You Can Help Make Maryland a Greener Place to Live

Last week, the Maryland state board of education made history by enacting new legislation that will require high school students to receive a comprehensive environmental education before they are eligible to graduate from high school.

The state of Maryland is the first to enact this kind of legislation, and the Superintendent of Maryland Schools, Nancy Grasmick, assures that they truly seek to strengthen environmental education for young people. There's no additional funding required, no staff shifts or changes, though this educational development will certainly put them as a front runner for green literacy federal funding.

The Maryland movers believe that children are our future—and by instilling the knowledge of the importance of recycling, reducing, and reusing, students will have a better understanding that the world's resources are finite. We've got a couple tips to help your upcoming move a more “green” one:

-Scour grocery stores and liquor stores for discarded boxes. Often, these boxes are large and will be a big help to your moving supplies.

-Purge your home of things you don't need. But rather than throwing them into the dumpster (which will later only accumulate at the dump), drop off clothing and other household items at your local Goodwill or Salvation Army stores. You could even take to auctioning luxury items online.

-Go easy on the bubble wrap. There is such a thing as being overly cautious—while some items certainly require the extra padding, if you back wisely you can often use towels or rags to act as a protective barrier for your belongings.

-Forward your mail, and set your preferences to stop receiving junk mail. Additionally, you can request that your bills are all e-delivered, so you contribute to a cutback on paper use.

-Separate your garbage and embrace recycling!