Nancy Armstrong

If you liked this post, check out more from Nancy Armstrong.

Americans use more than twice as much water and energy per person than most other countries in the world and that's a problem considering both water and energy are becoming scarce.　 Over 40 percent of drinking water supplied to American homes is flushed down the toilet every day.　 Conserving water and energy will save you money and help to save the planet.　

You may want to think twice before grabbing a big stack of napkins at the concession stand.　 Each American uses an average of twenty-two hundred napkins a year.　 If we all use just one less napkin a day, more than a billion pounds of napkins could be saved from landfills each year. That's enough napkins to fill the Empire State Building.　

If you lose weight- can it help save the planet?　 Well, consider this- if every airline passenger weighed 10 pounds less, it would save 350 million gallons of jet fuel per year, which is enough to keep a 747 flying continuously for 10 years.

Becoming less disposable will help save you money and help the planet.　 By eliminating plastic and paper bags, plastic utensils, and drink containers, and using reusable ones, you'll save about $250.00 a year, and about 75 pounds of garbage a year.

Incandescent lights really do save you money and save energy.　 Sure, they cost more, but compact fluorescent lights, known as CFL’s, last 15 xs longer than average light bulbs and save you $100 in electricity over the lifetime of each bulb.

If the lotion or soap you buy comes in a pump dispenser, buy refills instead of discarding the pump and adding to landfills.

If you wait until your dishwasher is full before you run a load (and don't waste water pre-rinsing your dishes) you'll save over 7000 gallons of water a year.　 That's as much water as the average person drinks in a lifetime.

　How much junk mail do you get?　 The average American household receives the equivalent of 1 1/2 tree per year in junk mail.　 Recycling and not throwing it in the garbage will save 370 million dollars in landfill fees each year

Next time you're buying bread, buy bread that only has one wrapper around it.　 I f all households in the US & Canada eliminated the double- wrap would save 60,000 pounds of plastic.