The purpose of "Use Less Stuff" is to raise awareness of the garbage produced in America between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day. The estimated extra waste amounts to 25 million tons of garbage.
Through education and collaboration with many individuals and organizations worldwide, Just-Use-Less aims to share the message of common sense, timeless wisdom, and gratitude for what we have been given. Just Use Less.
Ways to Use Less Stuff
During the Holidays and Any Time
Plan meals using portion control to minimize waste.
Recommendations:
Food/Drink
Portion Per Person
Turkey
3 ounces, without bone
Stuffing
1/4 cup
Sweet Potato Casserole
1/3 - 1/2 cup
Green Beans
1/2 cup
Cranberry relish
2 to 3 Tablespoons
Pumpkin Pie
1/8 - 1/10 of a 9" pie
After a party, put leftovers in plastic containers or bags and send them home with guests, or donate to food banks.
Bring your own camera instead of using disposable cameras.
Cancel mail-order catalogs you no longer use.
Bring your own shopping bags.
Consolidate your purchases into one bag rather than getting a new bag at each store.
Plan your shopping in advance. Save money on fuel by making fewer trips to the stores. Avoid last-minute shopping when you won’t have time to make careful gift choices.
Consider giving gift certificates or making a donation to a favorite charity in your friend/family's name.
Give homemade food or something you’ve made yourself from reused items.
Shop for gifts at antique stores, estate sales, or flea markets since one person’s trash is another’s treasure.
When buying electronics, remember to buy rechargeable batteries to go with them.
Send e-greetings to family, friends, and business associates who are online. Did you know about 2.65 billion Christmas cards are sold annually in the US?
Get a tree that can be planted or mulched afterward, or buy an artificial one.
Compost your food waste. Fruits and vegetables and their peels, pits, and seeds are perfect for composting, a great natural fertilizer.
Resources
Keep America Beautiful believes each of us holds an obligation to preserve and protect our environment. Through our everyday choices and actions, we collectively have a huge impact on our world. Keep America Beautiful follows a practical approach that unites citizens, businesses, and government to find solutions for preventing litter, reducing waste, and beautifying communities.
Composting not only benefits the environment by breaking down organic materials and transforming them into rich, fertilizing soil… composting is also:
When you invest a little time learning to compost, it’s all yours, for free.
Fun for the children.
Composting reduces household trash.
It’s hard to mess up.
Basic Supplies Needed for Composting
You’ll need a pail for the kitchen to collect scraps, a composting bin (if you’re using one), or a spot in the yard for a pile.
Worm Composter
Some people choose to use earthworms to help speed up the composting process in a worm composting bin. This is done by adding kitchen scraps, dried leaves, etc., and allowing the worms to digest the organic material as it passes through their bodies while they move around.
If you have a compost pile in the yard, earthworms will usually find their way to it naturally.
Composting Tumbler
A composting tumbler is a handy bin with a handle that you can turn by cranking the handle around. These are helpful for people with limited space, and they tend not to smell or attract insects.
How to Start Composting
Pick a spot for your pail. Tell your family the plan.
Pick a spot for your pile or composting bin. You want it to be close enough to the house.
What to Compost
Kitchen waste. Mainly produce trimmings Coffee grounds Teabags Grass clippings and Dead leaves Straw Sawdust Garden waste
Do Not Compost the following: Meat or bones Leftovers that are not plant-based Branches or stalks Garden waste treated with pesticides or chemical fertilizer Weeds and Diseased plant material
Method for Composting
Start collecting compostable material and add it to your pile.
Empty your pail into the pile (or bin) daily. It’s the perfect chore for children.
Turn your compost pile. Every month or so, grab your pitchfork or a shovel and mix your pile up a bit. Helps speed up the decomposition process and keeps away any unwanted pests.
When you don’t see any more recognizable scraps, the compost is ready to be used.
Harvest your finished compost from the bottom of your pile (or bin) once or twice a year. Whatever is not ready put it back into the pile to continue breaking down.
Spread finished compost on the garden beds or containers.
Note: Do not bring fresh compost into the house since it may contain outside critters.
Potential Problems with Composting
Smell. If your pile starts to stink, just give it a quick turn and add some grass clippings or leaves if available.
Insects. Wash out the kitchen pail about every other day.
Animals. Use an animal-resistant bin or turn your pile more regularly.
How Long Does it Take to Compost?
Different organic materials take different lengths of time to transform into compost. Food scraps are quicker than twigs or sticks. Paper from coffee filters or tea bags takes longer than organic materials. The bottom of the pile or bin will transform first, so it is important to turn the pile monthly.
Composting as an accompaniment to gardening is a worthwhile routine and fun for the whole family.
Earth Hour in an uncertain time. Given the unprecedented
circumstances, WWF advises participants to join Earth Hour at home or online
following CDC guidelines.
People can participate in Earth Hour by turning off their lights for one hour to show
solidarity and support for protecting our natural environments.
In the past,
millions of people and places have participated. During these challenging
times, it’s more important than ever that we take a collective pause and use
this time to reflect, evolve and strengthen our relationship with ourselves,
with each other, and with nature.
Here are some ideas you might enjoy while reflecting on
your personal commitments to fighting climate change and protecting our
forests, rivers, oceans, and wildlife. WWF designed these with current social
distancing policies in mind.
Go ‘green’ in your living space with some indoor gardening projects.
Host a virtual in-the-dark dinner party for you and your friends.
Play some games.
Work up a sweat. Exercise the body and mind by candlelight.
Pamper yourself. Self-care is key.
Take a collective pause and reflect.
Our connection to Earth and nature is undeniable: Our planet's gain is everyone’s gain. Biodiversity – the rich variety of life on Earth – continues to decline year on year. We must urgently prioritize our planet’s biodiversity and nature. Earth Hour was created to organize efforts, allowing us to shed light on topics impacting our planet’s well-being.
Get involved by starting conversations, sharing your thoughts, and spreading the word about our connection to this place we call home. Around the globe, food production, distribution, management, and waste threaten wildlife, wild places, and the planet itself.
Today, over 8 billion people consume 1.6 times what the earth’s natural resources can supply. By 2050, the world’s population will reach 9 billion and the demand for food will double.
Food production is sufficient to provide for all, but it doesn’t reach everyone who needs it. About 1.3 billion tons of food is wasted each year—four times the amount needed to feed the more than 800+ million people who are malnourished.
By improving efficiency and productivity while reducing waste and shifting consumption patterns, we can produce enough food for everyone by 2050 on roughly the same amount of land we use now. Feeding all sustainably and protecting our natural resources.
WWF works to secure a living planet that will sustain a more affluent population. From refining production and distribution to combating waste and environmental impacts, we want to improve how the world grows, transports, and consumes this precious fuel.
Official Earth Hour 2023 Video
Within hours, people in a record 134 countries and territories across the globe will switch off their lights for an hour in a unified show of support for action toward a sustainable future for our planet.
Healthy Diet for a Healthy Planet
About Earth Hour
Earth Hour is a global initiative in partnership with WWF (World Wildlife Fund). Individuals, businesses, governments, and communities are invited to turn out their lights for one hour to show their support for environmentally sustainable action. In 2010, Earth Hour created history as the largest voluntary action ever witnessed with participation across 128 countries and territories and every continent, including the world’s most recognized man-made marvels and natural wonders in a landmark environmental action. About WWF WWF is one of the world's largest and most experienced independent conservation organizations, with over 5 million supporters and a global network active in more than 100 countries. WWF's mission is to stop the degradation of the planet's natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature, by conserving the world's biological diversity, ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable, and promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption. The event will cross the globe over 24 hours, from the first lights being dimmed in Fiji and New Zealand to lights being turned on again in Samoa. The transition will last longest in Russia, where 11 time zones are covered.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has pledged his support for Earth Hour saying: “Let us join together to celebrate this shared quest to protect the planet and ensure human well-being. Let us use 60 minutes of darkness to help the world see the light.” Resources. How You Can Help
To learn more about how you can be involved
visit Earth Hour
Earth Hour 2011 Reminder. Be a part of a Worldwide Event. Today at 8:30 pm local time join the World in turning off your lights for one hour.
Hundreds of millions get set to switch off and go beyond the hour
Within hours, people in a record 134 countries and territories across the globe will switch off their lights for an hour in a unified show of support for action towards a sustainable future for our planet.
About Earth Hour Earth Hour is a global initiative in partnership with WWF (World Wildlife Fund). Individuals, businesses, governments and communities are invited to turn out their lights for one hour on Saturday March 26, 2011 at 8:30 PM to show their support for environmentally sustainable action. The event began in Sydney in 2007, through a partnership between WWF Australia, Leo Burnett and Fairfax Media, when 2 million people in one city switched off their lights. By 2010, Earth Hour had created history as the largest voluntary action ever witnessed with participation across 128 countries and territories and every continent, including the world’s most recognized man-made marvels and natural wonders in a landmark environmental action.
About WWF WWF is one of the world's largest and most experienced independent conservation organizations, with over 5 million supporters and a global Network active in more than 100 countries. WWF's mission is to stop the degradation of the planet's natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature, by conserving the world's biological diversity, ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable, and promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption. Hundreds of landmarks in thousands of cities will go dark at 8:30pm Saturday local time, as hundreds of millions of people take part in the world’s largest voluntary action for the environment. And with individuals, organizations and governments this year pledging to take their Earth Hour commitment beyond the hour, it won’t end when the lights come back on.
“As we head into the fifth Earth Hour, with a record number of countries and territories taking part, it is inspiring to see what we can achieve when we come together for a common purpose,” said Andy Ridley, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Earth Hour. “Imagine what we can achieve if we go beyond the hour.”
The event will cross the globe over 24 hours, from the first lights being dimmed in Fiji and New Zealand to lights being turned on again in Samoa. The transition will last longest in Russia, where 11 time zones are covered.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has pledged his support for Earth Hour saying: “Let us join together to celebrate this shared quest to protect the planet and ensure human well-being. Let us use 60 minutes of darkness to help the world see the light.”
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