Five Ways to Improve the Environment

1. Recharge your batteries. Batteries contain mercury and cadmium, major sources of hazardous contamination. Use rechargeable batteries, recycle alkaline batteries.

2. Stamp out StyrofoamStyrofoam is polystyrene foam made from the carcinogen benzene converted to styrene and then injected with gases. Polystyrene form is non-biodegradable and is deadly to marine life. It floats on ocean surfaces, breaks up into pellets resembling food, styrofoam clogs the systems of turtles and other sealife, and its buoyancy keeps them from diving for food. Avoid foam packaging in egg cartons, disposable picnic goods, etc. Ask for paper take-out plate at restaurants.

3. Recycle your motor oilUsed motor oil can contaminate drinking water supplies and create a poisonous oil stick. One quart of motor oil can pollute 250,000 gallons of drinking water.You can avoid this by checking at gas station to be sure it will be recycled, inquire if there is an oil-changing outlet that recycles their oil for a small fee.Most recycled oil is reprocessed for ships and industrial boilers. Millions of barrels of oil can be saved by refining motor oil.

4. Avoid incandescent light bulbsCompact fluorescents last longer and use about 1/4 of the energy of an incandescent bulb. Substituting a compact fluorescent light for a traditional bulb will keep a half-ton of CO2 out of the atmosphere over the life of the bulb.

5. Hazardous toxinsBillions of dollars are spent every year on hazardous toxins. Oven cleaners, no-iron bed linens, air fresheners, mothballs, permanent ink pens, and baby powder may contain dangerous toxins.Use baking soda instead of oven cleaner, herbal mixtures or vinegar with lemon juice and orange zest instead of air freshener, cedar chips instead of mothballs. Air fresheners may contain harmful chemicals like xylene, ethanol or naphthalene. Mothballs contain paradichlorobenzene.