Here’s an excerpt from an interview with Green Brooklyn in Metro NY. They have a feature called Blogarithims I think.

How can New Yorkers help the environment?

It can be boiled down to the same three-word mantra that environmentalists have been saying for decades: reduce, reuse and recycle. When you go to the store, buy locally produced products and products that use as little packaging as possible. When you’re at home, reduce the amount of energy and water you use.

Electricity is obvious, but why is water important?

Most importantly, our water in New York is supplied from reservoirs [upstate], and using water reduces the natural water table there. Water use also greatly increases the amount of energy used to power water processing plants. Being environmentally friendly can be as simple as turning off the tap.

What do you find is the single most helpful way of being more thoughtful about the environment?

If everybody used the term landfill instead of garbage, they would think twice before throwing things away. You should recycle as much as possible, not just bottles and paper but even electrical goods, too. If you don’t know how to recycle things, do some research. Call the Department of Sanitation or look at the NYC Waste Less Web site (www.nycwasteless.org).