What Can You Do Right Now?

Set sprinklers to water the lawn or garden only - not the street or sidewalk.

 

Use the microwave to cook small meals. (It uses less power than an oven.)

 

Purchase "Green Power" for your home's electricity. (Contact your power supplier to see where and if it is available.)

 

Scrape, rather than rinse, dishes before loading into the dishwasher; wash only full loads.

 

Cut back on air conditioning and heating use if you can.

 

Turn off appliances and lights when you leave the room.

 

More Tips »

 

Tips at Home

05/13/2008

Santa Fe Passive House featured in Greenbuilt tour
Contractor Klaus Meyer's 2,500-foot house is about 70 percent more efficient than the average home. But it could have been even more efficient had he discovered a green building method called the Passive House before pouring the home's foundation.

* 05/06/2008

How to keep cool without going broke
You don't have to pay through the nose to keep cool this summer. Here are some steps you can take to lower your bill, improve comfort and help save the planet.

* 04/29/2008

Earth-friendly options available for rebuilding
Several manufacturers have realized the market potential of changing their practices to make products that look no different from their old materials. And while no company is perfect, at least the options exist.

04/23/2008

'Green' pest control on the rise
Detergent water, vacuum cleaners, door sweeps. These simple household products are on the front lines of "green" pest control. Amid a new wave of environmentalism, eco-savvy consumers are realizing they no longer need to rely on traditional pesticides — which may pose health risks — to combat rodents and insects.

* 04/21/2008

Eco-books share tips on living 'green'
With Earth Day fast approaching, books on "living green" are covering bookstore shelves like kudzu – everything from the encyclopedic Green Living for Dummies to tips on doing the right environmental thing from actor Ed Begley Jr.

* 04/18/2008

How it works: Earth-friendly paint labeling
As manufacturers are required by the government to cut down on additional solvents by either reformulating or discontinuing their paint, more low- and no-VOC paint is popping up on hardware store shelves, putting it on the average consumer's radar. Here's how to find the right paint for your home.

* 04/16/2008

Organic gardening starts with seeds
There are the differences visible only to the practiced eye between conventional seeds and their organic equivalents. The variations can make all the difference in your garden.

04/14/2008

Try spring cleaning the eco-friendly way
If the idea of environmentally harmful cleaners and toxic fumes doesn't quite inspire a Mr. Clean attitude, perhaps green cleaning alternatives will

04/11/2008

When it comes to eco-friendly furnishings, green is more than a color
Trevor Webb found something worth admiring at the furniture show here: nail holes, scuffs and dents. "It's pretty cool, isn't it?" asked Webb, admiring a massive wood table made by his Van Nuys, Calif.-based furniture company Urban Woods LLC. "You wouldn't know this is reclaimed wood from soundstages and old buildings in California unless you look closely."

04/09/2008

Eco-friendly products are going mainstream
Attention, tree huggers: Your values aren't so exclusive anymore. Earth Day 2008, on April 22, marks a paradigm shift in the social consciousness of America as mainstream retail makes it easier for consumers to live a greener lifestyle. Merchandise that appeals to the environmentally conscious no longer requires a trip to a specialty store but is as close as the neighborhood shopping center.

* 04/08/2008

Preservation group: Before you tear down and rebuild, consider the environmental costs
Americans love tearing down buildings. We rip our homes up to the studs, scrape them down to their foundations, and are riveted by the ultimate demolitions: imploding skyscrapers.

Post office offering postage-free recycling program for old electronics
People who want to recycle small electronics can do so free under a test program at about 1,500 post offices.

04/03/2008

Old wood gets new life in these contemporary furnishings
Some aficionados chuckle at the notion of calling recycled wood an emerging trend. After all, it's been around since the first time someone picked up a fallen branch and made something out of it. But reusing old wood in new ways — whether fashioning railroad ties into flooring or old pickle barrels into a bed — is enjoying a renewed vogue among homeowners weary of generic looks and worried about the environment.

* 04/02/2008

Kids can turn trash to treasure with Earth Day crafts
To honor Earth Day in kids' crafting, one really needs to think trash. That is, "What can I rescue from the garbage bin and reuse?"

* 04/01/2008

Eco-friendly gardening is easy with a few simple steps
For the most part, creating an eco-friendly garden involves returning to the Earth as much as or more than what you've been taking out of it. And it can be done on the cheap.

03/26/2008

Fashion Tips for Earth Hour
As Earth Hour approaches on March 29 at 8:00 p.m., many people are turning off their lights at home and making plans to go out. Depending on your city’s participation, it is important to dress appropriately for your safety with the potential lack of visibility.

13 Common Myths of Composting
Myth #1: Start a compost pile to manage grass clippings Why not try mulching before composting? Making piles of organic materials is more work than letting them lie. Instead of bagging, why not try “Grasscycling” or the “Don’t Bag It” system of using mulching mowers instead? There is no reason to bag grass if you cut it more often, use less fertilizer and leave the grass higher. Composting (making piles) is a last resort, and should be practiced only when mulching is not practical, unless you want to make compost.

A little creativity brings new life to old things
Springtime is here again, and with it the annual tradition of cleaning house. But that doesn't have to mean bag after bag of garbage. Given fears of a recession and worries about overflowing landfills, there's new incentive to find second lives for many household items.

Mercury-Containing Light Bulb (Lamp) Recycling
Read all about recycling mercury-containing light bulbs (CFLs) on the EPA Web site. The information is intended to increase awareness, provide resource tools, information to users, and to encourage the recycling of all mercury-containing light bulbs.

8 Ways to Green Your Recycling

Ideally, the act of recycling would be enough for you to rest easy. But here are eight ways to make your recycling efforts as eco-friendly as possible.

Selecting energy-wise water heaters
When we asked our 22-year-old nephew Chris about living conditions in Chile, he complained about the shower. The daily ceremony in the house where he's staying involves lighting the pilot on the water heater, waiting for the tank contents to heat up and then completing a shower quickly enough so as not to be drenched with ice cold water from the tiny tank. It might be uncomfortable, but Chris is getting an education in conservation.

* Even your dog is getting green
Fueled by increasing popularity of environmentally friendly products of all kinds, the sustainable pet product industry is expected to grow to nearly $1 billion in sales by 2009.

5 simple ways to save energy at home
It's easier than you think to paint your house "green." Simple changes can save resources and energy — and perhaps slow global warming. A growing demand for energy efficiency topped findings from the American Institute of Architects' home-design trend survey for the second quarter of 2007.

Save thousands of dollars with these shopping tips
A family of four can save thousands of dollars a year simply by buying products in the largest size they can use and by buying long lasting reusable items. Think about the effect of your purchases on the environment when you shop. Items with excess packaging and products that need to be discarded after only a few uses cost more money, use up valuable resources and create more waste.

How to Properly Dispose of Hazardous Products
First and foremost, you should try to reduce the amount of household hazardous waste you use. Ask yourself if it is really necessary to buy that fancy schmancy cleaner, or if it’s probably just an impulse buy brought on by the promise of mountain-fresh smelling furniture.

Windows and energy: No panes, no gains
As the weather gets colder, it's time to think clearly about windows. Windows waste plenty of energy - and money. Experts say as much as 25% of your home's heat can escape through leaky windows. Here are simple things you can do to make your existing windows save energy and keep your home a little cozier:

* USPS approves reusable envelope line
Tired of all the paper associated with credit card bills and your electricity statement? You may soon have one less piece to worry about.

Report: Low-Energy Bulbs Harmful to Some
UPI reports British research has shown that compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFLs), while more energy-efficient than incandescents, may cause skin cancer and migraines.

* Easier options for cutting down on junk mail
There's nothing like a flood of holiday catalogs — followed by an even bigger flood of post-holiday sales catalogs — to make families think about trying to get their names off mailing lists.

* 01/04/2008

Cold Facts About Fireplaces
When you light a blazing fire on a cold winter day it looks and feels wonderful, but it can be an expensive and inefficient endeavor. A fireplace sends most of the heat in your house straight up the chimney. A fireplace can exhaust as much as 24,000 cubic feet of air per hour to the outside! But, there are ways you can limit the loss of heat when enjoying a quiet evening by the fire.

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