On Earth Day (April 22, 2009), let's Go Green!  I'd love to share ideas on different things we can do to at least start towards going green.  I'm looking forward to having the group share lots of ideas & helpful tips.  Some things are so easy to do!  Below please find a bunch of suggestions on how to go green.

Watch your waste... either recycle, give away or sell anything that is gently used that could be of interest to others.  Craigslist is a great place to sell or buy gently used merchandise.  And instead of using plastic bags, buy the reusable shopping bags.  They are great to use and much quicker to bring in the groceries with (I went from 20 plastic bags to 3 reusable bags).

Save energy by turning off lights, replacing burnt lightbulbs with CFL bulbs, unplugging appliances when not in use or purchasing smart power strips, lowering the thermostat by 1-3 degrees in the winter, and raising it 1-3 degrees in the summer to conserve heat/AC.

Save water.  The most common way to save water: turn the faucet off while brushing your teeth, and cut your shower time by 1-5 minutes (depending how long your showers normally are). Other ways to save water, are to by a low-flow shower head, and try to wash clothes in cold water instead of hot water.

Try to borrow instead of buy.  Borrow books from the library, rent movies, borrow from friends, etc.  Think before you purchase.

And a few others:  buy reusable water bottles, walk/bike whenever possible instead of driving, recycle cell phones, eat locally-grown and locally-raised food when possible, and check labels of foods as well as other consumable products such as hair-care products and cosmetics.  Many contain toxins your body doesn't need.