Top Ten Earth Day Tips

Eat Right and Shop Well

1) Buy locally and organically grown produce: Otherwise, it can take about a gallon of gas for 30 pounds of food shipped cross-country to reach your shopping cart. Shopping locally saves gas and keeps the air cleaner (for options, see "Oceans").

2) Buy shade-grown coffee and chocolate: Give economic incentives to preserve rain-forest canopies. Try shady chocolate bars ($3.69, www.greenandblacks.com); or coffee ($11/12 oz., www.cafecanopy.com; $7.50/12 oz., www.cafemam.com). For more, see "Rain Forests" and product reports at www.thegreenguide.com.

3) Bring your own bag: Help stem the flood of 100 billion plastic shopping bags Americans toss out every year. (You'll also get a 5 cent discount at Whole Foods stores.) Seabirds and turtles mistake plastic bags for jellyfish and eat them, so recycle at Wal-Mart or check www.earth911.org for a place near you. For organic cotton string shopping bags ($5.49), see www.reusablebags.com. Also see "Sea Bags" (www.thegreenguide.com).

Conserve H20

4) Don't buy bottled water, which depletes watersheds and streams. Instead, filter tap water and carry in a reusable container. Choose recyclable, easily cleanable options like Nalgene's wide-mouth HDPE bottles ($4.20, www.nalgene-outdoor.com) and www.terraflo.com's water filters ($79.95). See also "Safest Reusable Plastics for Holding Food and Water" (GG #108).

5) Save water: Install aerating showerheads such as 2.5-gallon-per-minute models available at Care2.com and NiagaraConservation.com. For water-saving toilets, dish and clothes washers by Asko, LG Electronics, Kohler and others, see the Water Saving Appliances Product Report.

Home Improvements

6) Freshen Surfaces Safely: Choose no-VOC products like Air-Care Coronado ($20/gal., www.coranadopaint.com) and Tried & True Original Wood Finish ($13.95/pint, [link]). (See "Green Home Upgrades.")

7) Keep mercury out of our air, water and seafood: Reduce mercury from coal-fired power plants by choosing a green power utility (www.eere.energy.gov).

In areas without this option, reduce pollution by consuming less energy:

•Wash clothes in cold water, which can lower power-plant carbon dioxide output by up to 280 pounds annually.

•Let your hair air-dry. A 1,875-watt hair dryer costs roughly $15 a year to run.

•Set a timer for the shower lovers in your life, and cut hot, lengthy showers down to five or 10 minutes. You'll save water and energy.

8) Green Your Spring Cleaning: Keep chlorine bleach out of the environment and your lungs by using plant-based all-purpose cleaners such as Seventh Generation's All-Purpose Free & Clear cleaner ($5.49/32 oz., [link]) or Ecover's Natural Citrus Cleaner and Degreaser ($8.54/16 fl. oz., www.ecover.com). (See "Rites of Spring [Cleaning].")

Lawn & Garden

9) Use a reel mower: Mowing for an hour with an old gasoline-powered lawn mower can produce as much air pollution as a 350-mile drive in a car, but a lightweight reel mower only emits clippings ($114.95, www.planetnatural.com).

10) Plant a garden with heirloom seeds: Increase biodiversity (and attract butterflies) in your own backyard or window ledge. From www.seedsofchange. com, www.seedsavers.org and www.nativeseeds.org. For tips, see "Garden Prep" (GG #96).

-P. W. McRandle