Kermit was wrong: It is easy being green

If Steve Nash can talk trash in new Nike shoes made from trash, outdoors enthusiasts can pick up their trash in the outdoors — and more. (Just think, "Will work for trees." Sounds kinda nice.)

Several organizations, including Leave No Trace and Tread Lightly, work to assist outdoor enthusiasts with their decisions about how to reduce their impacts on the environment. (You can find out more about them at www.lnt.org and www.treadlightly.org.)

And most of what they teach makes perfect sense — for those people who have enough sense to stop and think about it. Don't pollute, don't spread toxins, don't disturb nature more than necessary.

Don't make Earth age any faster.

Lots of us would probably love to be younger, but that doesn't mean we have to be as irresponsible as we were as teenagers.

We can be greenagers. Here's how:

Acting green

1 Pack in, pack out: No one, including Mother Nature, wants your garbage. In addition, if you find litter left by previous visitors, take the time to pick it up, too.

2 Travel on trails: Yeah, I know, trails aren't natural, but they are necessary and beneficial in high-use areas because people will walk through nature. Building trails reduces the chance of people creating alternate routes that will mar the landscape.

3 Making camp: Picking the right campsite is one of the most important parts of minimizing a camping trip's impact on nature. When possible, you should use an existing campsite or an area that is already so impacted that further use is unlikely to cause damage. As a rule of thumb, campsites should be at least 200 feet from water, trails and other campsites. Campsites should not be on areas with vegetative groundcover. And clean up before you leave. This isn't a hotel with a maid.

4 Making meals: Before your trip, plan one-pot meal and light snacks, repackaging as much food as possible in reusable baggies. This saves space and reduces the amount of trash to carry out. Bags can be placed inside each other, taken home, washed and reused. For cooking, camp stoves are preferable to campfires because they have less impact on the land.

5 Clean cleaning: Don't wash yourself or utensils in streams or lakes; soap, and even mouthwash and toothpaste, can harm aquatic life. In fact, all washing should be at least 200 feet from them and dirty water should be scattered, not concentrated in one area. Leave No Trace recommends forgoing all soaps and cleansers. Or there's No Rinse ( www.norinse.com) shampoo, body wash and bathing wipes — which require no water — or body wash, which requires an ounce of water.

6 When nature calls: In heavy-use areas, pack out your waste. Visitors to some parks, including Mount Whitney in California and Zion National Park in Utah, are given bags and required to pack out the human waste. Hikers and campers can purchase specially designed bags such as Phillips Environmental WAG Bags ( www.thepett.com). If, for some reason, you can't take it with you, then bury the waste in a hole 6-8 inches deep and 4-6 inches wide at least 200 feet from water sources, campsites or trails. You should still pack out the toilet paper.

Green gear

1 Insect repellent: Don't use a bug spray with DEET, which has been linked to numerous health problems. Alternatives are available. 1) Go homemade. Put 2 oz. of a eucalyptus or lavender oil in a 12-ounce spray bottle and fill with water. Some say tea tree oil also works, and several recipes for homemade repellent are available online. 2) DEET-free, low-toxic alternatives are plentiful on the market in a variety of fragrances. 3) Outdoors Life has recommended a new product, the Don't Bug Me patch ( www.dontbugmepatch.com). Apply two hours ahead; it lasts 36 hours.

2 Used gear: If you buy it used, it's 100 percent recycled, reducing any pollution or toxic waste created in the manufacturing process. Some gear can be found at thrift stores or pawn shops, you can watch the classified ads, and several Web sites offer secondhand camping and outdoors equipment.

3 Go solar: Among the items available are solar stoves, lanterns, backpacks, showers and battery chargers. Take your pick.

4 Now we're cooking: Look for solar ovens and camp stoves that burn renewable fuels. Sun Ovens International ( www.sunoven.com) has sun ovens that bake, boil and steam food at high temperatures, and can reach 360 to 400 degrees in approximately 45 minutes.

5 Clothing: These new lightweight, waterproof materials work wonderfully, but some of those synthetics fill the environment with toxic solvents and wastes, such as dioxins. Even wearing cotton is criticized by the greenest because of the pesticides used for the cotton. There are alternatives for those who take the time to shop. Patagonia ( www.patagonia.com) manufactures outdoors apparel — and switched from its lines from cotton to organic fabric. In all brands, look for items made from 100 percent organic cotton or wool or that include hemp, bamboo fibers or EcoSpun (recycled soda bottle fabric). For waterproofing, try Nikwax ( www.nikwax-usa.com), a water-based product that uses beeswax instead of petroleum-based solvents.

Sources: Green Living Ideas, Leave No Trace, Tread Lightly, Sustainable Travel International