What We Can Do
Learn about Your Environment
We can all become more educated about what we are living near and how this may affect our health.
Mapping Waste - Setting the Stage to Clean-Up Niagara: http://regional-institute.buffalo.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/06/Full-Report_Dec_2012_with-Maps_FinalReduced.pdf
A superfund site is a site potentially harmful to life. Not all waste sites are superfund sites. You can find out if there are any Superfund sites near where you live: https://www.epa.gov/superfund/search-superfund-sites-where-you-live
Air and Soil Testing
If you want to test the air or soil in your home or neighborhood connect with Citizen Science Community Resources. They can provide you with the knowledge and a kit for how to do this. People often test the soil in their yard if they want to plant a vegetable garden.
Choose Non-toxic Products
Take more care in choosing the products that you consume. Learn more about your cleaning products, beauty products and children’s toys for example and what chemicals they are made from. You can make safer choices by doing a little research.
Check out https://www.greenamerica.org/ for green living advice.
We sometimes forget these three words were placed in order of importance. People often think recycling is the answer, but it actually takes a lot of energy to recycle and contributes to climate change. Think more about the lifespan of the things you consume and what will happen to them when you are done with them. Try not to use single use items whenever possible. Everything ends up in a landfill eventually. Landfills release methane, which is also a huge contributor to climate change.
For more info on Reducing and Reusing Basics and Benefits visit: https://www.epa.gov/recycle/reducing-and-reusing-basics