Spring is around the corner and we can see more green around our community! But why don’t we start living more green-ly and eco-friendly? By making simple changes in our everyday lives, we can improve the planet we all share. Here are some tips for Apaches to live more environmental friendly yet effortlessly!

1. Use compact flourescent (CFL) light bulbs. Each (CFL) saves you about $6 per year in energy costs, according to Energy Star. And the Environmental Protection Agency  says CFLs suck up to 75% less energy than incandescent light bulbs and last up to ten times longer.
2. Recycle. Buying food and other products in reusable or recyclable packaging can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 230 pounds a year, while recycling all of your home’s waste newsprint, cardboard, glass and metal can reduce emissions an additional 850 pounds a year. This is just a simple step can help our Earth to reduce some of its stress!
3. Turn off the power. Flick off lights and turn off computers and other equipment when you leave your room for long periods of time. Do you know that you can reduce greenhouse gases emission by 0.15 pounds per hour? That sounds easy and has a tremendous benefit to our environment.
4. Unplug. This reduces the amount of “vampire electricity”, energy that appliances suck even when they are turned off. Computers and televisions use the most electricity when off but still plugged in. If you think unplugging the appliances is still too much work, shut down products that go into standby mode can also reduce the energy that is being used even when it is turned off!
5. Take shorter showers. Always opt for a shower over a bath. An average shower uses about five gallons of water per minute. If you shorten your shower by two minutes, you can cut your water use by ten gallons. You can further reduce your water consumption by turning the water off while soaping. To make this more interesting, you can use a timer and challenge yourself to shower as quickly as you can.
6. Go organic and shade-grown. Do you know that you can be eco-friendly when you are just having a coffee break? Certified organic coffee is grown and processed without toxic chemicals, and shade-grown or bird-friendly coffees conserve forests on coffee plantations.
7. Compost. Most Apaches are living in the affluent Arcadia, and will have lots of unfinished food everyday, so composing them is a great way to sustain the environment, especially the soil! Composting food scraps can reduce their climate impact while also recycling their nutrients. Food makes up almost 13% of the U.S. waste stream, but a much higher percent of landfill-caused methane.
8. Buy Smart. In Arcadia, students are constantly stocking up school supplies as we use so much lined paper for schoolwork! We can simply buy school supplies with less packaging and seek those made with recycled and sustainably-harvested materials. Invest in sturdier products for years of use and reuse certain supplies in order to be environmental friendly.
9. Go paperless. As AUSD is leaning toward technology and most teachers have online assignments instead of traditional paper. We can also reduce the amount of paper being used by switching to email and unsubscribing to mailing lists you don’t want.
10. Donate. At the end of the year, donate your clothing and/or furniture instead of throwing it away. Organizations like Salvation Army can come and pick up your items for free, and give you a slip that you can use to get a tax deduction. The Clothes Out program accepts donations in large orange bins that can be found in residential areas at the end of the school year. We can also donate to events that our school has when you have the chance to!

Here are ten methods that can help you start living greenly, and there are hundreds more that you can follow if you are interested in making our world a better place! I hope those easy methods can guide you to be a more eco-friendly students and inspire advocate sustainability to others!