what's 1 small thing can a person do to prevent pollution?

A few things, any of which can help:

-Instead of taking lots of small car trips to stores, take one trip and buy most of what you need at one time. That not only reduces the number of times you drive to the store, but it improves fuel efficiency. Cars have the lowest fuel efficiency on small trips, and that is exactly the distance most people drive. The stop and go pattern of traffic reduces efficiency, causing our cars to burn more fuel per mile. More fuel per mile, more pollution too.

-Try to take a few friends along on trips, so that they don't have to take their own cars. Two cars pollute twice as much as one.

-Use electricity more efficiently. Believe it or not, simply installing a more efficient electrical appliance or light bulb in your house helps the environment. How? Well, most electricity comes from burining fossil fuels. The more electricity we demand, the more is burned, and the more is polluted. So if you use appliances that use less electricity, you are reducing the demand for eectrical companies to burn fuels and pollute.

-Make your house energy-efficient. Set the thermostat toa reasonable level and keep it there. It takes a lot more energy to heat a house from a low temperature than to heat it by one or two degrees. Windows lose a lot of heat in winter. In summer, heat from outside forces pepople to splurge on air conditioner bills. Planting trees helps keep homes cool in the summer because they provide shade. Windows with great insulation help keep heat in during winter. These things all reduce energy waste, and energy waste causes more electricity- and fossil fuels- to be consumed.

-Consider buying a hybrid car, which uses less fossil fuels that are the biggest polluters. Some people argue that hybrid or electrical cars don't improve air pollution because they require a lot of electricity, and that electricity comes from burning fossil fuels anyway. That may be true, but the companies that produce electricity produce much less pollution than cars do per each Watt of power. A car is a miniature powerplant which pollutes much more than an electrical powerplant per Watt (that's how we measure electrical power).

Prevent pollution and fight against waste are 2 different things but serve the same purpose in the grand scheme of things ...

A lot of ideas have been mentionned - here are some real simple ones too !

- I would suggest placing a 1 L or 1.5 L plastic bottle in your toilet tank (the part where the water is stored) - this will save 1L (or 1.5 !) of water every time you flush.

- Don't forget to turn the water off when you're brushing your teeth

- Don't wash your car every week !

- Showers instead of baths

- Save electricity - no lights on when not in the room ! Turn your car off when you're idle more than 30 sec - that's how long it takes for the stop-restart to be more energy efficient than just leaving it on.

Thumbs up for knowing that fighting against waste and pollution is one person at a time ! If everyone saves say 2L of water a day in a town of 1 million people ... that's nearly 1 billion L saved a year.

Check this out for more tips

http://www1.eere.energy.gov/consumer/tips/

To Prevent Pollution? Here's an idea coming out within a couple of years: next time you need a car, purchase a Hydrogen Car. They're small, Cheap, and basically run on water.

Thumbs up for knowing that fighting against waste and pollution is one person at a time ! If everyone saves say 2L of water a day in a town of 1 million people ... that's nearly 1 billion L saved a year.

This is part of my answer to those boycott the oil companies chain letters that used to go around. Works for pollution, too...

From easiest, to hardest.

1. Don't idol needlessly: In the drive-through; waiting to pick up or drop off someone; leaving the kids in the car to watch a DVD while you run inside. If it's more than 30 seconds, turn it off.

2. Don't drive aggressively. If the light ahead is red, coast up there, no need to have one peddle on the floor at all times. In rush hour, you don't have to be right on someone rear, it wastes your gas and causes the domino effect of "stop and go traffic". Accelerate more slowly, you don't save much time and

it's a huge waste. Leave two minutes early so you don't have to drive like an idiot, a minute or two is about all you save.

3. Open the windows, turn off the air. This is especially for those of you who wait for someone or something while idling with the air on. Roll down the windows, you'll live.

4. Walk, bike, bus, train wherever and whenever you can.

5. Don't buy SUV's or other gas guzzlers. How many times do you pack it to capacity and use all that space. How much would you save on payments, gas, insurance, etc., if you bought a smaller car and rented a van/truck when needed. Buy a hybrid or a smaller car.

6. Live near your work. Work near your home.

urned, and the more is polluted. So if you use appliances that use less electricity, you are reducing the demand for eectrical companies to burn fuels and pollute.

-Make your house energy-efficient. Set the thermostat toa reasonable level and keep it there. It takes a lot more energy to heat a house from a low temperature than to heat it by one or two degrees. Windows lose a lot of heat in winter. In summer, heat from outside forces pepople to splurge on air conditioner bills. Planting trees helps keep homes cool in the summer because they provide shade. Windows with great insulation help keep heat in during winter. These things all reduce energy waste, and energy waste causes more electricity- and fossil fuels- to be consumed.

-Consider buying a hybrid car, which uses less fossil fuels that are the biggest polluters. Some people argue that hybrid or electrical cars don't improve air pollution because they require a lot of electricity, and that electricity comes from burning fossil fuels anyway. That may be true, but the companies that produce electricity produce much less pollution than cars do per each Watt of power. A car is a miniature powerplant which pollutes much more than an electrical powerplant per Watt (that's

that's anything that comes in a regular 'spray can' like hair spray, PAM cooking oil coating or even WD40. If you use a 'spray' use one that must be 'pumped' out, rather than just 'released' from the can that is 'under pressure.' Also don't leave your 'lights on' if you aren't in the room, and use only the 'long life' light bulbs, that use less electricity. And RECYCLE whenever you can. That's 'several small things' but if everyone did them, this would be a much 'nicer' planet to live on ... today and in two hundred years from today.

make sure you only order what you are going to eat. Everytime you waste food you are polluting, but leaving a hungry person out to dry. Don't throw even a single piece of paper on the ground. Pick up after yourself. Don't smoke. Don't drive a car unless you absolutely have to. Walk everywhere you can. You can lose weight that way ya know. Don't spray aerosole cans. Just stay indoors. You will be less of a danger to the rest of us.

uses less fossil fuels that are the biggest polluters. Some people argue that hybrid or electrical cars don't improve air pollution because they require a lot of electricity, and that electricity comes from burning fossil fuels anyway. That may be true, but the companies that produce electricity produce much less pollution than cars do per each Watt of power. A car is a miniature powerplant which pollutes much more than an electrical powerplant per Watt (that's how we measure electrical power).

You asked for one,.... 1 small thing that you can do to prevent polution.

*You could try to "recycle" your waste, if recycling is available in your part of the neighborhood.

It is a modest effort, to recycle. Though in some parts of the counrty there is still no infrastructure to support recycling, let alone industry that can exploit the resources of recycling.

** When ever you're out and about, keep an eye peeled for trash/litter. If you see trash no matter how small, regardless of whether it is or isn't recycleable put it in the nearest trash bin/dumpster.

Understandably you can't pick up all the garbage in the world, or even in you neck of the woods (most often along roads and highways).

You could ignore "Biodegradable" trash, because this stuff will eventually turn into dirt in a few months or a few years. But when you do see or spot "Non-Biodegradable" trash. Please make an effort to get it and put it in the nearest trash bin/dumpster - or save it and take it to a dumpster at school or behind a business's trash dumpster.

Non-Biodegradeable trash: is basically all garbage that is made of artificial materials. Anything that has Plastic, Metal or Glass.

For example Cigarette Butts - the filters are made of polyurethane fibers. These will take thousands of years to break down, if left to rot in the environment. In the mean time fish can ingest them by accident and starve to death. Just like plastic soda can/bottle {6 pack} carriers get caught around the necks of birds and small animals - who do get choked to death by those things.

Candy wrappers are bad too. Practically 99.9 percent of candy wrappers today are made of plastic.

Just recently the Hershey candy company just switched to using plastic to wrap their candy bars. Hershey was one of the few that used to wrap their candy bars in paper & foil (both recyclable and biodegradable materials) but not any more.

Well good luck sweetie, any effort is welcome.

take care mahalo!!!

I've read all 43 answers that you got and merely have a couple of comments. 1) Trash on the trails does not pollute the environment, it just looks terrible. Burning trash does pollute. So yes, recycle. 2) The simplest and most advantageous thing you can do is to replace all the bulbs in your house with low wattage flourescents. Even the refigerator and stove hood lights. It will reduce your electric bill so much that the bulbs will pay for themselves in 60days! 3) With regard to electric vehicles; most hybrids are designed so that their gas mileage is only a little better than gas vehicles. Pure electrics however really use much less electricity than people think.. About as much as leaving your TV on for 8 hours. (Overnight charging) Unfortunately commercially built EVs are still extremely expensive. I have a converted '94 Chevrolet S10 pickup. Much, much cheaper. I also have a grid tied solar system. So, my truck produces virtually zero pollution. It's all about what you can afford to do. Start with the light bulbs. You are to be commended for your concern. Thanks!