Science 5: Environmentally Friendly Ideas

Okay, so maybe you can't make all-day recess a thing, but that doesn't mean there aren't [Kids falls off a swing]

some positive changes you as students can make to your school and community...

Especially when it comes to the environment. [Kid has a black eye]

And because we like brainstorming really good ideas––seriously, someone should jump

on that recess class thing––here are a few to get you started...

What if you convinced someone... and it could be anyone, from your school principal, to [Kid walking down the street]

the mayor, or to local shop owners... to switch their light bulbs to more energy efficient ones?

It's an easy sell since it reduces their bills, and it helps the environment. [Shop owner looks happy and boy has his thumbs up]

Or what if you convinced your community to put a recycling bin next to every single public

garbage can in your town?

There are tons of people who throw bottles or cans in the trash simply because there

aren't any recycling bins around. [People recycling]

This way, if they keep doing it, you have every right to follow them around and boo

them until they go back and fix their mistake! [Kid following a man]

You could also talk to local stores about giving customers who use cloth bags instead

of plastic bags a small discount.

Nothing motivates people like money! [Woman with dollar signs in her eyes]

Or you could organize a fundraiser to help the community buy solar panels for traffic

lights around town.

You even could organize a “ride your bike to work or school” day.

Or a community “blackout” where every home turned off their lights for ten minutes

each month to save a bit of electricity. [Street of houses goes dark]

Plus, think of how nice the star gazing would be with no lights!

Or an entire day where everyone agrees to turn off their TVs and get outside instead! [Man switches his TV off and jumps out the window]

Just make sure not to include turning off their computers in any of those ideas…we

wouldn't want anyone to go without Shmoop… [Guy sat at his computer]

Anyway, these are just a few ideas of things you could do to help your community become [Coop pointing at a blackboard]

even more eco-friendly.

But we're sure you can come up with some even better ones that would work specifically for [Dino pointing at a blackboard]

your community.

But be sure they're actually realistic…

Sure, asking everyone to work together to power the town using giant five-hundred

person bicycle generator sounds like a good idea, but it's not exactly realistic.

That sweat smell would get bad, and fast. [Field full of people on bikes]