According to the Humane Society of the United States, millions of sharks are hunted ever year to be made into shark fin soup. The fins are removed while the sharks are still alive, and the sharks are thrown back into the water to die. If you're at a restaurant that serves shark fin soup, be sure to ask the owner or manager to remove the meal from the menu. But if you prefer to avoid confrontation, the organization has a free downloadable card that you can print and leave that expresses your concern and explains why sharks are threatened and need to be protected. Visit hsi.org to find the card.

Want to turn old newspapers, wood chips, garden waste and junk mail into long-lasting, clean-burning, free firewood? Invest in an inexpensive log maker -- which you can find online -- that compacts these items into dense firewood "logs." It's easy to do and takes no time at all; the logs will burn from 10 minutes to up to an hour, depending on how dense the logs are and what you put into the maker. Summer is a great time to start making a pile of recycled logs so once winter arrives, you'll have plenty to stay warm.

Does your office use Keurig K-Cups to brew fresh coffee one cup at a time? While they are convenient, they are also ecological disasters, since they are difficult to recycle and are wasteful. If you can't convince others to give up their K-Cup addiction, try the next best thing: Recycle them. The new Grounds to Grow On program is a mail-in recycling box that you can fill up with used K-Cups. The recycling company separates the used grinds for compost, and the other materials are used to generate energy with almost no landfill waste. Learn more at groundstogrowon.com.