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. There’s no one to pass this buck to – except future generations.
