A major contributor to our environmental problems is the manufacturing and disposal of plastics. Specifically, plastic water bottles are a huge part of this problem given that Americans buy an estimated 28 billion plastic water bottles every year, with nearly eight out of every 10 bottles ending up in landfill where they will sit for about 700 years – the average time for a plastic bottle to biodegrade.

Besides being bad for the environment, many plastic bottles have been shown to cause harm to people by leaking toxins into the water.

Even if every bottle were recycled, the very existence of plastic bottles raises another issue. The Earth Policy Institute estimates that making bottles to meet the US demand for bottled water requires more than 15 million barrels of oil annually, enough to fuel 100,000 cars for a year.

Help your children decrease the use of plastic water bottles by getting them their own reusable water bottles made from materials like stainless steel or aluminum. One of my, and my children’s, personal favorites are the SIGG water bottles, which can be found online at www.sigg.com, or at local retailers like Sonoma County Outfitters, Oliver’s Market, and REI. Their children bottles are the perfect size for little ones to hold and handle and they have many fun, bright designs. My children each picked out their own bottle, and, while they can be a bit pricey, I have saved a ton of money in the long run by not buying disposable water bottles. Also, I found that a side benefit of these bottles is that my children love drinking from them, encouraging more water drinking which is great for their health too.

Children at a very young age can already grasp the concept of saving resources such as energy and water – like turning the light off when they walk out of a room, or turning the water off while brushing their teeth, for example. During the hot summer months, an easy and efficient way to save some more energy is by air drying clothes in the sun versus using your dryer. Air-drying is good for the environment. In many areas, electricity is produced by coal-powered plants. By reducing your electricity consumption, you’ll also reduce the burning of irreplaceable fossil fuels. On those hot days, it seems that it take almost the same amount of time to dry a load of clothes outside as it is to run your dryer for an hour. Even little children can help hang up clothes, and they love helping with this! While you’re hanging up the clothes to dry, you can explain to your child how using the sun’s heat to dry the clothes saves electricity, just like turning off a light.

A few side benefits are really fresh smelling clothes and a decreased utility bill to boot!

With summer finally arriving this month we also see the arrival of another not-so-fun critter – mosquitoes! This summer, instead of lathering your child in toxic repellents, many of which contain DEET, the active ingredient in most insect repellents which has been linked to neurological problems in kids and adults and is toxic to wildlife, birds, and aquatic life (about 75% of all U.S. water sources contain DEET), try one of the many natural plant-based repellents on the market today.

If 10,000 people switch to plant-based bug repellents and steer clear of ones with DEET, we’ll keep the weight of 11 people in toxic chemicals out of the environment.

Plant-based repellents (from balms to bracelets) use powerful scents such as citronella, lemongrass, and rosemary to effectively keep bugs at bay. Or, you can try a do-it-yourself version which I learned from being a counselor at a summer camp about 15 years ago! Mix some vanilla extract with water in a spray bottle and spray on exposed skin (your child can help you make this). You get to smell like a sugar cookie AND keep bugs away! Undiluted apple cider vinegar sprayed on exposed skin also works.

Have your child help eliminate breeding grounds for mosquitoes in your yard by finding and getting rid of standing water sources – unemptied water tables and pails and buckets can all be culprits.