Essential Skill #49: Restock for the Earth

If you're still buying bottled water, you're behind the curve. "Worldwide, we drink some 41 billion gallons of bottled water a year," says author David de Rothschild in The Live Earth Global Warming Survival Handbook, "even though it's often no safer or better-tasting than tap, and wastes fuel and water for bottling and transport."

That's not to say you need to tote around a glass or cup, or simply go without. There are plenty of refillable, durable water bottles out there for you to choose from.

But you need not limit this philosphy to water bottles alone. "A useful rule for reducing global warming," writes de Rothschild, is to "buy less stuff." And when that's not an option, follow these tips and buy:

• Recycled paper products
• Vegetable-based, biodegradable cleaning products
• Fair-trade, shade-grown coffee
• Compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFL's)
• Natural or organic personal care products
• Rechargeable batteries

"If buy stuff you must," writes de Rothschild, "restock with planet-friendly goods."