The complete idiot's guide to saving the environment Book

Part 1	The Environment and You	1
1	It's Our Home	3
	Happy Birthday, Earth Day!	4
	The Environmental Century	5
	What's All This Environmental Stuff?	5
	Why Is This Important?	7
	Lessons from Kindergarten	8
	The "Big Three" Global Threats	9
	Crisis? What Crisis?	12
	There's Still Time	12
2	Something Old, Something New	15
	An Old Problem	16
	Hitting the Limits in the Past	17
	Limitless Resources?	18
	From Sea to Shining Sea	18
	Voices in the Wilderness	20
	Taking Action	21
	The Rise of the Consumer Society	21
	Out of Control!	23
	Getting Our Act Together	23
	Earth Day and the EPA	23
	More Progress	24
	The Throwaway Society	24
	A Global Problem	25
3	The Air We Breathe	27
	Up in the Air	28
	Global Warming	28
	Why Is It Important?	30
	A Hole in the Sky	31
	Ouch--Acid Rain!	33
	Long-Term Consequences	34
	Time Out	36
4	Water: Our Most Precious Resource	39
	Water 101	40
	Going, Going, Gone?	40
	Similar Problems	42
	Irrigation	42
	Global Warming	43
	Conservation	44
	An Ocean of Trouble	45
	Threats to Our Oceans	46
	A Watershed	49
5	The Land We Live On	51
	The Garbage Barge Incident	52
	Talkin' Trash	52
	Hot Stuff!	53
	Where Have All the Forests Gone?	56
	A Developing Dilemma	58
	Auto-Hypnosis	60
	Down on the Farm	61
	The Web of Life	63
6	So, What Can You Do About It?	65
	Don't Just Sit There--Do Something!	66
	The Three Rs	66
	Reduce Your Use	67
	Why Reduce?	67
	What to Reduce	69
	Reuse Something	70
	Why Reuse?	71
	Recycle Something	71
	Why Recycle?	72
	Promote Sustainability	72
Part 2	Reduce Your Use	75
7	The (Not So) Quick Fix	77
	Fast Track to a Greener Planet	78
	Easier Said Than Done	78
	Old Habits Die Hard	79
	Eliminate That Waste	80
	Do We Really Need to Reduce?	81
	Our Trash-Filled Footprint	82
	Home, Sweet Home	83
	Waste Not, Want Not	85
8	A Houseful of Savings	87
	Start Saving at Home	88
	Cool Stuff	89
	Hot Stuff	90
	Round and Round	92
	A Bright Idea	92
	Beat Heat Loss	93
	Water Conservation	95
	Hazardous Waste	96
9	Food for Thought	99
	The Overfed American	100
	Time for Action	101
	Do You Really Want to Eat That?	103
	How Do You Pronounce This?	104
	A Gradual Shift	105
	Co-ops	107
	Community-Supported Agriculture	107
	Farmer's Markets	108
10	More Ways to Reduce	111
	Become a Savvy Shopper	112
	Avoid Excessive Packaging	115
	Eliminate Single-Use Products	116
	What About Seldom-Used Products?	117
	Is Chepaer Better?	118
	TV or not TV?	119
	More Fun, Less Stuff	120
	It's Vacation Time!	121
11	Help, I Wanna Get Off!	125
	Waking Up from the American Dream	126
	Affluenza	126
	Mirror, Mirror on the Wall	128
	New Lifestyle Strategies	130
	It's Not So Simple	133
	Live Better on Less	134
Part 3	Reuse It	137
12	Choose to Reuse	139
	A Very Old Strategy	140
	Why Should You Reuse?	142
	Types of Reuse	144
	Reuse Basics	145
	When Not to Reuse	147
13	Reuse Strategies	149
	Green Design	150
	Maintenance	151
	Repair	151
	Something Borrowed	152
	Joint Ownership	152
	Rental	153
	Remanufacture	153
	Regeneration	154
	Donation	154
	It's Free!	155
	Special Reuse Events	157
14	At Home	159
	Reuse at Home	160
	Appliances	160
	In the Kitchen	161
	The Bathroom	163
	The Bedroom	164
	The Living Room	166
	Throughout the Home	167
15	At Work ... and Beyond	169
	In the Office	170
	Computers	170
	Computer Supplies	172
	Copying Machines	172
	Fax Machines	173
	Office Supplies	173
	Furniture	174
	Shipping Supplies	175
	Other Reuse Ideas	177
16	The Used Marketplace	179
	Used Markets	180
	Auctions	180
	Classifieds	182
	Exchanges	183
	Flea Markets	184
	Reuse Yards	185
	Secondhand Stores	185
	Surplus	186
	Tag Sales	186
Part 4	Recycle It	189
17	Recycling Basics	191
	Recycled History	192
	The Great Debate	193
	Recycling 101	195
	Is It Really Recycled?	197
	Composting	198
	Can You Recycle It?	198
	Which Stuff Goes Where?	198
	It's Simple	199
18	Recyclable Products	201
	Commonly Recycled Materials	202
	Aluminum	202
	Glass	202
	Paper and Paper Products	203
	Steel	205
	Plastics Are (Almost) Forever	205
	Hazardous Waste	207
	Problem Items	208
19	Composting	213
	Nature's Way	214
	Which Method?	214
	What You Will Need	215
	How It Happens	216
	Do You Need a Bin?	217
	What Else Do You Need?	219
	Troubleshooting Tips	219
	Old Family Recipes	219
	Back to the Garden	221
20	Completing the Circle	223
	Why Buy Recycled?	224
	Read the Fine Print	225
	Buy Recycled Programs	225
	What's Available?	227
	Buying--and Selling--Recycled	229
	Additional Resources	230
Part 5	A Sustainable Future	233
21	Sustainability	235
	What Is Sustainability?	236
	The Problems	237
	The Solutions	238
	A Team Effort	241
	It's Already Happening	244
22	Renewable Energy	247
	Beginning of the End	248
	Renewable Energy	248
	Here Comes the Sun	251
	The Winds of Change	252
	Water Power	253
	Ocean Energy	254
	Geothermal	255
	Biomass	256
	Hydrogen	257
	Consumer's Choice	258
23	Transportation	259
	Car Talk	260
	Alternative Energy Vehicles	262
	The Plane Truth	267
	Mass Transit	267
	Riding the Rails	268
	Pedal Power	269
24	Living Patterns	271
	Nightmare on Elm Street	272
	The Trouble with Sprawl	272
	The High Costs of Sprawl	275
	Way to Grow!	276
	Good Examples	278
	Get Involved	280
25	Population	281
	The Population Time Bomb	282
	Resource Demands	284
	Reaching the Limits	285
	The Need for a Policy	286
	Tough Decisions	289
26	Green Plans	291
	Green Plans	292
	Big Problems = Big Solutions	292
	A New Partnership	294
	Green Plans in Action	294
	Red, White, and Green	298
	Will It Work Here?	299
	A Long-Term Process	301
27	You Can Help	303
	Important Issues	304
	Our Attitudes and Values	304
	Education	305
	Peace and Disarmament	306
	Social Justice	307
	All Politics Is Local	308
	Groups and Organizations	309
	Get Involved	311
	It's Up to Us	312
	Appendixes
A	Environmental Timeline	315
B	Glossary of Terms	319
C	Further Reading	323
D	Groups, Organizations, and Other Resources	325
	Index	335