Just as most people can't stand to see animals abused, there are some people who can't stand to see things wasted. They go out of their way to salvage, divert and rescue things so that they can be used by others. They do it not for profit, praise or personal gain, but just because they think it's important. Create a Reuse Shelf or Box in some heavily trafficked area around the dumpster or trash cans of your house, apartments, trailer-court, boat dock, or school. Year after year you rescue small amounts of building materials from being discarded.
Decades go by.
You build yourself a simple house. You may end up using less than you have salvaged and provided to others. The activities mentioned in the paragraphs above are seemingly simple and innocuous but in reality are highly subversive and in the aggregate do wonders for a community and actually do hurt the power structure of those that profit from consumerism. You will never make up for the approximately 22 pounds of Carbon Dioxide that you create for every gallon of gas that you burn in a car unless you plant a huge number of trees. The following shows you just How you can easily raise and plant trees.