One Day

Write to your state officials.

Write to your representative and ask him/her to ban animal racing. If you live in a state that has greyhound racetracks, tell your state representatives to ban dog racing.

Ask your representatives to co-sponsor the Interstate Horseracing Improvement Act

Adding to your list of non-lame things to do at a nursing home, try filming a video lip-dub. They get seniors out of their daily oatmeal-sleep-more-oatmeal-more-sleep routine. Plus, they friggin hilarious.

A simple way to help reduce energy consumption is to carpool places. As long as everyone is committed to the following points, your social-ride will be successful.

Spend a few minutes before class explaining to a group how to recognize and purchase energy-efficient light bulbs.

Sometimes people won't recycle because they simply don't see the bin or they don't know what goes in it. Encourage proper recycling by painting bins to make the process easier.

Walk, bike, carpool, or take mass transit; you save money on gas and don't have to worry about being frustrated in traffic. Plus you'll save one pound of CO2 for every mile you don't drive! It's a win-win for you and the environment.

You and your classmates have a lot on your mind at school: test, homework, whether you'll be crushed by the last bell wave of students. Shutting off the lights when you leave a class room might seem like a simple step towards energy conservation but it's easy to slip your mind. Motion sensor lights in your school would automatically turn off if the room is empty for long enough. It's one less thing to think about.

You can't save the environment yourself, and an easy way to increase your earth-saving forces is to teach those around you about energy conservation. For best results have them watch Wall-E before you teach them how to keep the world from becoming covered in trash.

Visit the Team ENERGY STAR website for educational materials to present and more ways to get involved.