READ: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

How can you help conserve our natural resources?

Reduce, reuse, and recycle. There are steps that you personally can take to conserve our natural resources and reduce waste. The waste that an individual creates is small in proportion to all the waste produced by society. Yet all small contributions, when added up, make a difference.

Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle

Why conserve resources? During your lifetime, it is possible that the world may run out of some nonrenewable resources, especially as the population passes 8 then 9 billion people. So it is necessary to try to make these resources last as long as possible. You may have heard people say, "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle." You may know that this is the slogan of the campaign to conserve resources. But what do each one of those words truly mean?

Reduce

What exactly does it mean to reduce? Reducing means decreasing the amount of waste we create. That could also mean cutting down on use of natural resources. Minimizing of waste may be difficult to achieve for individuals and households, but here are some starting points that you can include in your daily routine to reduce the use of resources:

• Turn lights off when not using them.
• Turn the television off when no one is watching.
• Replace burned out bulbs with ones that are more energy-efficient.
• Reduce water use by turning off faucets when not using water.
• Use low-flow shower heads, which save on water and use less energy.
• Use low-flush and composting toilets.
• Put kitchen and garden waste into a compost pile.
• In the summer, change filters on your air conditioner and use as little air conditioning as possible. The use of air conditioning uses a lot of energy.
• In winter, make sure your furnace is working properly and make sure there is enough insulation on windows and doors.
• Mend broken or worn items instead of buying new ones.
• When you go shopping for items, buy quantities you know you will use without waste.
• Walk or bicycle instead of using an automobile, in order to save on fuel usage and costs, and to cut down on pollution.
• When buying a new vehicle, check into hybrid, semi-hybrid, or electric models to cut down on gas usage and air pollution.