Captain Planet, He's a Hero...

Captain Planet, he's a hero, he's gonna take pollution down to zero! That was the theme song of a cartoon I grew up with. Five children each had a power of earth (fire, water, wind, earth, and heart)to help fight off pollution and save the world. When they couldn't save the day on their own, they would hold their rings together, and call on Captain Planet. This green guy would come out, kick some butt, and save the day.
I highly doubt a green guy is going to pop out of a set of rings, so lets look at a few things we can do for ourselves, our kids, and the world. Going Green can do many things for us, including promoting health, saving money, saving our economy, good feelings of doing the right thing, and saving the world.
This site here focuses on the health benefits of going green. Pollution causes and enhances the risk of respiratory problems including, but not limited to asthma allergies, and lung cancer. Pollution also happens to be behind the deterioration of the ozone layer, which is causing global warming and messing with weather patterns (The 49 continental United States were recently covered in snow-yes global warming, and acid rain, which is better known in larger cities. Acid rain is caused be the nitric and sulfuric acids in the atmosphere coming back down in rain water. These pollutions are put off by volcanoes, but we are an even larger contributor. Fossil fuels (like burning coal) is a way we generate electricity. These fossil fuels and other pollutants put off by factories cause the pollution, which causes the acid rain. Acid rain in turn causes a decrease in overall health even though it takes time to see the effects, reduces the ph level (more acidic)in lakes and streams causing a release of aluminum which is harmful to wildlife, and degrades building materials.The sun is another victim of our polluted world. We blame the sun for causing burns and cancer; but what about the critical health benefits naturally provided by the sun? Natural sunlight assists in our calcium absorption, gives us vitamins, and has been proven to improve a person's mental health. Unfortunately with the deterioration of the ozone, the sun's rays have become too strong, and we find a need to hide from it.
So here's a few simple things we can do. There are actually 29 tips on this site, but I'm bad, and don't agree with all of them. Fluorescent bulbs are a good one, they are a little more expensive but they last a lot longer, so they are worth it. And I love the lighting! Turn off computers at night. I noticed a drop in the electric bill after I started shutting down at night. Use both sides of paper-especially if you have kids who will doodle on anything, or use unwanted pages as scrap paper for a math class. Showering usually takes less water than a bath. Don't use bottled water, it's a waste of material and energy; reuse a bottle. Turn down the thermostat. Put on some cloths, keep some cash in the bank. Inflate your tires. Use rechargeable batteries. Turn off unused lights, televisions, etc. And my favorite, plant a tree! plants counteract our release of carbon dioxide in our breath. We inhale oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide, plants inhale carbon dioxide and exhale oxygen! You want fresh air? Plant some!