Here are several suggestions for easy ways to become ‘more green’:

SO SIMPLE
Switch to compact fluorescent light bulbs. Each bulb, on average, saves $25. in electricity per year. Changing five or more bulbs will save you $100 or more each year.

Plug Air Leaks: It has been suggested that all leaks around windows, doors and in basements be plugged either with caulking or stripping. There are new products on the market that will not only help accomplish this and save you money, but will do it with a green footprint.
Reduce Water Use: Add aerators to your sink faucets, and replace your shower head with a low-flow unit. Both of these projects take less than fifteen minutes each, and in less than thirty minutes you can expect to conserve water enough water to save about $100 on your water bill.
Insulate Hot Water Pipes: Insulating hot water pipes will save you up to 15% on your hot water heating bill. Sounds like a good candidate for a weekend project
Consider a Push Mower: More quiet for you and your neighbors, no pollution contributed to the environment, and more exercise for you!

Four Earth-friendly Cleaning Solutions

An entire industry has been built on developing natural cleaning products - everything from nontoxic bathroom cleaners to environmentally friendly dish soaps. If you want to save money, are feeling creative, or don't have access to commercial natural cleaning products, try some of these non-toxic cleaning suggestions:
Baking soda: An all-purpose cleaner; especially effective on glass coffee pots and glassware; removes red-wine stains from carpeting. A paste (made with water) can shine stainless steel and silver; the paste also can remove tea stains from cups and saucers. Make a paste with a Castile- or vegetable-based liquid soap and a drop of essential oil (tea tree or lavender) to clean sinks, countertops, toilets and tubs. Coarse salt: Cleans copper pans and scours cookware. Sprinkle salt on fresh spills in the oven, and then wipe off. Sprinkle salt on rust stains and squeeze a lime or lemon over them, let sit for several hours and wipe off.
Grapefruit-seed extract: Add to water in a spray bottle for an odorless way to kill mold and mildew.
Lemon juice: Use as a bleaching agent on clothing, and to remove grease from your stove and countertops. Add 2 Tbsp lemon juice to 10 drops of (real) lemon oil and a few drops of jojoba oil to clean and polish wood furniture.

10 Ways You Can Improve Earth's Health

1. Change light bulbs
There are now highly efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) that last for years, use a quarter of the energy of regular bulbs and actually produce more light.

2. Drive differently, or drive a different vehicle
Drive less. Telecommuting and public transportation are great options-once a week saves a ton of carbon dioxide a year-but even piling multiple errands into one trip helps. If you can walk instead of drive, even better.

3. Control your temperature
Tune up your heating system. This one thing every couple of years can reduce your heating costs by 10 percent a year.
Clean vents, close unused vents, and change filters in the vents.
Add two degrees to the AC thermostat in summer, and two degrees in winter.
Make sure windows and doors are sealed.
Ceiling fans, instead of AC, can reduce your cooling costs by more than half.

4. Tame the refrigerator monster
Refrigerators are the single biggest consumer of electricity in the average household, responsible for 10-15 percent of the electricity you use each month. Turn on your "energy saver" switch near the thermostat and be sure that the doors are sealed appropriately.

5. Twist some knobsYour hot water heater, your washer and dryer, and your dishwasher.

Each, in its own way, can be inefficient. Here are some things to try:
Turn the hot water heater down a couple of degrees, or turn on the "energy conservation" setting. Insulate the pipes Install a timer on your water heater to turn off at night and just before you wake up in the morning. Wash a few dishes by hand. Over time, that will save a few loads in the dishwasher, conserving energy. Wait until you have a full load to run the dishwasher. Wash clothes in warm water, not hot. The clothes will be just as clean, and you'll cut energy use by 50 percent.

6. Plant smartly
Choose hardier plants, plant things in groups that need more water and put in mulch to help keep moisture in. When you mow your grass, make sure you do it smartly-with sharp blades, and only when the grass needs cutting. Finally, make sure you water your lawn sparingly. All of these will conserve energy.

7. Invest in green energy
Many utilities now give consumers the option to buy "green power." Ask for it!

8. Go organic
Eat locally grown food. If the food doesn't have to travel far, there's less carbon dioxide from the trucks that ship it. Eat fruits and vegetables in season. This saves the enormous transportation costs. Plant your own vegetable garden. It's not as hard as you might think.

9. Buy recycled
Recycled is often considerably cheaper than non-recycled, so it's cost-effective as well as conservation-minded. For instance, recycled paper can be as much as a third cheaper than non-recycled paper.

10. Be a minimalist
Every time you buy something, energy has gone into getting that product to you. So the less you buy, the more you save energy-wise. It's a simple equation.

My conscience won't let me get away from the responsibility oftrying to do my part. Knowing that my 5 children's children will sufferfrom the neglect of a disposable world promps me.I keep a folgers container under my sink for vegtable and fruit scraps.We eat alot of fresh produce and the waste turns into fertile soil. Tip, citrus fruits, oranges, lemons, grapefruits are high in acid, so they are not good for the compost unless you want to do soil test and add lime to nutralize. Meat and meat byproducts are not recommended for compost due to the smell and attraction of rodents.This year has prompted me even more so, because a bumper sticker reminded me of where we are headed in the future. "What happens when the oil runs out?" We all know the oil will eventually run out, it will happen.Are you aware of: (Do you care?)This is a list of some of the products made from oil. Nearly everything in our lives is made from oil, made by machinery and systems dependent on oil, and transported by oil as either gas or diesel fuel.Air conditioners, ammonia, anti-histamines, antiseptics, artificial turf, asphalt, aspirin, balloons, bandages, boats, bottles, bras, bubble gum, butane, cameras, candles, car batteries, car bodies, carpet, cassette tapes, caulking, CDs, chewing gum, cold, combs/brushes, computers, contacts, cortisone, crayons, cream, denture adhesives, deodorant, detergents, dice, dishwashing liquid, dresses, dryers, electric blankets, electrician’s tape, fertilisers, fishing lures, fishing nets, fishing rods, floor wax, footballs, glues, glycerin, golf balls, guitar strings, hair, hair colouring, hair curlers, hearing aids, heart valves, heating oil, house paint, ice chests, ink, insect repellent, insulation, jet fuel, life jackets, linoleum, lip balm, lipstick, loudspeakers, medicines, mops, motor oil, motorcycle helmets, movie film, nail polish, nylons, oil filters, paddles, paint brushes, paints, parachutes, paraffin, pens, perfumes, petroleum jelly, plastic chairs, plastic cups, plastic forks, plastic wrap, plastics, plywood adhesives, refrigerators, roller-skate wheels, roofing paper, rubber bands, rubber boots, rubber cement, rubbish bags, running shoes, saccharine, seals, shirts (non-cotton), shoe polish, shoes, shower curtains, solvents, solvents, spectacles, stereos, sweaters, table tennis balls, tape recorders, telephones, tennis rackets, thermos, tights, toilet seats, toners, toothpaste, transparencies, transparent tape, TV cabinets, typewriter/computer ribbons, tyres, umbrellas, upholstery, vaporisers, vitamin capsules, volleyballs, water pipes, water skis, wax, wax paper1. Paper Cups - Paper cups are coated with plastic or wax in order to make them waterproof. We know plastic is derived from oil or natural gas, but did you know most wax is too? The type of wax used to waterproof paper cups is polyolefin wax — which is a polymer derived from oil or natural gas.2. Candles - Speaking of wax, did you know that candles are also made from polyolefin wax? A natural alternative to burning polyolefin wax candles are beeswax candles.3. Fruits & Vegetables - That wax coating on your store bought fruits and vegetables is (you guessed it) also made from petroleum. Another good reason to shop at the local farmer’s market!4. Reusable Shopping Bags - Many reusable shopping bags on the market today are ironically made from the same oil derived materials they are designed to replace. Reusable shopping bags are typically made from non-woven polypropylene — PP or resin ID code 5 for short. While these bags are recyclable, I would recommend purchasing a heavy duty canvas reusable bag instead. Canvas reusable bags are made from cotton, and last longer.to simplify it;* Rubber* Plastic* Paint* Synthetic cloth, such as nylon* Bitumen (asphalt or tar) for road surfaces and building* Lubricating oil for engines and other machines* Drugs and creams (e.g. Vaseline)Recyclables Heading to Landfills as their Value DecreasesEverything that goes to landfill here ends up generating methane which is sold to companies as energy. However that is not true of all cities. Indianapolis (my other hometown) burns trash and turns it into energy. We have recyle tubs and a large trash container that are automated.MAYBE WE SHOULD STOPTALKING ABOUTWHAT WE ARE NOT DOINGand take the whisper OUT of what weare doingmaybe .................... what we are doing will catch onafter all what we are not doing got us here ................GLOBAL WHAT?That time of year; tissue boxes serve a great purpose of reuse before discarded.Collecting dryer lintCollecting plastic grocery bagsCollecting feminine used products