USE CEILING FANS TO COOL OFF

By installing and using ceiling fans in your home you are reducing the use of energy that would be used for air conditioning. Ceiling fans use 1/10 the amount of energy as your window air conditioner. You can reduce your cooling costs by 90% when using a ceiling fan and save an average of $450 every 10 years. More importantly, your carbon reduction is 7,857 - 11,254 lbs of carbon dioxide.

So next hot summer day, think twice about blasting your air conditioner and turn on that ceiling fan. You’re not only saving money but saving the environment as well.

If you do not have a ceiling fan , you can go to your local hardware store and purchase one for under 100 bucks.

BUY LOCAL AND ORGANIC FOODS

By buying locally grown food, you are reducing pollution and conserving fuel. Whether you go to a farm stand, greenmarket, or an organic supermarket you can do your part to help the environment. Instead of foods that can take over a 1,000 miles to transport and get to a supermarket, you are buying goods grown in a neighboring area which also prevents more air pollution from vehicles. In addition, food grown locally doesn’t need the preservatives and other stabilizers to keep it fresh.

Spending the few extra dollars on organic produce is certainly worth your while. It prevents you from potentially toxic pesticides. By supporting these organic farmers you are also helping cut down on soil erosion and conserving the expense and energy it takes to produce pesticides and synthetic fertilizers.

Next time you need to make that trip to the supermarket, think about going locally and organically instead; it’s not only better for your health but the health of the planet too. Plus, it simply tastes better when grown organic or locally!

SEND E-CARDS

Instead of going to the store and buying a greeting card for someone, create and send an e-card instead. This not only saves time and money but the environment as well. Your are saving the air from car pollutants by not making a trip to the store as well as reducing paper waste. Most greeting cards are thrown out anyway and are taking up room in landfills by adding waste.

During holidays, create a e-card and send it to your friends and families via e-mail. You can also create a website for people to go to or a family blog.

BORROW INSTEAD OF BUYING

By borrowing products and items your saving money and waste. You can do this by borrowing books from a library instead of buying new ones. This saves on the paper that goes into printing and the ink as well. This works the other way around too, if you have some old books laying around you might as well donate them for others to enjoy and reuse.

You can also borrow appliances and tools from neighbors. This lets you get to know your neighbors and cut down on the amount of items you need to purchase.

STREAM TV SHOWS/MOVIES ONLINE OR THROUGH YOUR TV

With today’s technology you don’t even have to leave your home to rent your favorite movie or TV show. Services like Netflix, Apple TV and Video on Demand allow you to rent and stream programs right from your home. This cuts down cost on traveling and the need for materials that are used in producing packages and shipments.

HOW GREEN IS YOUR WATER?????

According to recent news reports, bottled water isn't necessarily healthier than tap water. The solution: Try a Multipure water filter for one week! If you like the taste you will probably buy one.

Keep in mind 95% of the things found in water you cannot smell, taste or even see.

Cost: 8 cents per gallon or $5 a month. If you are paying more, you are paying too much!

Such a simple action as filling a container of water from the tap and placing it in your refrigerator provides several benefits in terms of energy and water savings, as well as your health. For one thing, a pitcher full of water will help your refrigerator keep your food cool more efficiently, much like how a cold ice pack works in a cooler. Also, whenever you want a glass of water, you won't have to let the tap run for a few moments to obtain a cool temperature, cutting down on waste. You won't need as much ice, which requires energy to make.

Having cold water ready will discourage you from reaching for disposable plastic water bottles, which have a sizable environmental footprint to produce, ship and store.

You'll also be likely to drink more water, keeping hydrated while avoiding sugar-loaded sodas and other alternatives. Plus, when tap water sits for a while (particularly when uncovered), much of the chlorine that is present from the filtration plant evaporates out. This means you're enjoying a tastier drink, and cutting down on the toxins, extremely dilute though they may be, that enter your body.

Doesn't that sound refreshing?

But if water on the go is your passion….only buy Poland Spring's new Eco-Shape Bottle. NO!!! I am not a company spokesperson but the new bottle has 30% less plastic which is easier on the environment. It LOOKS AND FEELS better in your hand TOO!

ENERGY CAN BE GREEN!!

Do you tremble when you open your monthly utility bills? If so, it's probably time for an energy audit -- an assessment of your home's energy efficiency to identify these problem areas and help you trouble-shoot them. To conduct your own audit, walk through the house and closely examine the areas around outlets, baseboards, window and door frames, fireplace dampers, pipes and attic hatches. If air can flow through these places, they need caulk or weather stripping.

Checking insulation is a bit trickier, but well worth the effort. Consult the U.S. Department of Energy's Consumer's Guide to Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy to learn how to assess your own. A professional auditor will go into greater detail, studying past utility bills and using state-of-the-art technology to examine your house room-by-room.

Two tests that are used are standard: A calibrated blower door mounted in an exterior door frame, measures the amount of air able to be pulled out of the house by a fan; a thermographic scan from an infrared camera measures variations in surface temperature, which indicates heat loss.

Locate an auditor through Energy Star's Home Performance program, or ask your utility for a recommendation.

Get Your Gourd On

Instead of garish plastic witches, polystyrene pumpkins and cheap Halloween toys that may be contaminated with lead paint, decorate for the fall holidays with natural materials such as gourds, pumpkins and dried corn, leaves and grasses.

By avoiding all that unnecessary plastic and foam, you’ll be saving nonrenewable petroleum for other uses. Instead of something that takes hundreds of years to break down in the environment, you’ll end up with material that can be easily composted in your own yard, returning nutrients to the soil. Between 1960 and 2003, plastics surged from 1% to 11.3% percent of our waste stream, and more and more products are made from the stuff every day.

By choosing natural materials to accent your home or office, you’ll also be supporting American farmers and open space, as well as bringing a little slice of nature (not to mention history) indoors. The best choice is locally sourced goods, which you can pick up at a farmers’ market, farm stand or charity drive.

So don't be afraid to decorate for the holidays, just do it green-er!!!!

Detox Your Decorating

If painting is in your future and especially with the color inspirations from Kravet and Lee Jofa as it should be!….. give all your rooms a new, safer coat with paint that does not contain VOCs, chemicals released into the air as gases that have potentially hazardous health effects.

Up until recently, it was difficult to find such paint. But advancements in technology have changed that, and now many of the major manufacturers make non- or low-toxic paints in a range of colors.

It can be a quick weekend project or you can tackle the whole house!!! Look for one of these brands: Benjamin Moore’s EcoSpec and Sherwin Williams’s Harmony line. For non-toxic stains and adhesives, check out Ecowise or Eartheasy.

Recycle Your Cell Phone

When you are finished with your cell phone, make sure it gets disposed of properly.

The average lifespan for a cell phone is a brief eighteen months, and currently, only 1% are recycled. On average, 130 million are retired annually in the U.S. alone.

Yet almost all cell phones contain enough lead to qualify as hazardous waste under federal regulations. And even lead-free phones are considered hazardous under California regulations because of the high amounts of copper, nickel, antimony and zinc that leach into landfills.

So do something good for the environment and recycle your old phone. Here are 4 places that accept them (and will make a contribution to charity):

• cellphonesforsoldiers.com
• Wirelessrecycling
• Collectivegood
• Eco-cell

Don’t Blow It: Rake Instead

Although leaf blowers may seem cool and convenient, they are extremely polluting, and much less green than simply raking fallen leaves the old-fashioned way.

In one year’s time, that little leaf blower engine you hear buzzing up the street pumps out as much smog-forming pollution as 80 cars, each driven 12,500 miles, according to a California air quality agency. Fortunately, regulators have taken notice, and are encouraging manufacturers and the buying public to upgrade to newer, cleaner (as well as quieter) models.

But it is still cleanest of all to hand out the rakes.

Raking leaves is a simple task that can be shared by the whole family, and it’s a good way to get some exercise while enjoying the crisp autumn air. Why not reward your helpers with a steaming cup of fair trade cocoa or mulled local cider?

Download Your Software

Instead of shopping for software at the store, simply download what you need directly from those clever folks on the Internets. You’ll save resources, as well as time and fuel.

CDs are made out of nonrenewable petroleum products, and are difficult to recycle. They are placed in plastic jewel cases, stuffed into boxes with manuals, and wrapped in more plastic. Around the world, more than a billion unwanted computer disks are tossed out each year, reports ElectronicsRecycling.org. Millions of packaging boxes are also cast off.

So purchase and download software from the Internet. You won’t have to drive, the manufacturers won’t have to ship to the stores, and you can relax.

USE VOICE MAIL INSTEAD OF ANSWERING MACHINES

It may not be intuitive, but voice mail uses less energy, and results in less hazardous waste than answering machines.Similar to the way that power plants result in less pollution than everyone running their own fossil fuel-based generators (or using electric cars versus gas-powered ones), centralizing voice mail into large servers requires less electricity than everyone using their own dedicated machines, which must be on 24/7. If all answering machines currently used in U.S. homes were replaced by voice mail, the annual energy savings would be nearly two billion kilowatt-hours, equivalent to taking 250,000 cars off the road, reports The Green Book.When answering machines break, become outdated or are no longer needed, they become part of the growing glut of so-called e-waste. Most e-waste (computers, cell phones, fax machines, TVs and so on) is not recycled, and is responsible for 70 percent of the toxic heavy metals leaking from landfills, according to the EPA. Plastic breakdown products and flame retardants are also commonly found in e-waste, and can contaminate soil and water.

Using voice mail doesn’t totally solve the problem, but it cuts down on e-waste, and makes it easier to recycle the equipment that is needed by centralizing it.

REFILLABLE MUG

Cut down on waste, as well as toxic chemicals in the environment, by using a reusable mug at home, in the office and on the go, instead of opting for single-use containers for coffee, tea and other beverages.

If you buy your daily cup of coffee in a disposable container, you are generating about 22.75 pounds of waste per year. Across the country, 25 billion polystyrene (commonly known as Styrofoam) cups are thrown away every year, according to the EPA. That’s troubling, because polystyrene takes hundreds of years to break down, and is made of non-renewable petroleum. Scientists have also discovered carcinogenic compounds leaching out of polystyrene, possibly even into your hot drink!

On one hand, cups made of paper products are easier on the environment, but they are made of trees, and can result in destructive deforestation. Even recycled paper cups require considerable energy to produce and distribute.

It’s wise to use ceramic or glass containers for your hot beverages, because plastics can leach out small amounts of potentially toxic chemicals over time, particularly pthalates and bisphenol A. If the risk of breakage is high, and for on-the-go uses, consider stainless steel.

As an added incentive, remember that many coffee shops and university food services offer discounts for those who bring in their own reuseable containers. Starbucks, for example, offers a 10-cent discount to those with their own mugs, and this encouraged 13.5 million customers to help keep 586,800 pounds of paper from landfills in 2003.

The Environmental Footprint of Sports Goes Well Beyond Your Athletic Shoes..

For those of you who are sports fanatics, you probably have a closet or garage filled with old sports equipment that you haven’t used in quite some time. Bats, helmets, balls, gloves, shin pads, and other types of sports equipment are often made from PVC, a widely used type of plastic that can be hard or soft but can’t be easily recycled. Not that much sports equipment is ever really in a position to be recycled; most of it lies around in garages, closets, and attics and is rarely used.But there is something that you can do with your existing equipment…DONATE IT!!!!!

By donating your old sporting goods you’ll not only contribute to a good cause, save resources in the manufacturing of equipment, and delay the land filling of your old gear, but you’ll get a tax write-off as well! CHA-CHING$$!! You may also want to consider renting or leasing sports equipment on a per use basis as opposed to wasting money and cluttering up your garage with gear that you know you won’t be able to enjoy more than once or twice a year. You’ll reduce the energy needed to produce an additional piece of equipment and decrease the amount of waste eventually sent to the landfill.But for those of you who must have your own equipment here are some purchasing tips:

• Look for lighter-weight items, such as bats, rackets, bikes, sticks, or clubs, which are made from composite resins. They are more durable than their wood or metal counterparts and help conserve resources, save production energy, and reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills.
• Try purchasing used equipment. The market for used equipment is already near $1 billion and represents the resale of hundreds of thousands of skis, golf clubs, treadmills, camping gear, and exercise bikes.

If 5 percent of the money spent on new sporting goods were directed at used goods instead, Americans could save $250 million per year, enough to buy solar panels for twenty thousand homes!

BACK TO SCHOOL GREEN SHOPPING GUIDE

School Supplies Use A Lot Of Resources, And Can Harbor Hidden Toxins. Alternatives Are Affordable And Fun. There are few things more exciting and satisfying than shopping for new school supplies. The anticipation of achievement, of learning, of having new teachers and reconnecting with classmates runs high. Some children even look forward to the end of summer doldrums.

In 2003, Americans spent an estimated $14.1 billion on back-to-school items. You don't have to force your kid to go to school with a 19th Century slate and burlap sack. Today's new green school supplies are high on style and usability, as well as increasingly affordable.Paper takes up a huge amount of landfill space, and requires enormous amounts of water and chemicals, not to mention living trees, to produce. These days, a wide range of recycled (and chlorine-free) paper and notebooks are becoming increasingly available, as well as price competitive. Check out Mead's line of recycled paper notebooks, and recycled filler paper at Staples, Office Depot and elsewhere. The Rescued Paper Note Books from Britain-based Sukie are ultra-hip and cute, and are made from discarded paper that is folded to expose its white backsides. Ecojot offers a catalog full of beautiful and kid-friendly notebooks that are made from 100% post-consumer waste and vegetable-based dyes. The paper mill is even run on alternative power (biogas).Also try to avoid binders and other supplies made with vinyl, because PVC - polyvinyl chloride - is extremely toxic to make, resulting in release of potent dioxins in our atmosphere. Not green at all!!!And to pay those bills!!! Order checks via phone, also available online from www.checkgallery.com printed on 100% recycled paper and printed with vegetable based inks.

And what to write with?????? Kids love to climb and sit under trees, so the idea of using pencils that are tree-free often resonates with them. Check out the Ecowriter, made from 100% post-consumer cardboard and paperboard scraps, or Paper Mate's EarthWrite. You can also equip their little hands with biodegradable pens that are made from cornstarch or recycled papers, instead of petroleum plastics. Also at the 99 cent stores- brand name pens, Staedtler-has 3 in a package, made from recycled plastic and they not only write great-they are pretty pens (a nice dark mauve,a dutch blue, and a dark grey).

And those other supplies: All those incidental supplies can also really add up, in terms of price and resource use. Many are now available with recycled content (including scissors, paper clips and sticky notes). Also don't forget to search your drawers at home for extras that might be already lying around.Backpack---Instead of oil-based nylon and plastics, give your kid a cool, original backpack made of recycled rubber, or natural fibers like hemp.

And most importantly, don't forget to send your child off with an organic apple for teacher!

Shop the Green(e) way!

We all love to shop (especially me!). Here are some ways to think green and enjoy that retail therapy just the same!

• Paper vs plastic?--or better yet, BYOB--(bag not booze!)
• Look for recycled paper towels and toilet tissue.
• The world has increased water consumption 10-fold in the last couple of years. Water bottles are not very green. Better to get a re-usable bottle and refill at a water fountain or cooler. But... if you must purchase a plastic water bottle, buy the largest size you can manage. It saves our landfills in the end.
• Search for products with no additional packaging ie:cosmetics, shampoos, groceries, etc.
• Buy larger packages of everyday use products like groceries/toiletries. Try and recycle empty bottles.
• When entertaining, use wood serving trays instead of plastic.
• Buy Liquid vs Powder detergerants as powder clogs up filters and then eventually makes it to our landfills.
• Search for clothing with natural fabrics like cotton and linen.
• Diapers, diapers, diapers.....well that's a tough one!!

So many more options for Green Shopping. Be conscientious.

TAKE A GREEN VACATION

There are so many ways to live green-er but have you ever thought about the way we travel??? Business or Pleasure no matter what put on your environmentally conscious hat!

• Rent a Hybrid car- All major rental companies have hybrid cars for rent. You will be surprised at how much less gas you use and therefore save $$ in the end.
• Invest in a portable GPS system for your car. They have all come down in price and can be transferred from car to car. They really work and are usually better than mapquest or yahoo for directions. And......the best thing is no printing those directions and having to read while driving. Its safe to be green too!
• Use e-tickets when flying. The lack of carbon paper and multiple page tickets saves paper.
• Use Share-A-Ride taxi service from airport to downtown locations. That's an obvious savings!
• Don't check Baggage for short trips. The gas and oil used to haul those bags to and from the plane is such a waste.
• Hotel living is easy--Turn off all lights and electronics when you leave your room. Opt for saving water by not requesting towel and sheet service daily. Adjust thermostats to at least 72 degrees in winter and summer.
• Remember to stop your mail when you travel so the postal service does not drive your mail daily to an empty house. Also pick up you mail on your return at your post office instead of having it delivered.
• The easiest one to remember is Digital vs. Film. In this day and age, everyone should own at least one digital camera. You can even print your own pictures from post ink-jet printers these days so it saves time, money and is green!

Travel safely and Green.

Google is the new black !!

Computers in general are not that green but we should all be doing our part to make our lives green-er while staying technologically up-to-date.

If Google had a black screen, taking in account the huge number of page views, according to calculations, 750 mega watts/hour per year would be saved. In response Google created a black version of its search engine, called Blackle http://www.blackle.com, with the exact same functions as the white version, but obviously with lower energy consumption: Help spread the word. Use www.blackle.com.

Use this as your new search engine and save energy.

One Step at a Time...

More than 350 million pairs of athletic shoes are sold in the United States every year. These 700 million new soles tread around four hundred miles before they wear out. Then they are laid to rest in the trash.

Try to buy athletic shoes and hiking boots made with recycled rubber soles in order to help reduce waste and save energy. The energy saved by producing a single pair of athletic soles made from 25% recycled rubber could power your television through eleven hours of watching your favorite sport. If every athletic shoe sold this year had a sole containing 25% recycled rubber, the rubber savings could produce an additional 92 million pairs of rubber soles.

So now you are ready to purchase your new athletic sneakers with recycled rubber soles. What do you do with your old sneakers? Nike, has a program in place, to turn your old used sneakers (of any brand, not just Nike brand) into court surfaces for basketball, soccer fields, football fields, and tennis courts. The Nike Reuse-A-Shoe program collects and recycles 1-2 million pairs of athletic shoes each year. The shoes are ground up and turned into sports surfaces such as basketball and tennis courts, soccer, football and baseball fields, tracks and playground surfaces. Nike has donated over 150 sports surfaces since the program began in 1993 to communities that would otherwise lack surfaces like these.

Like Nike says, surely their is a better option for used gym shoes, than the trash. Recycle your sneaks (up to 10 pairs) by dropping off at your nearest Nike shop, SportMart, or The Sport Authority.

If you don't love something, let it go...

Lots of charities welcome your donations. Groups like Freecycle and Recycler's Exchange exist to help you get rid of useful objects that you just don't want to make use of. If you're in a Craigslist city, make use of the "free stuff" section. Give away clothes that don't fit, the boxes you used in your last house move, or scented soaps that don't appeal to your sensibilities.

Make it a rule in your house that nothing useable goes in the trash until you've given the community a fair shot at it. And if you have an old computer, fax or printer, we have just the answer. DON'T THROW IT OUT!

You would be surprised how many charitable organizations, schools and techies are interested in your outdated equipment. Check out sharetechnology.org and throwplace.com where you can list your machines on a community board. Everything is free--but if a charity takes your stuff, then a tax break is an added surprise!

Check the Mail

Rid yourself of junk mail or at least recycle it.

As you open yet another useless coupon Valpak, consider this: The average person receives 1.5 trees' worth of junk mail each year. The easiest way to get off the paper trail? Pay a dollar at www.dmaconsumers.org/cgi/offmailinglist and you'll be removed for a large chunk of annoying lists. For the junk mail you continue to receive, remember to toss it in the recycling bin instead of throwing it out with the garbage. You can even recycle plastic window envelopes.

GreenDimes is also an organization that removes you permanently from those lists responsible for 70 pounds of junk mail we receive annually. As a bonus, every month that you are a member, GreenDimes plants a tree on your behalf. The membership costs $4/month. Visit GreenDimes.com for more information.

If all Americans recycled their junk mail, $370 million in landfill dumping fees could be saved each year.

We can figure out how to maintain our lifestyles and the health of the planet if we do it right. Here on some ideas:

• Whenever possible, replace meat with soy or other vegetable protein in you diet. Why? it take 8 times as much energy to produce a pound of meat as it does a pound of tofu.
• Turn off lights when you leave a room. If you replace your bulbs as I had suggested in an earlier email tip, think of how much you'll save if you just turn off the lights altogether! Especially in the summer with our longer days.
• Sub-size it. Houses between 1500 and 2000 square feet consume about 40% les energy than McMansions over 4,000 square feet. And if you are going to build, build green!!
• Don't ask for ATM receipts. If everyone in the US refused their receipts, it would save a roll of paper more than two billion feet long, or enough to circle the planet 15 times!!
• Get a voice mail service instead of an answering machine. The annual energy savings would result in the reduction of air pollution equivalent to removing 250,000 cars from the road for a full year.
• Downsize your car. Every extra 100 pounds a car weighs requires 2% more fuel to move it.
• Fly direct. Takeoffs and landings are where most airplane fuel is burned. If all else fails, take the train!
• Strike an old fashioned match instead of the going with a Bic. The expression "flicking a Bic" is not longer cool or green in this case. Lighters are made of plastic and the butane in the lighters is made from Petroleum. Matchbooks are made from recycled paper.
• Let your coffee stir itself. Each year Americans toss about 138 billion of those little non-biodegradable plastic straws and stirrers. Instead have the deli dump your milk and sugar in first, then add your favorite brew. It'll mix automatically.
• Tote a towel. If just 1% of fitness club members in the US started bringing their own towel, 4000 fewer loads of laundry would done a day--a savings of 36 million gallons of water.
• Text your friends. Instead of emailing to ask what time you are getting together, text! It uses about 30 times less energy per message.
• Vote!!!! All green issues have now become part of every state's political agenda. Read the issues and proposed referendums very carefully.

STAY IN TUNE

Getting regular tune-ups, maintenance, and having clean air filters will help you burn less gas, pollute less, and prevent car trouble down the line. Pump up: if every American's tires were properly inflated we could save around 2 billion gallons of gas each year! (Check your manual for optimal pressure). Lastly, get the junk out of the trunk! All that extra weight is sapping your fuel economy....And with the cost of gas this summer, we will ALL need a little extra change in our pockets!!!

Excessive idling while sitting in your car is a bad habit that wastes fuel, adds to pollution and can contribute to health problems.

Unnecessary idling costs Americans (and Canadians) millions of dollars every year and it's a major contributor to climate change.

Be more aware of the amount of time you idle. You should start to drive after 10 seconds of idling. Ten seconds of idling uses more fuel than restarting your engine.

SO.....if you are sitting in your car at lunchtime, OPEN the windows and enjoy the beautiful day!!!

Finally, if you're used to starting up your car and letting it idle five or 10 minutes before driving off, you can forget about that too.

The fact is, cars these days don't need to be warmed up. Except in below-zero conditions, you can just start the engine and drive off.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE ENERGIZER BUNNY ACTUALLY DOES DIE?

Batteries give their all to electrify your life, so make sure that what remains - mercury, cadmium, acid and heavy metals - rests in peace. Recycle your used batteries to ensure that the nasty stuff doesn't come back to haunt you.

1. Battery recycling programs keep all the bad stuff in one place, preventing toxics from leeching into air and waterways. From lithium to lead, many battery components, including plastic casing,can be recovered and reused.
2. It's easy. Recycling can be as easy as dropping off your old battery at a participating retail store when picking up your new one.
3. Go even more green. Rechargeable batteries have a longer life span, resulting in less need for new materials. And new versions of rechargeable are easier to find and less expensive than ever before. There are even solar rechargeable batteries!

Did you know ????
That batteries account for more than 75% of the cadmium in our landfills!!!! If 10% of all people owning automobiles properly recycled their car batteries this year, 22.5 tons of lead and 1.25 tons of sulfuric acid will be averted from the waste stream.

GREEN YOUR GRILLING

Who does not love a BBQ? What we do not love is exposing our loved ones to health concerns or adding to air pollution. But you can grill greener.

Here are some simple ways: Gas, propane and electric grills, while not perfect, burn cleaner and more efficiently than charcoal or wood. The latter two emit tiny particles of soot that pollute the air and can impair your health.

A compromise: Some electric grills also allow for small amounts of charcoal and wood to be burned.

If you do opt to BBQ with charcoal or wood, minimize the effects by using all natural charcoal briquettes, made without conventional additives such as coal dust. Or burn environmentally-certified wood briquettes, made from sustainably-grown hardwoods with no chemicals added.

NEVER buy any type of easy-to-light briquettes that have been soaked in petro-based lighter fluid. When lit, these give off harmful fumes, also know as volatile organic compounds or VOCs that are hazardous to breathe in. Instead, use a metal charcoal lighter, also called a chimney starter.

You can also now find ethanol-based lighter fluid that is gentler on your health and the planet.

Get The Organic Buzz

Put enough people together in a backyard with a hot grill on a sunny weekend, and there are two things that are all but inevitable:

Someone's dog will steal the Frisbee, and you will end up running out for more beer.

Take the trip and stock up ahead of time on organic beer.

Here are two good reasons: It's good for the environment, and organic beer represents the latest wave of the craft brewery movement. In other words, beer lovers will love the taste.

Before you run to the beer distributor, don't forget to check first with your local brewery (if you have one), because as we all know organic is one thing, local is another. Cutting down on beer miles is part of reducing your food miles.

If you have somebody local, it's even better because that plays into the sustainability piece too.

And if you can serve beer that is both organic and local, Sit back, and pour yourself another. You deserve it.

DON'T BE WASHED UP WHEN IT COMES TO YOUR LAUNDRY!

Before resorting to dry cleaning, try spot-cleaning or hand-wash your clothes. Many dry cleaners employ chemicals that harm the environment. If you need to dry clean, find a cleaner that uses "clean, green" processes and reuses hangers and bags.

Also SAVE, SAVE those wire hangers and return to your cleaner. They will be very appreciative.

Some dry clean only fabrics CAN be washed in cold water and can be air-dryed.

Also... Wash and launder your clothes on the cold cycle. Switching from the hot water cycle can save $60 on your annual heating bill, and the planet is spared 6.5 pounds in emissions per load. Wash only full loads, and go easy on the soap!!!

AND... when washing your dishes in a dishwasher, remember to only run when completely full. This simple move conserves 10-20 gallons of water a day. Don't pre-rinse (a running water faucet wastes 2.5 gallons a minute!!) As soon as your load is done, open the door and let the dishes air dry. This saves on energy TOO.

DIGITIZE

It does seem a bit strange that in the "digital age" (blackberries included) we still consume enormous amounts of paper, most of which gets used once or twice and then tossed or recycled. The typical US worker uses 10,000 sheets each year, roughly one tree's worth. The greenest paper is no paper at all.

It is a fact that plain old paper accounts for more than 40% of a landfill's content. Newspapers alone can take up as much as 13%, SO BE SURE TO RECYCLE YOUR DAILY READS!

Keep a scrap paper tray on your desk for those daily notes and print on both sides whenever possible.

But its ideal just to...... keep things digital and dematerialized whenever possible. The more you do online, the less you need paper. Keep files on computers instead of in file cabinets (this also makes it easier to make offsite backup copies or take them with you when you move to a new office).

Review documents onscreen rather than printing them out. Send emails instead of paper letters or faxes.

WHERE DOES ALL THE PLASTIC GO AFTER THE PARTY'S OVER?

Ever since the first Tupperware Party, people have been happily storing food in plastic. But baggies are piling up in landfills quicker than you can say "zip lock," and toxins in plastics are no picnic. Reduce waste and your daily plastic intake by storing lunches and leftovers in readily available, safer materials.

The Benefits

Less landfill. Those baggies have a long lifetime - as long as 1,000 years.

Many alternatives last longer. Ceramic and glass are great for food storage because they're non-reactive and go from fridge to microwave and back. Stainless steel is also great when you're not zapping.

Plastic by numbers: Stay healthy with plastics #1, 2, 4 or 5. As for microwaving food in plastic... just don't: it can leach into food.

Most home-use cling wraps are no longer made from PVC. Still, to be safe, remove fatty foods like deli meats and cheeses from plastic and wrap tightly in waxed paper before placing in an airtight container for storage.

DID YOU KNOW?????

If 10,000 consumers used alternatives to sandwich bags every workday for a year, we'd keep 2.5 million plastic baggies out of landfills.

UPDATE YOUR LIGHTING!

Energy efficient compact light bulbs use 2/3 less power than regular light bulbs!

If every American home replaced just one light bulb with an ENERGY STAR, we would save enough energy to light more than 2.5 million homes for a year and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of nearly 800,000 cars.

ENERGY STAR Light bulbs:

• Use at least 2/3 less energy than standard incandescent bulbs to provide the same amount of light, and last up to 10 times longer.
• Save $30 or more in energy costs over each bulb's lifetime.
• Generate 70 percent less heat, so they are safer to operate and can cut energy costs associated with home cooling.
• Are available in different sizes and shapes to fit in almost any fixture, for indoors and outdoors.

Remember, saving energy prevents pollution.

Power Shower

Concerned about saving water?

Start your day with a Power Shower!!

A power shower is a short, five-minute shower that uses about 12.5 gallons of water. Since the average shower can use up to 25 gallons of water, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), you’re already on your way to saving half that amount. And if you install a water efficient showerhead, you’ll conserve even more.

And .... for the truly Eco-Committed, consider the occasional "military" shower: Turn the shower off when you soap up, then back on while you rinse.

You won't be necessarily serving your country but you WILL be serving your environment!

Be An Energy Manager

More and more of us have an array of electronic equipment in our homes both for work and entertainment. Yet few of us realize the power drain from these gadgets. Microsoft estimates it costs $55-$75 per year to allow one computer to sit idle. Think about how many of us leave our computers on!!!! And if there are 100 million computers out there, we together spend $5-7 billion dollars every year powering inactive computers!!! And computers are far from the only culprits. Think about your fax machine, copier, TV, stereo, DVD player and on and on.

40% of all energy consumed in a single home or apartment is consumed while the products are turned off.

So here's what we can do...... If you are in the market for ANY new equipment or appliances, check for the logo ENERGY STAR power-managed. You can easily save $100 a year on your bill. Each year, Energy Star equipment saves American more than $3.5 billion dollars in energy costs. Consider purchasing a laptop. Laptops use 50% less energy than a desktop.

If you are not ready to invest, then try and turn off fax machines and printers on nights and weekends when not in use. You could save almost half the energy needed to run these products.

AND TO BE EVEN GREENER: When ready to give away your old computer, fax, printer etc DONATE. There are any charitable organizations, schools, techies that take outdated equipment.

Check out sharetechnology.org or throwplace.com.

If a charity takes your old equipment, imagine recycling goods and getting a tax break--- what a way to really feel good.