Did you know coral reefs in the ocean do more than provide habitat for aquatic wildlife? Life-saving medicines have been found in coral reefs that help combat cancer and other diseases. One way to help protect coral reefs from harm is to take small actions at home and when you travel near oceans. If you snorkel, don't touch the reefs, and do not anchor a boat anywhere near them, too. At home, choose organic and eco-friendly fertilizers for your lawn and garden. Even if you live far away from an ocean, chemical fertilizers can still get into water and travel into the ocean, which can dramatically impact coral reefs.

Spam email is more than just annoying -- it actually wastes money. All of the extra hours spent poring through unwanted junk emails, in addition to the time deleting and the drain it has on batteries, actually wastes about $110 a year in energy costs. One way to save time and money is to activate spam filters on your email account. Also, be mindful when entering your email address when ordering products and services online; be sure the box that grants a company the right to solicit you with new products and information is not selected.

It's tempting: You see those giant metal used clothing receptacles in parking lots of shopping malls, and you know how easy it would be to toss your clothes in there. But did you know that the majority of those donations bins don't actually help people in need but are really for-profit operations? A recent New York Times story revealed that not only are these collection boxes illegal, an eyesore and hazardous, they don't help the needy. Instead, the used clothing that is collected is often sorted and resold to thrift shops or in bulk overseas, where all of the proceeds are untraceable and likely to benefit individuals. If you want your lightly used clothes to help people, consider dropping them off at a reputable charity like Goodwill or the Salvation Army instead.