11 Ways To Help The Environment That Are Easier Than Reading This List

This is actually easier than you think.

1. Turn your monitor's brightness down.

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Turning your computer monitor down from 100% to even just 70% brightness can save up to 20% of the monitor's energy.

2. Consider when, how, and why you stream music.

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A new study suggests that streaming music today could produce up to double the greenhouse gas emissions that consuming music in the early 2000s did. If there are tracks that you stream a lot, consider downloading them instead. You could also consider switching to a streaming service that uses more clean energy.

3. Also, consider what device you use to stream movies and TV.

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Your gaming console may draw 30 to 45 times more power to stream a movie than a dedicated media player.

4. When you shop online, order more things at once.

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Ordering one big order a month rather than several small ones saves on packaging and delivery trips from polluting trucks.

5. While you're at it, opt out of two-day delivery.

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In all probability, the truck that's delivering a package to you in two days is one of the biggest polluters on the road. Opting for a slower delivery time helps mitigate some of that pollution.

6. Use an eco-friendly search engine.

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You can find search engines that try to give back to environmental efforts. For example, a search engine that uses 80% of its profits to plant new trees.

7. Unplug your charger when you're not using it.

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All your electronics, including your phone and laptop chargers, use a little bit of electricity when they're plugged in. The earth will thank you for unplugging them when you don't need them.

8. Is it a pain to unplug? Use a surge protector with an off switch.

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For hard-to-reach plugs, like those for a television or a desktop computer, you can easily cut the power to those devices with a simple switch on a surge protector.

9. Bike more.

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We've all heard this one before. Here's what you might not have heard: Biking may be faster than driving in a lot of American cities.

10. Opt out of as much spam email as you can.

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About 62 trillion spam messages are sent each year, which makes the equivalent of about 20 million tons of CO2 per year. So you're doing a public service when you smash that unsubscribe button.

11. Get your threads from a vintage store or thrift shop.

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The Economist notes that "from the pesticides poured on cotton fields to the washes in which denim is dunked, making 1kg of fabric generates 23kg of greenhouse gases on average." Since "more than half of the fastest-fashion items made are chucked away within a year of production," you're doing us all a solid when you buy your clothes gently used.