One Thing Wednesday - Plant a Tree

This Friday is Arbor Day, a day when schools, communities and homeowners plant trees to help make the world a better place. Trees help slow climate change by removing carbon dioxide from the air. A single tree can absorb a ton (2000  pounds) of carbon dioxide over its lifetime.

Trees help cool the planet in other ways, too. Neighborhoods with trees that shade streets and sidewalks can be 6 to 10 degrees cooler than neighborhoods without trees. That means people don’t need to use energy to run air conditioners. And shaded parking lots keep automobiles cooler, reducing emissions from fuel tanks and engines. Trees also block cold winter winds, attract birds and wildlife, purify our air, prevent soil erosion, clean our water, and add beauty to our homes and communities.

One Thing Wednesday - Recycle Stuff

Recycle paper, plastic and glass, and buy products with less packaging. This can save 1,000 lbs. of carbon dioxide a year. “Take a second look at everything you think is trash, says author Sandra Markle. “Instead of sending it off to a landfill, maybe your trash can become art, a toy, or something to help your local wildlife.” She’s got some neat ideas for recycling stuff into new uses here at her blog. I’ve invited Sandra back at the end of the month to talk about her new book.

One Thing Wednesday - Use Your Legs

Author Laurie Lawlor, who shared her book Rachel Carson last Friday suggests that we can all walk and ride our bikes more often. “Don’t ride as a passenger in a car if you can travel another way,” she says. Laurie rides the train Columbia College, where she teaches. She enjoys walking across “the Loop”. “It’s different from walking in the country, but still very full of discoveries about nature and people.” She keeps her eyes out for blooming flowers, soaring gulls, and the “plodding of persistent pigeons”.

One Thing Wednesday - Change the Lightbulbs

One Thing Wednesday features one thing you can do to make the earth a better place. Today's idea: change a light bulb.

Which lights in your home do you use the most? Replace them with compact fluorescent bulbs. That's what author Caroline Arnold, who wrote A Warmer World, did in her home. If every American home replaced just one conventional light bulb with a compact fluorescent light bulb, we would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes a year. Replace three bulbs with compact fluorescents and you can save 300 pounds of carbon dioxide – and $60 per year.

"And people should turn off the lights when they leave the room," Arnold reminds us. She'll be visiting for an author interview later this month.