More Ways to Live Green

1.Re-route your commute
Walk or bike to work and save money on gas and parking while improving your cardiovascular health and reducing your risk of obesity. If you live far from your office, investigate the option of telecommuting. Or move closer-even if this means paying more rent, it could save you money in the long term.

2.Buy used
Whether you've just moved to a new area or are looking to redecorate, consider a service like craigslist to track down furniture, appliances, and other items, rather than buying them new. Check out garage sales and thrift stores for clothing and other everyday items. Use your creativity in gift giving, including making homemade gifts, donating to a good cause, or even regifting. (And gift green, in general.) Your purchasing habits have a real impact, for better or worse.

3.Think twice about new electronics.
E-waste from discarded cell phones and computers is a growing environmental problem. Mounds of electronic refuse are being shipped abroad illegally for ‘disassembly' by workers with little protection against the mercury and other toxic substances they contain. Keep your electronics as long as possible and dispose of them responsibly when the time comes. Buy higher-quality items and don't give in to ‘psychological obsolescence' marketing campaigns. Recycle your cell phone and support good causes at the same time!

4.Add one meatless meal per week
While strict vegetarianism isn't for everyone, even the most devout carnivores can cut back on meat consumption without cramping their style-and save money in the process. Industrial meat production requires huge energy inputs and creates noxious waste problems. The proliferation of factory farms is damaging the environment, and the global nature of the industry creates conditions that promote the spread of diseases such as avian flu, potentially costing society billions.

5.Recycle, Recycle, Recycle
The best way to be Earth-friendly is to cut down on what you consume and recycle whenever you can. The U.S. generates about 208 million tons of municipal solid waste a year, according to the National Institutes of Health. That's more than 4 pounds per person per day. Every little bit helps; recycling just one glass bottle saves enough electricity to light a 100-watt bulb for four hours. A great recycling resource is Metro's Recycling page.   

6.Save water
The Web site "Water - Use it Wisely," created by a group of Arizona cities, lists 100 simple ways to save water. We'll share just a few here: Put an aerator on all household faucets and cut your annual water consumption by 50%.  Install a low-flow toilet. They use only 1.6 gallons per flush, compared to 3.5 gallons per flush for pre-1994 models. If you have an older model, adjust your float valve to admit less water into the toilet's tank.  Of course, you don't need products to save water -- behavioral changes also add up quickly: using a broom instead of the garden hose to clean your driveway can save 80 gallons of water and turning the water off when you brush your teeth will save 4.5 gallons each time.

7.Save a tree, use less paper 
You can buy "tree-free" 100% post-consumer recycled paper for everything from greeting cards to toilet paper. Paper with a high post-consumer waste content uses less virgin pulp and keeps more waste paper out of landfills. Remove yourself from junk mail lists. Each person will receive almost 560 pieces of junk mail this year, which adds up nationally to 4.5 million tons, according to the Native Forest Network. About 44% of all junk mail is thrown in the trash, unopened and unread, and ends up in a landfill. If everyone in the U.S. was able to reduce their 10.8 pieces of junk mail received each week, we could save nearly 100 million trees each year! To stem the flow into your own home, contact the Direct Marketing Association's Mail Preference Service at P.O. Box 643, Carmel, NY 10512, or download the online form. Opt out of credit card or insurance offers at OptOutPrescreen.com or by calling 888-567-8688, a single automated phone line maintained by the major credit bureaus. Another GREAT way to get off those lists: www.greendimes.com

8.Want hardwood floors? Opt for bamboo
Bamboo is considered an environmentally friendly flooring material due to its high yield and the relatively fast rate at which it replenishes itself. It takes just four to six years for bamboo to mature, compared to 50-100 years for typical hardwoods. Just be sure to look for sources that use formaldehyde-free glues.

9.Use healthier paint
Conventional paints contain solvents, toxic metals and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that can cause smog, ozone pollution and indoor air quality problems with negative health effects, according to the EPA. These unhealthy ingredients are released into the air while you're painting, while the paint dries and even after the paints are completely dry. Opt instead for zero- or low-VOC paint, made by most major paint manufacturers today.

10.Garden green
First, use compost instead of synthetic fertilizers. Compost provides a full complement of soil organisms and the balance of nutrients needed to maintain the soil's well-being without the chemicals of synthetic fertilizers. And healthy soil minimizes weeds and is key to producing healthy plants, which in turn can prevent many pest problems from developing to begin with. Use native plants as much as possible. Native plants have adapted over time to the local environment and support native animals. They also use less water and require less of your attention. Focus on perennials. Gardening with plants that live for more than one year means you don't have to pay for new plants every year; it also saves the resources used commercially to grow annuals. Stop using chemical pesticides. American households use 80 million pounds of pesticides each year, according to the EPA. These toxic chemicals escape gardens and concentrate in the environment, posing threats to animals and people, especially children. A better alternative is to try a variety of organic and physical pest control methods, such as using diatomaceous earth to kill insects, pouring boiling water on weeds or using beer to bait slugs. Install Xeriscaping (low water landscaping). You will appreciate the water bill savings! Finally, consider using an old-fashioned push mower. The only energy expended is yours.