Be loud and proud about everything you do to help the environment!

You’ll find that a lot of the people you know who aren’t environmentally considerate, simply don’t know how to be.

So take it upon yourself to educate your friends and family. Tell them what you do, and why you do it.

Here are some of the things we say and do:

• When you leave a room and shut the lights, explain, “I try to make sure I turn off the lights every time I leave a room—even if I’m just leaving it for five minutes. Fuels are burned to create electricity, and when that happens, greenhouse gases are released into the air.”


• Explain to people how a 75-watt light bulb = an Algonquin Park black bear! (If you need a refresher on this go back to Eric’s Climate Change and Global Warming section).


• Encourage people to plant trees. Lots of them! Trees absorb greenhouse gases and take them out of our air!


• If you and your family are going somewhere that’s just a 5-to-10-minute drive, suggest, “Why don’t we walk there instead of taking the car? We’ll save money on gas, we’ll get some exercise, and we won’t put harmful pollutants into the air we breathe.”


• Type up a list of everything that can be recycled and composted where you live (or just go online and see if your city or town’s website already has a list). E-mail it to your friends and family, and write something like, “Betcha didn’t know how much stuff we can recycle and compost!”


• Tell people about the plastic fork that Maya talks about in her Conservation and Consumption section! Explain how we can help the environment simply by buying and using less stuff! And don’t forget to mention how this will help us save money too!


• If you have a blog, or your own website, post your own list of “Top Ten Ways to Help Protect the Environment!”

And most importantly, tell everyone about this website, and introduce them to Eric, Maya, Katie and Jay—our everyday heroes (just like you’re going to be!). Then you and your friends can submit your artwork and ideas to us, and check-out each other’s postings!