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Read the article and answer the question that follows:  (par…

Read the article and answer the question that follows:  (par. 1) When you think of a modern family, what do you picture?  Does the family live in a house with the latest appliances and technology?  Are the refrigerator and cupboards stocked with the latest packaged foods?  Do the family members drive the latest SUVs and luxury cars?  Perhaps for some, this would be a perfect family situation.  But for others, who follow the model of an eco-family, this would be far from ideal. (par 2.) What is an eco-family?  An eco-family is an everyday family that has decided to follow a set of principles in their everyday lives that helps them protect the environment.  An eco-family may try to avoid using too much electricity whenever possible.  An eco-family may also try to avoid using plastic products and other products that aren’t biodegradable.  Rather than buying new items all the time, an eco-family will try to reuse older items or try to find a new use for older items, rather than throwing them away.  Finally, an eco-family will try to reduce its use of fossil fuels.  Again, an eco-family follows these guidelines not just to save money but to also to help to preserve the environment. (par 3.) Members of an eco-family can easily meet the standards in the paragraph above. For example, they know that an increase in the use of electricity affects global warming, the rise in the average temperature across the world.  A simple solution an eco-family follows is to turn off the lights in rooms that aren’t being used and to unplug appliances when they aren’t in use.  Members of an eco-family also know that plastic bags and other plastic items such as Tupperware don’t biodegrade which causes an increase of garbage in landfills.  Therefore, instead of using plastic bags at a grocery store, they will bring their own canvas bags to take their groceries home in.   (par 4.) Some of the solutions to following the set of principles require a little more thought, imagination and/or money.  For instance, rather than throwing out an appliance that no longer works, members of an eco-family will take the time to find someone who can repair it.  They may also try to find another use for an item. For example, an old fishing tackle box may become a container for organizing paints and paintbrushes. Last, in order to use less fossil fuel, members of an eco-family may decide to purchase a hybrid car, a car that runs on both gas and electricity. These types of cars often average 50 miles to the gallon which greatly reduces gas bills. However, these cars may be expensive to purchase.  A less costly way to meet this goal is to take public transportation. (par 5.) Many of these changes are not easy to make, especially because our society encourages us to buy more products and to spend more money. However, families with a commitment to the environment have made a choice to live their lives in a different way. Perhaps not all families can make as many of the changes that are listed here.  Everyone, though, can easily turn off lights that are not in use and make an important contribution in that way. Based on this article, the author is saying most families are eco-families.