. is protected as Wilderness.
ACT: E-mail your representatives to support wilderness legislation, and vote with your feet by visiting Eastern wilderness.
FACT: There are 2.7 million miles of paved road in the United States, enough to travel to the moon and back six times.
ACT: Support pedestrian- and bike-friendly legislation; walk and bike whenever possible; and use public transit.
ACT: In the U.S., most fruits and vegetables travel 1,500 miles from farm to plate, and out-of-season produce travels thousands of miles more. Plant a backyard or community garden, or find your closest local food outlets at localharvest.org.
