HOW TO SAVE THE WORLD IN SIX EASY STEPS

ENVIRONMENTAL ADVOCATE

1. VOTE GREEN. In the next few years, elected officials will make critical decisions about whether to encourage or curb sprawl, global warming and forest protection. Contact the League of Conservation Voters or the Sierra Club for environmental voting records of national candidates. State leagues can supply information on local politicos.

2. BUY GREEN. Americans make up less than 5 percent of the worlds population but produce the most global warming gasses and use the most forest products. To swing the pendulum back, buy eco-certified or green products that come from sustainably managed coffee plantations or forests (look for Forest Stewardship Council labels). Shift to green energy, fuel-efficient cars and green investment funds.

3. BUY LESS. Assess your personal enviro-impact: Do you need a big SUV? Megapackaged lunch foods? A house as big as a palace? Recycling isn't an environmental panacea—reduce before you recycle.

4. BUY LOCALLY. Produce from a local farm is fresher, supports the local rural economy and requires minimal transport.

5. STAND FOR SOMETHING. Get involved in a local land trust or national environmental organization. By taking your voice to Washington you'll magnify your ability to protect the environment.

6. RECONNECT WITH NATURE. Find that special place—the tree you sat in as a kid, the stream where you caught tadpoles, the vista that heals your spirit after a long day Check out what's happening to it and get involved with local land protection initiatives. Or get your kids to join with you in a clean-up crew. You'll have fun—and your kids will end up with a special place of their own.

Susan Holmes

During the last 10 years, Holmes has worked tostop gold mines in Siberia, campaigned to save ancient forests in British Columbia and lobbied CapitolHill to protect the Northern Forest in NewHampshire. She now works as an endangeredspecies policy expert and lobbyist with Earth Justicein Washington, D.C. She majored in English.