1. Real food is fuel for the body — and the planet.
   By following the green eaters’ mantra — eat seasonal, local, organic foods — you can enjoy fresher, tastier foods and improve your personal health. According to one study, organic milk has 68 percent more beneficial Omega-3 fatty acids than conventional milk. Making green food choices also has global consequences. Buying local means supporting the local economy and reducing the greenhouse gas emissions required to get food from its origin to your plate. Buying fresh food means reducing packaging and energy used for processing. Choosing organic foods means helping promote organic agriculture and responsible land use.
2. The average woman absorbs more than 4 pounds of cosmetics during her lifetime. Guys, you’re not off the hook.
   Your skin — the body’s largest organ — absorbs up to 60 percent of the products you put on it every day, from soaps to shampoos to sunscreens. Considering that most of us use about 10 different products daily—that can really add up. Choosing green personal care products often means using plant-based ingredients in place of petrochemicals, preventing these chemicals from being absorbed into your skin.
3. Making stuff takes lots (and lots and lots) of energy.
   Every object you own — your furniture, your clothing, your beer cans, your stuff — comes from somewhere; every object has an environmental impact. Nothing simply comes from “the store.” To help mitigate the footprint of your material life, choose goods made from green (or greener) materials, such as sustainably harvested wood, organic cotton, or repurposed and recycled materials. Your choices will help protect forests, habitat, clean water and biodiversity; ensure sustainable land-use practices; and reduce the amount of waste clogging up our landfills. Buying less stuff and second-hand stuff helps achieve this goal, too.
4. Clean, renewable power is already available to everyone.
   We use electricity to power our lights, computers, and televisions, but what happens before you flip the switch? Your electricity has to come from somewhere; more than half America’s comes from coal-burning power plants, which also happen to be the country’s largest source of air pollution. By signing up for a renewable energy program through your local utility, generating your own power, or purchasing renewable energy credits (also known as “green tags”), you contribute to our collective capacity for generating more clean power from wind, solar, and other sources and you help reduce demand for energy from more polluting sources.
5. Better transportation means less global warming.
   Anytime you choose to walk, ride a bike, or take public transportation, you reduce (or totally eliminate) the carbon dioxide and particulate emissions created by driving a gas- or diesel-powered car. You’ll help slow global warming and help stave off our date with peak oil. Choosing greener options – such as a train over air travel – for long-distance trips can immensely reduce your carbon footprint.
6. Nature Recycles Everything. So Should People.
   Making proper use of the blue recycling bin has become an iconic action. Reducing the amount of stuff we consume is the first step (and the first word in the mantra reduce-reuse-recycle), finding constructive uses for “waste” materials is the second. Why? Nothing is ever really thrown “away” — it all has to go somewhere. By recycling and reusing, we reduce the amount of waste that sits in landfills (where even biodegradable products often can’t break due to lack or oxygen and sunlight). Recycling materials also saves energy compared to using virgin materials to create new products. Some materials, like aluminum and glass, can even be recycled without being “downcycled,” or turned into a product of lesser quality.
7. Your clothing choices impact more than just your appearance.
   Making clothing involves a large amount of materials, energy, and labor—including the pesticides used to grow crops for textiles, the dyes and water used to color them, and conditions under which laborers work. By choosing eco-friendly clothing –- say, purchasing organic over conventional cotton, one of the world’s most chemically dependent crops, you also choose a better product that is easier on the soil and groundwater. How you care for your clothes –- using cold water in the washing machine, eco-friendly detergents, and line-drying (at least part of the time) –- can all reduce the impact of your wardrobe. Wearing second-hand styles helps diverts traffic to landfills, and in some cases –- perhaps undurprisingly — can be 95 percent more efficient that buying new.
8. Water is not a renewable resource.
   Clean water is perhaps the planet’s most precious resource, and, with the increasing effects of global climate change, for many regions across the globe, our ability to have enough high-quality H20 on hand could likely to change in the near future. Being water conscious helps reduce strain on municipal treatment systems and ensures there’s enough to go around. By shifting away from bottled water, we can reduce global greenhouse gas emissions (from shipping), the energy required to produce (petroleum-derived) plastic, and the volume of waste trucked to our landfills (from empty bottles).
9. Greener goods are more humane.
   Just as its required materials and energy, all “stuff” requires another common resource: the human kind. If you opt for green and ethical goods, you are often supporting local and global craftsmen and communities. Supporting “Fair Trade” products and fair labor practices ensures that goods– from coffee to clothing – were not born in a sweatshop. Buying goods made in the U.S.A. (and preferably purchased nearby where they were made, which cuts down on transportation costs) means production practices are governed by strict labor laws.
10. There’s nothing corny ’bout peace, love, and understanding.
    When Dr. Wangari Maathai won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004, the awarding committee recognized her accomplishments by saying, “Peace on earth depends on our ability to secure our living environment.” Maathai, the founder of the Green Belt Movement (one of Planet Green’s NGO partners), has helped the world connect the dots between women’s rights, sustainable development, democracy, and world peace — get the details in the TreeHugger Radio interview with Maathai. The connection between peace and the environment has been cemented by Nobel Prize Laureate Al Gore and the IPCC, who have driven home the points that global climate change is an issue of science, technology, human behavior, ethics and peace, and that one person’s actions can truly make a difference. Equating the two — peace and the environment — allows us to understand the big picture and the manner in which we’re all connected.

How can we live lightly on the Earth and save money at the same time? Staff members at the Worldwatch Institute, a global environmental organization, share ideas on how to GO GREEN and SAVE GREEN at home and at work.

Climate change is in the news. It seems like everyone’s “going green.” We’re glad you want to take action, too. Luckily, many of the steps we can take to stop climate change can make our lives better. Our grandchildren-and their children-will thank us for living more sustainably. Let’s start now.

We’ve partnered with the Million Car Carbon Campaign to help you find ways to save energy and reduce your carbon footprint. This campaign is uniting conscious consumers around the world to prevent the emissions-equivalent of 1 million cars from entering the atmosphere each year.

Keep reading for 10 simple things you can do today to help reduce your environmental impact, save money, and live a happier, healthier life.

1. Save energy to save money.
   • Set your thermostat a few degrees lower in the winter and a few degrees higher in the summer to save on heating and cooling costs.
   • Install compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) when your older incandescent bulbs burn out.
   • Unplug appliances when you’re not using them. Or, use a “smart” power strip that senses when appliances are off and cuts “phantom” or “vampire” energy use.
   • Wash clothes in cold water whenever possible. As much as 85 percent of the energy used to machine-wash clothes goes to heating the water.
   • Use a drying rack or clothesline to save the energy otherwise used during machine drying.
2. Save water to save money.
   • Take shorter showers to reduce water use. This will lower your water and heating bills too.
   • Install a low-flow showerhead. They don’t cost much, and the water and energy savings can quickly pay back your investment.
   • Make sure you have a faucet aerator on each faucet. These inexpensive appliances conserve heat and water, while keeping water pressure high.
   • Plant drought-tolerant native plants in your garden. Many plants need minimal watering. Find out which occur naturally in your area.
3. Less gas = more money (and better health!).
   
   
   • Walk or bike to work. This saves on gas and parking costs while improving your cardiovascular health and reducing your risk of obesity.
   • Consider telecommuting if you live far from your work. Or move closer. Even if this means paying more rent, it could save you money in the long term.
   • Lobby your local government to increase spending on sidewalks and bike lanes. With little cost, these improvements can pay huge dividends in bettering your health and reducing traffic.
4. Eat smart.
   • If you eat meat, add one meatless meal a week. Meat costs a lot at the store-and it’s even more expensive when you consider the related environmental and health costs.
   • Buy locally raised, humane, and organic meat, eggs, and dairy whenever you can. Purchasing from local farmers keeps money in the local economy.
   • Watch videos about why local food and sustainable seafood are so great.
   • Whatever your diet, eat low on the food chain [pdf]. This is especially true for seafood.
5. Skip the bottled water.
   • Use a water filter to purify tap water instead of buying bottled water. Not only is bottled water expensive, but it generates large amounts of container waste.
   • Bring a reusable water bottle, preferably aluminum rather than plastic, with you when traveling or at work.
   • Check out this short article for the latest on bottled water trends.
6. Think before you buy.
   
   
   • Go online to find new or gently used secondhand products. Whether you’ve just moved or are looking to redecorate, consider a service like craigslist or FreeSharing to track down furniture, appliances, and other items cheaply or for free.
   • Check out garage sales, thrift stores, and consignment shops for clothing and other everyday items.
   • When making purchases, make sure you know what’s “Good Stuff” and what isn’t.
   • Watch a video about what happens when you buy things. Your purchases have a real impact, for better or worse.
7. Borrow instead of buying.
   • Borrow from libraries instead of buying personal books and movies. This saves money, not to mention the ink and paper that goes into printing new books.
   • Share power tools and other appliances. Get to know your neighbors while cutting down on the number of things cluttering your closet or garage.
8. Buy smart.
   • Buy in bulk. Purchasing food from bulk bins can save money and packaging.
   • Wear clothes that don’t need to be dry-cleaned. This saves money and cuts down on toxic chemical use.
   • Invest in high-quality, long-lasting products. You might pay more now, but you’ll be happy when you don’t have to replace items as frequently (and this means less waste!).
9. Keep electronics out of the trash.
   • Keep your cell phones, computers, and other electronics as long as possible.
   • Donate or recycle them responsibly when the time comes. E-waste contains mercury and other toxics and is a growing environmental problem.
   • Recycle your cell phone.
   • Ask your local government to set up an electronics recycling and hazardous waste collection event.
10. Make your own cleaning supplies.
    • The big secret: you can make very effective, non-toxic cleaning products whenever you need them. All you need are a few simple ingredients like baking soda, vinegar, lemon, and soap.
    • Making your own cleaning products saves money, time, and packaging-not to mention your indoor air quality.