People always ask: what can little old me, do by myself, to help preserve our environment? There are so many things that people can do. Pollution often comes from many small sources. So if each of us does our part, we really can make a difference.

How we clean our house is a place to start looking. If you use toxic chemicals you can hurt yourself and your family by being over-exposed to them. Read the labels if you do not believe me. Remember that just because a product is sold in the supermarket does not mean that it is safe if mis-used. Quite the contrary is often true.

Also, many toxic household cleaner products get dumped into the drain. And from the drain, the cleaner ends up in our streams, rivers, and ground water. If the chemical is toxic in your home, it is toxic to our water as well.

They say that dilution is the solution to pollution. To some extent that is so. But how about just not using some of this stuff? That is much better than relying on dilution. After a while, dilution loses its effectiveness.

Enter the EPA. Its website contains helpful information for those electing to use safer products at home. Why does that always have to be "someone else?" This time, why don't you be the one who tries to do something good for the environment? Here are some products that you can use:

Published: April 3, 2003

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Stuart Lieberman, Esq. writes about environmental issues. He was a New Jersey Deputy Attorney General assigned to the State Department of Environmental Protection from 1986 to 1990. Currently he is a shareholder in the environmental law firm of Lieberman & Blecher, P.C., located in Princeton, New Jersey. Stuart can be reached at slieberman@liebermanblecher.com.