Make an Impact from Home
Meals Without Meat:
Water Saving Resources:
- Steps on how to test your toilet for leaks
- Calculator for household water usage
Garden Resources:
- Video teaching indoor seed starting with the Evanston Ecology Center
- Suggestions for planting native plants from the Forest Preserves of Cook County
Identifying Guides:
Reuse:
- Ideas on how to upcycle your clothes
Curb Waste at Home
Food Waste Resources:
- Guide: "Safe Food Storage: Packaging and Handling Food Properly" from O.Berk - Suggested by Alycia
- Post: “How to Compost in a Chicago Apartment” by Recycle by City
- Guide: “Composting Food Scraps from Home” by Illinois Food Scrap Coalition
- Resources to reduce food waste, like a meal prep tool, storage guide, and recipes using food scraps
- Report on food waste nationwide from the Natural Resources Defense Council
- Post: “Trash It or Eat It? The Truth About Expiration Dates”
- Tips on how to reduce packaging in your day-to-day from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- Post: “What’s Better for the Environment, Disposable or Reusable?”
Plastic Resources:
- Interactive report from UN Environment about the history of the global plastic problem
- Video: “The Problem with Plastics” from Shedd Aquarium
Reuse Resources:
- Article: “62 Ways to Make Something New Out of Something Old” by Country Living
- Lesson Plan: “30 Earth Day Crafts and Activities Using Recycled Materials”
- Post: “20 Recycled Crafts for Kids”
- Article: “14 Ways to Reuse Paper”
Waste Reduction Resources:
Reduce Energy Use at Home
- Video: “Weatherizing Your Home” from Cook County
- Blog Post: How to find hidden energy hogs from Natural Resources Defense Council
- Guide: U.S. Department of Energy guide to LEDs
- Guide: U.S. Department of Energy guide to thermostats
- Energy Calculator for appliances from U.S. Department of Energy
- Guide: Lowering the temperature of water heaters from U.S. Department of Energy
Transportation
- Guide: for Bike Maintenance from REI
- Post: “Then and Now: A Brief History of the Chicago ‘L’”
- Digitized work: “Horse to horsepower: a pictorial review of local transportation in Chicago since 1859”
- Guide: “Bike to Work" from the Active Transportation Alliance
- Guide: “Illinois Bicycle Rules of the Road”
- Blog: “Electric Vehicles 101” from Natural Resources Defense Council
- Guide: “Green Vehicle Guide” from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- Commute Calculator from Pace Suburban Bus
- RoutePlanner from MapQuest