#106. I opened shades and drapes in morning to let in sun.
#107. I recycled glass, paper, plastic and metal.
#108. I fed vegetable scraps and eggshells to the worms.
#109. I used dryer balls in the dryer to reduce dryer time.
#110. I sent my husband's lunch in reusable containers.
#111. I sent an e-mail to the forest service urging them to preserve wild areas in a Colorado forest.
#112. I sent an article about global warming to a magazine.
#113. I ran water into jugs intil it was hot enough to wash dishes.
#114. I used the water from the jugs later to water plants.
#115. I turned off lights, TV, satellite and computer when not being used.
#116. I closed shades and drapes after dark to conserve heat.

#98. I opened the shades and drapes in the morning to let in the sun.
#99. I recycled paper, plastic, steel and glass.
#100. I recycled food scraps in the compost.
#101. I did laundry loads back to back to conserve energy.
#102. I contributed money to a group struggling to protect wolves.
#103. I closed the shades and drapes at dusk to conserve heat.
#104. I used cloth napkins at meals.
#105. I turned off the lights, TV, satellite and computer when not using them.

#88. I opened the shades and drapes in the morning to let in the sun.
#89. I watered all of the house plants.
#90. I handpicked off whatever bugs I found on the houseplants.
#91. I washed and dried laundry loads back to back to save on hot water and drier heat.
#92. I combined trips when I took out the car.
#93, I recycled paper, plastic, glass and steel.
#94. I closed drapes and shades at night to save heat.
#95. I recycled food scraps in compost.
#96. I ran the dishwasher late at night to use off-peak power.
#97. I turned off lights and shut down computer and satellite before going to bed.

#78. Opened shades and drapes in morning to collect heat from sun.
#79. Ran water into jugs until hot enough to wash dishes.
#80. Used water from jugs to water plants.
#81. Collected recyclables to bring to recycling center.
#82. Reused a plastic cap for a toy for my granddaughter.
#83. Used cloth napkins instead of paper at meals.
#84. Collected vegetable scraps and eggshells for compost.
#85. Used reusable containers for leftover food.
#86. Closed shades and drapes at dark to save heat.
#87. Turned off lights, TV and computer before bed.

#74. Recycled plastic bags from shopping (store does not allow you to use shopping bags).
#75. Drove my Prius intead of my van on my shopping trip.
#76. Recycled paper, plastic bottles, glass and cans.
#77. Turned off TV, computer and lights before going to bed.

#69. I recycled paper, glass, plastic bags, plastic bottles and steel cans.
#70. I recycled food scraps in the compost.
#71. Used cloth napkins instead of paper.
#72. Closed shades and drapes at dusk.
#73. Bought replacement weatherstripping for glass slider.

#64, I combined trips to save on gas.
#65. I brought canvas bags to supermarket to avoid bringing home plastic bags.
#66. I talked to friend about the Action for Climate change rally.
#67. I sent an e-mail to the Tonglass Forest supervisor to oppose clear cutting in the forest.
#68. I sent an e-mail to the Bush administration commenting on and opposing a new coal fired power plant in Nevada.

#59. Talked to all my students about the 500 Acts project. All seem enthusiastic and on board.
#60. When the copy shop made a mistake on some newsletters, I took them home for recycling and reusing.
#61. I used cloth napkins instead of paper.
#62. I closed the shades at the studio and turned down the heat before I left.
#63. Turned off lights, TV and satellite before going to bed.

#53. Turned off the lights, TV and satellite before going to bed.
#54. Recycled bottles, paper, plastic.
#55. Included energy saving tips in my newsletter.
#56. Closed shades and drapes at dusk to save heat.
#57. Used cloth napkins instaed of paper.
#58. Reused srap paper for notes and lists.

turned off the computer and the tv and read a book (saving energy)

separated all the soda cans out of the trash so they can be recycled

Bought a binder specifically because it was made out of recycled material.

#38. Finished all the dishes at once to save on heating water up again.
#39. Rinsed out shampoo bottle to use up last of shampoo before recycling the bottle.
#40. Turned off lights, TV and computer when finished.
#41. Reused the plain sides of paper for lists.
#42. Recycled food scraps in compost.
#43. Put leftovers away in reusable containers.
#44. Ran dishwasher late at night to use electricity at non-peak time.
#45. Recycled glass, plastic, steel and paper that couldn't be reused.
#46. Used cloth rags to clean floor and dust furniture.
#47. Used cloth napkins, bought at yard sales, for meals.
#48. Bought recycled content plastic bags to use for incinerable garbage, to avoid printed plastic bags that release heavy metals into air when burned.
#49. Closed drapes and shades at night to save heat.

#30. I ran two loads of laundry in succession to save energy heating water and dryer.
#31. Recycled coffee grounds and food scraps in compost.
#32. Bought locally produced organic milk to save transportation energy costs and reduce pollution from pesticides.
#33. Used cloth napkins at the table.
#34. Recycled glass, plastic, steel and paper.
#35. Collected good used clothes, books and toys to bring to rummage sale.
#36. Closed shades and drapes at dusk to save energy heating house.
#37. Turned off all electronic equipment before going to bed.

#23. Used cloth napkins instead of paper.
#24. Ran two loads of laundry in succession to save energy heating water and dryer.
#25. Recycled paper, plastic bottles, cardboard, steel and glass.
#26. Brought plastic bags back to store to be recycled.
#27. Used my own canvas bags at the store.
#28. Saved water:ran water into jugs until hot. Will use later to water houseplants.
#29. Recycled food scraps in compost.

#14. I recycled a supermarket food tray to display cookies for my granddaughter's class bake sale.
#15. I watered and took care of all my houseplants.
#16. Recycled food scraps in the compost.
#17. Sent my husband's lunch to work in reusable containers.
#18. Sent an e-mail to congress to call for a cut in the billions spent spaying herbicides over Columbia to kill coca plants.
#19. Closed insulating shades at dusk to prevent loss of heat.
#20. Turned off the computer and satellite before going to bed.
#21. Fed the worms.
#22. Recycled paper and plastic bottles.

#13. I sent an e-mail to the Department of Fish and Wildlife urging them to list the polar bear as an endangered species.

#9. Recycled paper; toilet paper roll, magazine and newspaper clippings.
#10. Rinsed out detergent bottles to use up last of detergent for clothes washing.
#11. Fed fire slowly during day to keep house from cooling too much and wasting wood to reheat.
#12. Recycled plastic detergent bottles.

#2. I recycled paper and cardboard from the mail.
#3. I closed the insulating shades on the windows at dusk to save heat.
#4. I saved water by running the water from the kitchen faucet into empty jugs until it was hot enough to wash dishes. The water will be used later for houseplants.
#5. I waited until the dishwasher was full before running it.
#6. I invited my students to help log 500 acts of environmental self-defense before April 14th. I offered a school patch for their participation.
#7. I turned off the lights and heat when I left the studio.
#8. I handed out animal stickers to students. They loved them, they actually were saved from environmental mailings.

Acts of Environmental self-defense

1. I turned off the lights in the room when I left.

How many martial artists does it take to change a light bulb?

Answer is coming soon, let's see what YOU can come up with!

This blog is about environmental self-defense and what each individual can do about it. Just as I believe everyone should know some self-defense like we teach at our martial arts studio, so should everyone know how to defend the earth. Why? Because martial arts isn't just about self-defense against physical violence from another human being. It is also about eating right, healthy habits, and avoiding violence if possible by developing character, integrity and self-control. The motto of our school is Honor, Integrity, Respect. Today we will talk about respect for the earth, because all the self-defense moves in the world won't help us unless we realize the full potential of martial arts to change ourselves AND our world...

Right now our earth is in a crisis caused by human carelessness and greed. Greenhouse gases are changing the earth's climate and weird weather is in the news everyday. For example, look at New York State, where because of unusually warm weather, the lakes didn't freeze. This caused freakish snowfall, up to 12 feet in some places. Meanwhile, the ice cap at the north pole is melting quickly and polar bears are drowning trying to swim between ice floes. How can we change the course of this impending disaster?

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Confucius
You don't have to walk 1000 miles to end global warming, though if you walked instead of taking a car it would help. All everybody needs to do is examine the way they live and take steps to waste less of the earth's resources. Beginning today, I am asking my students to do just that, and enter whatever acts of kindness to the earth they have performed. It can be as simple as changing a light bulb or reusing a grocery bag. Every little bit counts.