Do

Colin Beavan, the famous No Impact Man, said that one of the greenest thing one can do is to volunteer one's time to help the environment. This is from his Top Ten list of things to do to reduce one's environmental footprint:

9. Dedicate a day's worth of TV viewing to eco-service each week. The average American watches four and a half hours of TV a day. Take one day off from the tube each week and joining with others to improve our planet. Voluntary eco-service is a great way to find community who support your values and also a great way to learn about environmental issues and the quality of life issues that go along with them.

Many people  in our community are volunteering to make our environment better -People like Taylor Moore, for instance, who teaches kids in Anapra to grown herb gardens and sell the herbs at the Ardovino's Desert Crossing's Farmers' Market on Saturdays.

Here are some places where you can help, depending on your interest:

• Renewable Energy: El Paso Solar Energy Association (EPSEA), founded in 1978, is the oldest, continuously active, local solar association in the United States. They have monthly speakers, which is a good way to check it out with no strings attached.
• Environmental protection: Frontera Land Alliance, Franklin Mountains Wilderness Coalition, Friends of the Rio Bosque, El Paso Sierra Club, New Mexico Wilderness Alliance.
• Student organizations: UTEP's Environmental Advocates.
• Open space laws: Keep track of open space ordinances through the blog El Paso Naturally and show up at city council meetings to protect our nature.

Feel free to suggest other groups. The more the merrier!