365 Ways to Live Green for Kids: Saving the Environment at Home, School, or at Play--Every Day!

By Sheri Amsel

"In the greenconscious world we live in today, parents realize the importance of teaching the lessons of green living, early on. With this book, parents can encourage their children to be ecologically friendly with fun lessons such as:

• The three Rs: reducing waste, reusing materials, and recycling
• Why we should keep the air, oceans, and forests pollutionfree
• Why organic food is tastierùand betterùfor you
• How to protect plants and animals
• Earth Day celebrations

Complete with tips for every day of the yearùand activities for home, school, and during playtimeùthis book reveals how easy it is to be an ecofriendly familyùand prepare for a better future together."

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Release date: Feb 18, 2009
• ISBN: 9781440520174

Sheri Amsel

Sheri Amsel is the author and illustrator of more than twenty-five nonfiction children's books and field guides. Her work includes books on nature, the environment, human anatomy, and "how to draw" guides. She has developed an enormous, illustrated science resource website for schools, museums, and families to use at ExploringNature.org. She also visits schools and libraries nationally with programming about animals and habitats. Sheri works out of her home studio in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York.

Book preview

Copyright © 2009 Simon and Schuster

All rights reserved.

This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission from the

publisher; exceptions are made for brief excerpts used in published reviews.

Published by

Adams Media, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

57 Littlefield Street, Avon, MA 02322. U.S.A.

www.adamsmedia.com

ISBN 10: 1-60550-634-6

ISBN 13: 978-1-60550-634-0

eISBN: 978-1-44052-017-4

Contains material adapted and abridged from The Everything® Kids’ Environment Book

by Sheri Amsel, copyright © 2008 Simon and Schuster,

ISBN 10: 1-59869-670-X, ISBN 13: 978-1-59869-670-7.

Printed in Canada.

JIHGFEDCBA

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

is available from the publisher.

This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information with regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional advice. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought.

—From a Declaration of Principles jointly adopted by a Committee of the American Bar Association

and a Committee of Publishers and Associations

The pages of this book are printed on 100% post-consumer recycled paper.

This book is available at quantity discounts for bulk purchases.

For information, please call 1-800-289-0963.

Contents

Introduction

CHAPTER 1

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

1 Rethink Your Environment

2 Name That Environment!

3 Draw the Environment

4 Describe Your Environment

5 Make a List of Carnivores

6 Make a List of Herbivores

7 Calling All Insectivores!

8 Learn About: Insect-Eating Plants

9 Name Some Omnivores

10 Study the Human Diet

11 Try a Different Cuisine

12 Do Research On: Organic Farming

13 Do an Organic Taste Test

14 Spread the Word: Organic Is Green!

15 Read the Rules About Organic

16 Understand Why Some People Use Pesticides

17 Rid Pests the Organic Way!

18 Memorize This: Food Web

19 Play Environmental Tag

20 Learn This Eco-Term: Photosynthesis

21 Get to Know: Decomposers

22 Substitute Soy

23 Cook with Tofu

24 Try Going Veggie!

25 Understand: Composts

26 Word Up!: Producers

27 Make Your Own Compost

28 Do the Compost Test

29 Eat Like a Worm!

30 Share This Eco-Story: Dumps

31 Do Research On: Landfills

32 Share This Eco-Fact: Garbage

33 Know This: Toxic Waste

34 Go On a Home Toxic Hunt

35 Word Up!: Genes

36 Teach Yourself About: Genetic Engineering

37 Do Research On: GM Food

38 Find a Book About: Rachel Carson

39 Share This Eco-Story: Johnny Appleseed

40 Keep a Food Journal

41 Use One Glass!

CHAPTER 2

EARTH 101

42 View the Earth from Space

43 Get My Drift?

44 Word Up!: Continental Drift Theory

45 Learn This Eco-Term: Plate Tectonics

46 Memorize This: Pangaea

47 Know This: Fault

48 Word Up!: Lithosphere

49 Create Your Own Volcanic Eruption

50 Memorize This: Aquifer

51 Word Up!: Precipitation

52 Learn This Eco-Term: Groundwater

53 Plants and the Water Cycle

54 Know This: End-Pleistocene

55 Word Up!: Epipelagic Zone

56 Get to Know: Global Warming

57 Do Research On: Rainforests

58 Check This Out: Rainforests

59 Make a Rain Shower!

60 Share This Eco-Fact: Rainforest Plants

61 Learn This Eco-Term: Satellite

62 Memorize This: Meteor

63 Word Up!: Climate Change

64 Know This: Condensation

65 Understand: Atmosphere

66 Cut the Atmospheric Layer Cake

67 Word Up!: Weather

68 Make Your Very Own Cloud

69 Learn This Eco-Term: Slash and Burn

70 Check This Out: Rainforest Clearing

71 Memorize This: Ecotourism

72 Word Up!: Oasis

73 Learn About: Deserts

74 Know This: Mirage

75 Do Research On: Endangered Desert Species

76 Share This Eco-Fact: Beating the Heat

77 Learn This Eco-Term: Erg

78 Word Up!: Ice Pack

79 Get to Know: Antarctica

80 Understand: Icebergs

81 Memorize This: Glacier

82 Drink a Polar Treat!

83 Check This Out: the Arctic

84 Share This Eco-Fact: Frozen Deserts

85 Know This: Hibernation

86 Word Up!: Estivation

87 Check This Out: Grasslands

88 Share This Eco-Fact: Prairie Fires

89 Do Research On: Types of Wetlands

90 Check This Out: Wetlands

91 Teach Yourself About: Endangered Wetland Species

92 Get to Know: Oceans

93 Do Research On: Endangered Aquatic Species

94 Consider the Safety of Coral Reefs

95 Spread the Coral Reef Word!

96 Coral and Boating—Lessons to Share

97 Be Careful Around Coral—It’s Important!

98 Protect the Coral’s Beauty

99 Don’t Help the Harvesters!

100 Understand: the Partnership Between Algae and Coral

101 Learn This Eco-Term: Benthic Zone

102 Learn About: Tide Pools

103 Do Research On: Keystone Species

104 Spread the Word About: The Sea Otter

105 Get to Know: Wildways

106 Memorize This: Semi-arid

107 Understand: Desertification

108 Do a Desertification Experiment

109 Share This Eco-Story: The Aral Sea

110 Recycle for Trees!

111 Plant a Tree

112 Pick Good Trees to Plant

113 Tame Wild Trees

114 Get Started Planting Trees

115 Start a Tree-Planting Club!

116 Make Your Own Plant Guide

CHAPTER 3

FIGHT POLLUTION!

117 Save Your Breath: Air Pollution

118 Do Research On: Acid Rain

119 Don’t Lower Your pH

120 See Acid Rain’s Effects on Lakes and Forests

121 Do an Acid Rain Experiment

122 Teach Yourself About: The Greenhouse Effect

123 Save the Ozone

124 Word Up!: Ozone-Depleting Gases

125 Get to Know: Greenhouse Gas

126 Know This: Methane

127 Do a Greenhouse Effect Experiment

128 Do Research On: Global Warming

129 Share This Eco-Fact: Satellites

130 Melt Some Ice Caps

131 Fight Ocean Pollution!

132 Clean Up Your Own Oil Spill

133 Learn This Eco-Term: Ecological Footprint

134 Measure Your Ecological Footprint

135 Understand: Light Pollution

136 Word Up!: Sky Glow

137 Do a Light Experiment

138 See the Danger of Too Much Light!

139 Realize That Noise Is Pollution, Too!

140 I Said: SUPPORT NOISE BARRIERS!

141 Do a Noise Pollution Experiment

142 Reduce Noise Pollution

143 Less Package in Your Purchase

144 Snip Rings

145 Stamp Out Litterbugs

146 Keep Beaches Clean

147 Watch for Gas Spills

148 Don’t Let Plastic Bags Blow Away

149 Dispose of Toxic Stuff Safely

150 Do You Know about Natural Pollution?

151 Take Action with Trash Around Your Neighborhood

152 Get Your Friends Involved in Trash Pickup

153 You Can Adopt a Highway, Too!

154 Combine Awareness and Activities

155 Make a Litter Stick

156 Organize a Litter Cleanup Hike

157 Memorize This: Smog

158 Make Some Smog

CHAPTER 4

ANIMALS

159 Share This Eco-Fact: Fishermen

160 Check This Out: Fisheries

161 Try Different Fish

162 Know This: Extinct

163 Word Up!: Endangered

164 Learn About: Endangered Species Act

165 Learn Why Things Become Endangered

166 Spread the Word About: The Peregrine Falcon

167 Learn This Eco-Term: Threatened

168 Do Research On: The Dodo

169 Share This Eco-Story: Extinction

170 Memorize This: Poaching

171 Get the Truth on Poaching

172 Save the Ivory Animals!

173 Keep up the Coral Crusade

174 Pick Your Pets Carefully

175 Get to Know: Endangered Rainforest Animals

176 Know This: Spawn

177 Build a Butterfly Garden

178 Do You Know Your Young Animals?

179 Groups of Animals

180 Word Up!: Nocturnal

181 Understand: Order

182 Learn This Eco-Term: Invasive Species

183 Spread the Word About: The Water Hyacinth

184 Learn About: Kudzu

185 Memorize This: Bioluminescence

186 Do Research On: Fossils

187 Animals Can Lose Their Homes, Too

188 How to Stave Off Habitat Loss

189 Be Careful with What You Buy

190 Spread Your New Knowledge!

191 Support New Habitats

192 Understand: Habitat Loss Around the World

193 Do Research On: Pandas and Habitats

194 Share This Eco-Story: Bats

195 Find a Book About: Jane Goodall

CHAPTER 5

PLANT LIFE

196 Teach Yourself About: Biodiversity

197 Share This Eco-Story: Corn

198 Know This: Monoculture

199 Word Up!: Biofuels

200 Save Water with Cacti

201 Learn This Eco-Term: Biomass

202 Memorize This: Botanist

203 Go on an Urban Safari

204 Plan an Urban Garden

205 Use That Windowsill!

206 Maximize Outdoor Space!

207 Save a Tree

208 Know This: Deforestation

209 Get to Know: Life after Deforestation

210 Do an Erosion Experiment

211 Word Up!: Irrigation

212 Learn This Eco-Term: Peat

213 Rid Plants of Pests, the Green Way

214 Mow Low

215 Memorize This: Permafrost

216 Do Research On: Greedy Grass

217 Know This: Plant Transpiration

218 Word Up!: Respiration

219 Use School Grounds to Learn about Nature

220 Spread the Word About: Wetlands

221 Create a Flood

222 Did You Know Wetlands Can Act as Giant Filters?

223 Share This Eco-Story: The Everglades

224 Share This Eco-Fact: The Plant Cure

225 Show Respect for Flowers!

226 Find a Book About: John Muir

227 Learn About: Julia Hill

228 Transplant a Tree

229 Pick the Right Spot for Trees

CHAPTER 6

ENERGY AND POWER

230 Would You Change Your Energy Use?

231 What Happens When You Flush?

232 Choose Different Paper Towels!

233 Think about That Old TV!

234 What Your School Spends

235 Share This Eco-Fact: Solar Energy

236 Do Research On: Photovoltaics

237 Get to Know: Ultraviolet Light

238 Memorize This: Sublimation

239 Know This: Semiconductor

240 Learn This Eco-Term: Fluorescent Lamps

241 Word Up!: Watt

242 Do a Solar Energy Experiment

243 Support Solar Science!

244 Spread the Word About: Wind Energy

245 Understand: Wind Farms

246 Visit a Wind Farm

247 Have a Windmill Party

248 Do Research On: Water Power

249 Know the Ins and Outs of Tide Power

250 Teach Yourself About: Water Wheels

251 Turn the Lights Off!

252 Get New Bulbs

253 Turn the Other Stuff Off, Too!

254 Fireplaces Can Be Great—If You’re Smart!

255 Put on a Sweater!

256 Stop Perusing and Close That Door!

257 Solar Lights Are Just Right

258 Throw Bad and Old Stuff Away

259 Wipe Your Face the Earth-Friendly Way

260 Check This Out: Bulbs

261 Stop Heating the Outdoors

262 Make a Draft Stopper

263 Share This Eco-Fact: Methane Energy

CHAPTER 7

RECYCLE!

264 Recycling Plastic Is Fantastic!

265 Recycle Refrigerants

266 Share This Eco-Fact: Tissues

267 Recycle and Reuse

268 Be Number One (or Two)

269 Yes, You Can!

270 Bag It

271 Moo for #2

272 Box Lunch Is Best!

273 Grab That Bag

274 Think Ink

275 Donate a Phone

276 Compute This!

277 Think Global, Act Local

278 Talk Up Your Trash Collector!

279 Wash Cycle Recycle

280 Surf This!

281 Make Cool Art Paper

282 Start Paper Recycling at School

283 Get Less Mail

284 Get in the Loop!

285 Share This Eco-Story: Recycling

286 Choose Wisely: Paper or Plastic?

287 Put Pressure on Companies

288 Check This Out: Catalogs

289 Recycle Catalogs

290 Give Spray Paint the Brush-Off

291 Waste Not, Want Not

292 Shop Co-op

293 Spread Recycling Know-How

CHAPTER 8

AT HOME, AT SCHOOL, AND BEYOND

294 Get to Know: Green Homes

295 Check This Out: Euro-Green

296 Go Low-Flow!

297 Think Windows and Win

298 Insulate and Be Great

299 Solar Panel Patrol

300 Recycled Roofing—Why Not?

301 Garden Green, Too

302 Design Your Ideal Green House

303 Make Your Yard Green

304 Cool It on Coolant

305 Get Your Air in Good Condition

306 Join a Green Group

307 Clean Green

308 Clubs You and Your Family Can Join

309 Start Your Own Green Group!

310 Decide What Time You Can Commit

311 Keep Making Plans!

312 Expanding Your Cause

313 Raise Some Green!

314 Use Household Trash

315 Wash Those Cars and Bake Those Cookies!

316 Getting Grants with Your Folks

317 Count Your Miles

318 Walk the Walk

319 Ride the Ride

320 Get Together on Rides

321 Make One Trip

322 Share the Ride

323 Think about How We Use Water

324 Take a Look at the Water Bill

325 Why Might You Want to Save on Water?

326 Four Ways to Save Water in the Bathroom

327 Two Ways to Save Water While Doing Chores

328 Two Ways to Green the Area Around You

329 Think Alternate Gardens

330 Two Smart Garden Decisions!

331 Did You Know? How Does Your Lawn Pollute the Air?

332 Pollution and How It Affects Your Breathing

333 Do Research On: Earth Day

334 Throw a Green Party

335 Make Every Day Earth Day

336 Make Sure to Surf Green

337 Check It Out with Your Folks First

Reviews for 365 Ways to Live Green for Kids

[Wendy Rosenthal · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The author is incredibly good at choosing easy ways to help the environment