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Going green is easier than you think. Use these simple tips to go green, one day at a time.
Discover the Benefits of Beautiful Bamboo
This fast-growing grass makes a beautiful, eco-alternative material for many things you use every day.
Save Money with Low E Window Film
Install low-E film to your windows, and reap the benefits of energy efficiency and energy conservation. You'll save energy and have lower heating and cooling bills. The film is reversible.
Zap Harmful Air Pollutants, Naturally
A number of common houseplants have been shown to remove harmful chemicals from indoor air. Use them to sop up those VOCs, volatile organic compounds.
Vote!
Vote, to make your voice heard on the environment, as well as other important issues, in the upcoming election.
Click to Eco Friendly Printing
To save paper and ink, preview your documents before you print, make sure you have the correct number of copies and destination, and use such handy functions as print selection and print manager.
What to Say to "Paper or Plastic?"
You don't have to wait till grocery bags are banned. Say no to plastic or paper ones now. Instead, bring your own reusable shopping bags.
Take the Train
Ever explore taking the train as an alternative method of getting where you are going? It is a simple way to reduce your carbon output.
Fill Up on Biodiesel Blends
If you have a diesel vehicle, look for a station that offers a biodiesel blend, which requires no engine modifications, but burns cleaner. Biodiesel fuel results in better air quality than petroleum diesel, and has a lower environmental footprint.
Try a Great New CFL
New CFLs, compact fluorescent light bulbs, are dimmable, and come in handy and attractive shapes and sizes, such as for 3-way lamps, flood lights, candelabras, outdoor lighting, etc. Many have standard incandescent shaped tops to work with your lamps
Clear the Air With an Electrostatic Air Filter
Cut down on waste, and breathe cleaner air, by using an electronic furnace filter instead of those throwaway fiberglass screens.
Slay Energy Vampires
The surest way to kill a phantom load, otherwise known as the energy vampire effect or standby power or lopomo, low mode power, is to simply pull the plug.
Get Your Gourd On
Instead of plastics, made from nonrenewable oil, decorate your home and office this fall with natural materials, like gourds, pumpkins and dried corn, leaves and grasses.
LED Nightlights Cost Only Pennies a Year
Take advantage of ultra-efficient LED (light emitting diode) technology to add a little safety and peace of mind to your home; LED nightlights are cheap and easy to find.
Make Your Money Count for You and the Earth
Socially responsible investing (SRI) and green banking are powerful tools to use your money for good.
Choose an LCD Computer Monitor
Instead of a traditional cathode ray tube (CRT) computer monitor, get a greener, more eye-friendly liquid crystal display (lcds).
Try a New CFL
This one is a no-brainer: Swap your old incandescent bulbs for compact fluorescents. Your lighting energy efficiency will be greatly improved, and you'll save money. Your electricity bills will go down.
Mothball Your Mothballs
Mothballs are made of toxic pesticides like napthalene that have been linked to health problems, and may be carcinogens. Use alternatives that are safer for your family and pets, like cedar and herbs.
Drink Organic or Biodynamic Wines
Since grapes are among the most pesticide-laden produce, it's no wonder we are reaching more often for organic wines and biodynamic wines to fill our glasses. Here's a simple guide to what different organic labels mean.
Habitat for Humanity ReStore: Great Deals on Home Supplies
Donate your old but sill usable building materials by bringing them to a Habitat for Humanity ReStore. Reconstruction is part of green building that reuses building supplies, reducing consumption and resource use.
Try a Tasty Biodynamic Wine
Biodynamic wine takes the principles of organic wines one step further, based on biodynamic agriculture. It is about vineyards in harmony with the Earth, and the wines are highly regarded.
Solar Charge Your Devices
Cut that cord. Charge your iPod, your BlackBerry, your Mobile GPS or your phone on the go with a backpack-cum-solar-power charger. Reware and Voltaic sell different styles, including backpack solar chargers.
Light a Natural Candle
Conventional candles are made of petroleum, usually paraffin, which is nonrenewable and may contain artificial fragrances and dyes, which may be toxic and harm indoor air quality. Choose natural soy candles or beeswax candles.
Inflate Your E-go
It's really simple: Make sure your car tires are inflated to the proper pressure, or you will have decreased fuel economy. Boost that gas mileage.
Kick the Bottle Habit
Instead of buying disposable bottled water all the time, reuse your bottles. Most water bottles are not recycled, require oil to make, and result in carbon emissions. Avoid chemicals leaching out of plastics too.
Colleges Go Green
Many colleges and universities are going green these days, by recycling, employing green building, energy efficiency, water conservation and much more.
Green Mortgage = Found Money
The green mortgage was born in 1979 when President Jimmy Carter signed an executive order directing federally-sponsored secondary market institutions to offer consumers incentives for energy efficient homes.
Reuse Paper Bags
Paper bags have scores of useful applications around the house. Get creative!
Choose Batteries That Will Save You Money
Rechargeable batteries save money, as well as valuable resources. An innovative new battery from Moixa Energy, USBCell, makes charging easier than ever: plug them into your computer's USB port.
Hail a Hybrid Taxi
Hybrid taxis get much better gas mileage (fuel economy) and have lower emissions. That means cleaner air and less global warming gases. The Ford Escape Hybrid is a popular model, and is appearing in many more cities, from New York to Chicago.
Support Sustainable Seafood Restaurants
Use Fish2Fork's restaurant guide to help buy sustainable fish while eating out.
Use Voice Mail Instead of Answering Machines
Chances are you never thought about it, but opting for voice mail provides several green benefits over traditional answering machines. Voice mail is more energy efficient and produces less e-waste.
Recycle Used Soaps for the Less Fortunate
Donate used soap to Clean The World. Soap will be sanitized and dispersed in developing countries to help stop the spread of preventable disease.
Fight Toxic Mold
Mold can be toxic, even life threatening. You can test for mold and do mold abatement. The best strategy is prevention: avoid moisture and scrub away any mold you find with strong natural cleaners.
Shop Smart for Vintage Clothes
Look great and go green by buying used and vintage clothes.
Search For Charities
Use alternative search engines like Blackle, GoodSearch, Echocho and Green Planet Search to raise money for charities and the environment, or to save energy while you search.
Adopt a Supermarket
Big supermarkets are becoming much more receptive to local foods than you might think. Healthy eating begins with fresh, local produce.
Don't Let the BP Gulf Oil Spill Get You Down
Don't let the BP disaster in the Gulf get you to stop living green.
Rediscover the Greenest Way to Make Coffee
The French press is the greenest way to make coffee, since it uses less energy and water and eliminates use of disposable filters or containers. It also maximizes flavor.
Silence Your Bug Zapper
Electric mosquito zappers are woefully inefficient at killing the pesky insects, while they decimate beneficial bugs. CO2-based attractors work better but are pricey.
Take a Staycation
Take a staycation and cut down on carbon emissions while rediscovering the joys of your own community, instead of jet-setting off into the distance at the first sign of a three-day weekend.
Choose Local Foods, and Lose Those Food Miles
It takes a tremendous amount of fossil fuel to transport foods from far-flung locales to your grocer's shelf. That's one reason more and more people are adding locally sourced foods to their diet.
Test-Drive an E-Bike
For short hops around town, ditch your car for an E-bike. Electric bicycles, also known as power assist bicycles, ebikes or e bikes, are great for short commutes, and decrease emissions.
Consider a Hybrid Grill
Hybrid grills combine the efficiency of electric grills and the great smoky taste of charcoal or wood grilling.
Save Money on Photos
Even with digital photography, people are producing high numbers of glossies.
Fuel When It's Cool
Cut down on harmful emissions and smog by decreasing the amount of fuel lost to evaporation. Fill up with gas in the morning or evenings, when it's cool.
Let Your Fingers Do the Shopping
Shop online for great green products through eBay's World of Good online marketplace.
Recycle Your Cell Phone
The average lifespan for a cell phone is eighteen months. On average 130 million are retired annually in the U.S. alone. Here are some ways to cut back on toxic e-waste.
Check Out Some Greener Jams
Some of America's hottest musicians are going green, from using solar power and biodiesel to green building and carbon offsets. Check out their shows and tours.
Enjoy a Safe, Green Halloween!
Celebrate a safe, green halloween, from recycled costumes to safe candy.
Check Out the National Solar Tour!
The American Solar Energy Society National Solar Tour kicks off this weekend, giving people the chance to visit solar electric, solar thermal and other renewable energy projects in their communities.
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