Three "green" back-to-school lessons

Students are notorious for the amount of paper, plastic and energy they use, says Monica Graff Haines of Green Apple, a maker of eco-friendly school supplies. When going back to school, take the opportunity to teach children some lessons about green living.

Packing lunch reduces waste. Fill reusable containers with organic foods; avoid plastic baggies and disposable juice boxes.

New is not always better. Before hitting the store to purchase new school supplies, see how many materials you have around the house that you can reuse.

Doing small things helps the environment. When picking up or dropping off your child at school, don't idle your car. Idling for more than 10 seconds uses more fuel and produces more pollution than restarting the engine, according to the Consumer Energy Center (www.consumerenergycenter.org/).

excerpts from USA Weekend www.usaweekend.com