If you need a reason to go green, deforestation is a good one. Deforestation is one of the major causes of climate change because it releases huge amounts of carbon into the atmosphere. This contributes to the greenhouse effect. Trees absorb the atmosphere-damaging amounts of carbon dioxide and use it to grow, but when they burn, carbon dioxide is released again.

Deforestation is doubly damaging to the environment, because greenhouse gases are released when wood is used as fuel. At the same time, the number of trees is being reduced by cutting them down to use as paper or other products. To put it simply – fewer trees mean more climate change.

So, what can we do to stop this deforestation? Here are some ideas for you.

Plant Some Trees

Stop a little climate change by planting your own trees. As a side benefit, you can keep your house cooler if you plant them on the west side of your home. That’s important in the heat of the summer.
Make it meaningful for the whole family and plant a tree every year for each member.

Try Meatless Monday

One less meat-based meal a week won’t hurt you, and it helps with deforestation. Let me explain -For each piece of meat that came from animals raised on rainforest land, about 55 square feet of forest was destroyed.

Recycle Your Newspapers

44 million newspapers are thrown away each year in the US. Recycling just your Sunday paper would save more than half a million trees every week.

Do Your Errands All at Once and/or Buy in Bulk

Make a list and do your errands all in one trip. Alternatively, buy things like health and beauty products in bulk. Not only will you be saving fuel, you’ll be saving time, as well.

Give Stuff Away

Donate your old stuff to a charitable organization or post it on a web site made specifically for giving away things, such as Freecycle.org.

Share What You’ve Learned About Recycling and Saving Energy

Pass your green tips on to everyone you know. If you help even one person take a step toward being greener, it’s worth it.

Want a visual reason to go green? Watch this video and see what we’re losing:

We take green living seriously at StocknGo. Do you? Let me know on twitter, Facebook, or leave me a comment here on the blog.

When you buy birthday gifts, are you being green? There’s a way to let the special people in your life know that you care about them without giving up your green philosophy.

Make your own birthday cards. These can be absolutely beautiful. Take card stock and paint a small watercolor, if you’re creative. Know how to do calligraphy? This looks excellent on a card. Write a poem, use prose to tell them how you feel about them, cut out pictures from old magazines and make a collage…the possibilities are endless. Making your own card is creative, fun, and much more personal than a card bought from the store.

Get your birthday boy or girl an environmentally friendly gift. You can buy an acre of rain forest, buy beauty products in bulk, or purchase vintage toys or jewelry at yard sales and thrift shops. There are lots of ways to go green with a birthday gift. If you’ve got more great ideas, let us know on twitter, Facebook, or leave a message here on the blog.

Wrap your gift creatively. You can use the comics from the newspaper, a beautiful vintage scarf, or even place it in a reusable basket. Or stamp paper, make drawings, or collage your own wrapping paper. Gifts wrapped in this kind of paper look beautiful.

If you don’t think a birthday present is complete without flowers, buy a plant instead of cut flowers. It won’t end up in a landfill, and it’s much better for the environment. And what could be a better gift than a plant that lasts for years? Every time they look at it, they’ll think of you.

Green birthday gifts mean that you give the one you love something they love. You’ve put a lot of thought into this present. It’s not just something culled off a shelf at the last minute. That makes it more significant, both for the giver and the receiver. Go green for birthdays.

It’s summer time and you know you’re going to want to have a party one of these hot summer days. Whether it’s a barbecue or a picnic, there are ways you can make your summer party greener.

Don’t use charcoal. Switch to a gas grill. You’re going to release much less carbon dioxide into the air, and the lighter fluid you use with charcoal is toxic. Fast lighting charcoal is soaked in cancer causing chemicals as well. You don’t want to eat that, and you don’t want to feed it to your loved ones.

Eat local foods. Hit your local Farmer’s Market and enjoy fresh summer fruits and vegetables. Purchasing local foods is one of the best ways to ensure that you keep pesticides out of your food, and reduce energy consumption. If there’s no shipping, less fuel is used. And what tastes better than fresh vegetables?

Don’t use throwaway dishes and utensils. Don’t use plastic or paper plates, glasses, or utensils. It’s the easiest thing you can do to stay green. If you’re picnicking or barbecuing, avoiding those throwaway dishes and utensils keeps tons of trash out of landfills. And if you use washable napkins and tablecloths, you’ve just made your summer party even greener.

Compost your scraps. Take all that leftover food and corn cobs and make rich soil for your garden. It’s easy to make a compost heap. Keeping leftover food out of our landfills is a wonderful, easy way to go green. It also means much less methane gas released into the atmosphere.

Another handy green tip for summer parties:
If you’re having a party at home and your fold-up chairs are squeaky after being stored all winter, the WD-40 No Mess Pen is one of the best ways to lubricate and protect without waste.

We take green ideas seriously at StocknGo. That’s why we have the Buy in Bulk section. One large purchase instead of several small ones means less energy expended on fuel, and that’s a good thing. You’ll save money, too.

Do you have any green summer party tips? Let me know on twitter, facebook, or just leave me a comment here on the blog.