Reducing is Easy!
Since everything comes from nature, one of the best ways we can protect nature is to use less stuff! For instance, every time we use less paper including copy paper, paper cups, paper towels, paper bags and paper napkins, we help save trees and forests. Whenever we use fewer plastic items like bags and bottles, we use less petroleum, or oil. Using less oil can protect places like the rainforest, the desert and the ocean, where petroleum is drilled. And, when we reduce the amount of new electronic items we buy (like cell phones, computers and electronic games) we reduce the amount of minerals, rocks and metals that are mined from under the earth. It takes one ton of raw materials from the earth to make one laptop computer!
Sometimes the best way to reduce using stuff is to not use it at all! For instance, some people choose not to buy water in plastic bottles. Instead, they refill a glass or stainless steel bottle with filtered tap water instead. Despite what many people believe, tap water here in the United States (especially from cities like San Francisco that has an excellent water supply) is often cleaner and safer than water in plastic bottles.
Reducing our use of stuff can be fun too! For example, one way to reduce is to eat ice cream in a cone, not a cup. By ordering ice cream in a cone, you don’t need a paper cup or plastic spoon and you can eat the entire cone—which is made from plants— and leave no waste behind. Cones require less energy and natural resources to produce than the cup and spoon and this is better for nature. Thinking creatively about ways you can use less stuff can be fun—and tasty too!