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.
By Tom Kessler
Almost 90 percent of the car shoppers who visit Kelley Blue Book’s Web site say they are concerned about the future of our environment, company research shows. Among survey respondents, 80 percent agreed that individuals should make lifestyle changes to help reduce CO2 emissions. And 75 percent of KBB shoppers reported that they [...]
Tags: Briefs · Cars · Fuels · Recycle & Reuse
By John DeFore
San Francisco residents recycle almost 70 percent of their total waste. Houston? Just over two and a half percent.
That’s according to an article in the trade journal Waste News that labels Houston the worst recycler among the nation’s thirty most populous cities. The ranking has sparked newspaper coverage lately, with accounts seeking [...]
Tags: Briefs · Cities & States · Recycle & Reuse
By Nima Kapadia
What do unwanted catalogs, coupon packs and credit card offers have in common? They each share the same destination: our trashcans. 41pounds.org can help Americans reclaim their mailboxes and reduce junk mail by 80 to 95 percent.
Tags: Briefs · Cut Consumption · Recycle & Reuse
By Harriet Blake
Independence Day brings back memories of picnics and fireworks. Lots of paper and plastic, coal or gas grilling, and a brilliant light show. Is it possible to celebrate the Fourth and remain green? Let’s take it step by step.
Photo: Elke Dennis/Dreamstime.com
Having a daytime party that makes use of natural outside light is great. [...]
Tags: Cut Consumption · Food · Recycle & Reuse · SHOP GREEN
By John DeFore
Big American retailers like Wal-Mart and Home Depot have been embracing compact fluorescent light bulbs for a while now, but some customers who read the fine print have been peeved that, since they contain mercury, the twisty little energy-saving bulbs are easier to buy than to dispose of properly. This week, Home [...]
[Read more →]Tags: Briefs · Recycle & Reuse · Uncategorized
By John DeFore
While scientists make news with super-towels designed to repair eco-disasters, consumers may be happy to note that their more humble domestic clean-up needs aren’t being ignored.
[Read more →]Tags: Briefs · Clean & Maintain · Greener Businesses · Recycle & Reuse
By Nima Kapadia
Best Buy, the nation’s largest electronics retailer, is asking consumers for their electronics this summer.
[Read more →]Tags: Briefs · Greener Businesses · Recycle & Reuse
By John DeFore
Call it a solution to a problem that has ceased to exist: Now that Netflix whisks DVDs to your mailbox and downloadable movies threaten to make all physical home video media obsolete, a company called Flexplay wants to sell movie lovers discs they throw away after a single viewing.
Tags: Briefs · Media & Entertainment · Recycle & Reuse
By John DeFore
In 2002, the City of New York was recycling about a fifth of its waste, but some in the Bloomberg administration thought the program cost too much. In response to a budget crisis, the city stopped collecting glass and plastic (they continued paper and metal collection), arguing they’d save $40 million [...]
Tags: Battles & Victories · Briefs · Recycle & Reuse
By Lynette Holloway
As part of the rite of spring, families will gather in parks and nature preserves across the nation to celebrate Memorial Day this weekend, dragging out barbecue grills, blankets, coolers, and traditional picnic fare such as cheese, sandwiches, chips, and beer. Children will take advantage of the open air and romp around [...]
Tags: Cut Consumption · Food · Recycle & Reuse · SHOP GREEN
By Harriet Blake
Your first reaction might be YUCK. Composting is not for the squeamish among us.
The definition alone is enough to turn you off: the aeorobic decomposition of biodegradable organic matter, performed by aerobic bacteria, yeasts and fungi and in the later stages, assisted by ants, nematodes and worms.
Organic gardening expert Howard Garrett describes compost [...]
Tags: Green Enthusiasts & Researchers · Organics · Recycle & Reuse
By Barbara Kessler
Manufacturers have pounced on the composting trend, giving you, the consumer, many choices for how you want to recycle your kitchen and garden waste. Here are a few:
This Tumbleweed Compost Bin was Member Tested and Recommended by the National Home Gardening Club, according to Clean Air Gardening, an online store that sells [...]
[Read more →]Tags: Organics · Recycle & Reuse · SHOP GREEN
In the race for top carbon emissions polluter, the United States is still Number One, but China is sprinting forward and could soon edge into the lead. The current Olympics host nation accounted for a “staggering 57 percent of the growth of emissions” worldwide this century, and will likely surpass the U.S. as the single biggest belcher of fossil fuel emissions sometime this year, according to the Worldwatch Institute.
The standings right now: The U.S. currently contributes 19.5 percent of global fossil fuel emissions compared with China’s 18.3 percent. [Read more →]
British Petroleum (BP) has announced plans to bring cellulosic ethanol to market in the U.S., through a 
partnership with bio-fuel developer Verenium, a company that makes biofuels from rice straw, sugarcane stalks, switchgrass and wood chips. The partnership could help speed the availability of lower cost, more environmentally friendly biofuels, according to an announcement by both companies this week. [Read more →]
By Tom Kessler
Almost 90 percent of the car shoppers who visit Kelley Blue Book’s Web site say they are concerned about the future of our environment, company research shows. Among survey respondents, 80 percent agreed that individuals should make lifestyle changes to help reduce CO2 emissions. And 75 percent of KBB shoppers reported that they have made changes to further the betterment of the environment. The most frequent lifestyle changes cited were:
