Keeping the environment in mind when shopping is something we can all do to make our world healthier and safer and it’s often the simplest actions that have the greatest impact.

    You need to shop and you’re likely to be spending the rest of your life here on this planet. The choices you make in the first case can have direct effects on the quality of the latter. Here are 10 Tips for greener shopping:

    1. Buy in Bulk— Size matters. When you buy the largest quantity of a product you can use, you help reduce the waste in packaging. About one third of America’s trash is just the packages all our stuff came in and about 10 cents of every dollar we spend goes to pay for the packaging we throw away.

    2. Buy recycled products— If there were no market for recycled products, there would be no incentive to recycle. Buying products made from recycled materials closes the loop. Shop made from recycled products.

    3. Avoid single-use products— Disposable razors and cameras, plastic cups and plates — all good examples of the ways we enjoy convenience at the expense of the environment. All this stuff goes directly from the manufacturer to the landfill with only a brief stop at your home. Buy products that last (and don’t be afraid to do the dishes). Use cloth towels and napkins instead of the paper variety whenever possible and when you must use paper, make sure it’s made from 100% recycled material. Shop made from sustainable materials.

    4. Use rechargeable batteries— Conventional batteries contain cadmium and mercury and must be treated as hazardous waste. Rechargeable batteries last longer, cost less to use and help keep toxins out of the waste stream. Shop rechargeable batteries.

    5. Buy used or re-furbished products— Used books save trees and re-furbished electronics save you money. When you shop online auctions or buy used products at sites like Windows Live Expo, you’re doing your part to help minimize waste by maximizing use. Shop re-furbished products.

    6. Buy low-flow showerheads— Using aerators in your faucets and installing low-flow showerheads can cut your family’s water bills by 50% while helping to conserve our water supply.

    7. Buy energy-efficient appliances— When it’s time to replace a washer, dryer, refrigerator or any other household appliance, always look for the Energy Star label. It ensures that the product has met energy efficiency standards set by the EPA and Dept. of Energy. You’ll not only help reduce carbon emissions, but you’ll enjoy immediate savings on your power bill. Shop energy saving solutions.

    8. Buy compact fluorescent bulbs— This is one of the easiest things you can do to save energy and money. Compact fluorescent bulbs last ten times longer than the incandescent variety. Replacing three incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescents saves $60 and 300 pounds of CO2 a year.

    9. Try organic and non-toxic alternatives to household chemicals and pesticides— According to the EPA, the average American home is 2-5 times more contaminated than the area just outside of it, mostly due to the presence and residues of household cleaners and pesticides. Americans currently use 80-million pounds of pesticides a year, most of which drains into streams or seeps into the water table. Shop for non-toxic cleaning products and organic pest-control solutions.

    10. Buy tires with a long lifespan or buy retreads— There are over 3-billion discarded tires in the U.S. with over 200-million more added each year. They pollute landfills, present a fire hazard and waste oil. When you shop for tires, look for the longest-wearing types you can find and keep them properly inflated to reduce wear and save gas. Retreading saves about 400-million gallons of oil each year.

    There are hundreds of other ways you can help reduce pollution, conserve resources and fight global climate change, but if even half of us did half the things on this list, the benefits would be enormous — now and for generations to come.

    在購(gòu)物的時(shí)候能夠考慮到環(huán)保，這能使我們的世界變得更加健康和安全，這不過(guò)是舉手之勞對(duì)保護(hù)環(huán)境卻有巨大的推動(dòng)作用。

    購(gòu)物是日常生活的一部分，對(duì)于你來(lái)說(shuō)你需要他，你可能要在這個(gè)星球上度過(guò)你的余生，你現(xiàn)在所做的抉擇將直接影響你將來(lái)的生活質(zhì)量。這里有10條建議，它能讓你的購(gòu)物更加的環(huán)保。

    1.購(gòu)買（大量）散裝的物品——量的多少問(wèn)題。當(dāng)你購(gòu)買大量的你能用到的商品，可以減少在包裝上面的浪費(fèi)。美國(guó)大約三分之一的垃圾來(lái)自這些包裝，在我們每消費(fèi)1美元中就有10美分是花在這些我們要仍掉的包裝上的。

    2.購(gòu)買可循環(huán)使用的產(chǎn)品——如果沒(méi)有購(gòu)買可循環(huán)產(chǎn)品的市場(chǎng)，那就沒(méi)有可循環(huán)利用的動(dòng)機(jī)。購(gòu)買那些由可循環(huán)的材料做成的商品就達(dá)到了這個(gè)目的。買那些可循環(huán)材料做成的物品吧！

    3.少購(gòu)買一次性產(chǎn)品——可任意使用的剃須刀、照相機(jī)、塑料杯和塑料碟子-都是我們貪圖方便而破壞環(huán)境的例子。這些東西出廠后，在你手上稍作停留，然后就直接變成垃圾。買那些可以長(zhǎng)久使用的物品（不要害怕洗餐具）。用布做的毛巾和餐巾代替各種各樣的紙巾。無(wú)論什么時(shí)候可能或者不得不用紙巾，也必須確定這些紙是由百分百可循環(huán)的材料制造的。

    4.用可充電的電池——常規(guī)的電池含有鎘和汞，必須以危險(xiǎn)的垃圾標(biāo)準(zhǔn)來(lái)處理掉它。可充電電池壽命更加長(zhǎng)久，花費(fèi)更少且不會(huì)給河流帶來(lái)毒物的污染。購(gòu)買可充電的電池吧！

    5.買二手的或者翻新的物品——用二手的書可以解救樹木，翻新的電器節(jié)省你的金錢。當(dāng)你購(gòu)買在線拍賣品或者在windows在線展覽中購(gòu)買二手商品，你就通過(guò)使物品最大化的利用為減少污染出了一份力。購(gòu)買翻新的物品。

    6.購(gòu)買水流小的淋浴噴頭——在龍頭中安裝通風(fēng)發(fā)散裝置和安裝低流量的淋浴噴頭可以減少50%家庭水費(fèi)的支出，同時(shí)也促進(jìn)了水資源的保存。

    7.用能量利用率高的用品——當(dāng)你在換洗衣機(jī)、干衣機(jī)、冰箱或者其他的家具的時(shí)候，始終要尋找那些貼有“能源之星”標(biāo)簽的。因?yàn)檫@種商品達(dá)到了美國(guó)環(huán)保署和能源部門的能源效率標(biāo)準(zhǔn)。你這樣做不僅減少了二氧化碳的釋放，而且你將享受節(jié)約在能源上的花費(fèi)而得到快樂(lè)。

    8.購(gòu)買簡(jiǎn)潔的日光燈——這使你所能做的節(jié)約能源和節(jié)省錢的最簡(jiǎn)單的事之一。簡(jiǎn)潔的日光燈壽命是白熾燈的10倍以上。用簡(jiǎn)潔的日光燈每替換三個(gè)白熾燈，一年內(nèi)可以節(jié)省60美元和300磅的二氧化碳排放。

    9.用天然的、無(wú)公害的物品代替化學(xué)制品家具和殺蟲劑——按照美國(guó)環(huán)保署的說(shuō)法，美國(guó)家庭中擁有的污染物是其他國(guó)家和地區(qū)家庭的2至5倍，究其原因是家庭清潔劑和殺蟲劑用的比較多，且留有很多殘余物。當(dāng)前美國(guó)一年要用8千萬(wàn)磅的殺蟲劑，大部分都會(huì)被排入河流以及滲入到地下水中。購(gòu)買那些無(wú)毒害的清潔產(chǎn)品和利用那些天然的害處可控的方法來(lái)消滅害蟲。

    10.買輪胎要選壽命長(zhǎng)的或者翻新的——在美國(guó)每年要丟棄30億個(gè)輪胎且以每年兩億個(gè)的數(shù)量遞增。它們污染了垃圾掩埋地，帶來(lái)了火災(zāi)和浪費(fèi)了石油。當(dāng)你買輪胎的時(shí)候，要盡你所能買那些最耐磨的，并且保證胎的氣要足這樣可以減少磨損和節(jié)省汽油。通過(guò)胎面翻新每年為美國(guó)節(jié)省4億加侖的石油。

    還有上百種方法可以幫你減少污染、節(jié)約能源和抵抗全球氣候變化，但是即便只有一半的人來(lái)按照列表上的做，它的好處是無(wú)窮的——無(wú)論是對(duì)當(dāng)代還是將來(lái)的子孫后代。