Support local farms If you buy locally, you won’t have to rely on farms that ship food nationwide, which helps to decrease our dependence on oil and to cut back on gas emissions.
Tote your own grocery bag Paper or plastic? Neither! Bring your own reusable bags to the grocery store.
Pay attention to packaging Every American produces about four and a half pounds of garbage a day. So before you buy something, eyeball the amount of cardboard, plastic, and/or other materials used for the box or wrapping.
Get off junk mail lists Register with the Direct Marketing Association’s Mail Preference Service (dmaconsumers.org) and you’ll see a significant reduction in mail after three months.
Recycle rechargeable Cell phones, digital cameras, and camcorders have made these batteries more popular than ever, but in Vermont and some other states, it’s illegal to throw them away. Wherever you live, you can find a nearby store that will recycle them for you; just go to rbc.org and type in your zip code.
Adjust fridge and freezer temps Refrigerators eat up the most electricity in the household. Maximize efficiency by keeping the fridge at 37 degrees F, and the freezer at 0 degrees F.
Recycle smart From furniture to electronics, one person’s trash is another’s treasure—so when you want to dispose of an old item, don’t make the dump your first stop. The Freecycle Network describes itself as “a place to give or receive what you have and don’t need or what you need and don’t have—to keep stuff out of landfills.”
Become a flexitarian Swap out one meat dish a week for a veggie plate. Why? Because raising produce is “cheaper,” in terms of energy, than raising animals..
Compost Instead of trashing food scraps, toss them (not meat, fish, or dairy) onto a compost pile.
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Middlebury United Methodist Church 
