Clothes dryers use the equivalent of 58 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity a year nationally . Why not give a clothesline a try? You not only save the environment, but you save $ too!

10 Things you can do to curb Global Warming
Courtesy of Sierra Club

Drive Smart!
A well-tuned car with properly inflated tires burns less gasoline—cutting pollution and saving you money at the pump. If you have two cars, drive the one with better gas mileage whenever possible. Better yet, skip the drive and take public transit, walk, or bicycle when you can.

Write your leaders now. Urge them to raise fuel economy standards to 40 miles per gallon.
Modern technology can make our cars and trucks go farther on a gallon of gas. It’s the biggest single step we can take to curb global warming. The less gasoline we burn, the less CO2 we put into the air. Taking this step would also save nearly 4 million barrels of oil a day—more oil than we currently import from the Persian Gulf and could ever extract from the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge combined. And by saving gas, you save nearly $2,000 at the pump over the life of your car.

Support clean, renewable energy.
Renewable energy solutions, such as wind and solar power, can reduce our reliance on coal-burning power plants, the largest source of global warming pollution in the United States. Call your local utility and sign up for renewable energy. If they don’t offer it, ask them why not?

Replace incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs.
Especially those that burn the longest each day. Compact fluorescents produce the same amount of light as normal bulbs, but use about a quarter of the electricity and last ten times as long. Each switch you make helps clean the air today, curb global warming, and save you money on your electricity bill.

What To Do If A CFL Bulb Breaks?
There have been some terrible rumors on what happens when a CFL bulb breaks because of the mercury in the bulb. No, the Hazmat team doesn't need to be called. Check this website for some simple directions on what to do: http://www.epa.gov/mercury/spills/index.htm#flourescent

Saving energy at home is good for the environment and for your wallet.
Start with caulking and weather-stripping on doorways and windows. Then adjust your thermostat and start saving. For each degree you lower your thermostat in the winter, you can cut your energy bills by 3 percent. Finally, ask your utility company to do a free energy audit of your home to show you how to save even more money.

Become a smart water consumer.
Install low-flow showerheads and faucets and you’ll use half the water without decreasing performance. Then turn your hot water heater down to 120ºF and see hot-water costs go down by as much as 50 percent.

Buy energy-efficient electronics and appliances.
Replacing an old refrigerator or an air conditioner with an energy-efficient model will save you money on your electricity bill and cut global warming pollution. Look for the Energy Star label on new appliances or visit their website at www.energystar.gov to find the most energy-efficient products.

Plant a Tree, protect a forest.
Protecting forests is a big step on the road to curbing global warming. Trees "breathe in" carbon dioxide, but slash-and-burn farming practices, intensive livestock production, and logging have destroyed 90 percent of the native forests in the United States. And you can take action in your own backyard—planting shade trees around your house will absorb CO2, and slash your summer air-conditioning bills.

Reduce! Reuse! Recycle!
Producing new paper, glass, and metal products from recycled materials saves 70 to 90 percent of the energy and pollution, including CO2, that would result if the product came from virgin materials. Recycling a stack of newspapers only 4 feet high will save a good-sized tree. Please...buy recycled products!

Do you or your kids play Games?

I noticed that when my friends and I play board games such as Pictionary and Beyond Balderdash, we use an enormous amount of paper. Recently, I found these miniature white boards at the dollar store that can be re-used and that came with their own marker. So each player got their own little board and we used not one sheet of paper!

Each year, 100 million trees are used to produce junk mail. Click here to find out how to get off mailing lists.

Home Energy Audit

The average house creates double the greenhouse-gas emissions of the average car. Audit your home’s energy use -- and see how you can reduce it -- at http://hes.lbl.gov/

Car Shopping?

The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy released a list of the Greenest Cars of 2007. The top scorers:

1. Honda Civic GX
2. Toyota Prius
3. Honda Civic Hybrid
4. Nissan Altima Hybrid
5. Toyota Yaris
6. Toyota Corolla
7. Toyota Camry Hybrid
8. Honda Fit
9. Kia Rio / Rio 5
10. Hyundai Accent
11. Hyundai Elantra
12. Honda Civic

Eco-Friendly Cleaning Tricks (from the Dole Spa online newsletter)

Banana Peel Polish
Harsh detergents can be hard on the environment when washed away into the water supply – and the high cost of pricey products can end up draining your wallet aswell. Here are a few tips we've gathered that will make your spring cleaning a little gentler on Mother Nature, your home, and its inhabitants (not to mention your budget).

Banana Peels: Every morning I make the trip from my blender to the trash can, banana peel in hand.  Next time I'll take the scenic route and apply the soft inside of the peel to the leaves of my houseplants, adding shine and removing dust, before committing the peel to the compost heap. That way I'll beautify my indoor foliage while feeding nutrients to my outdoor garden as well.

Another peel pointer: Some old-timers swear by banana skins as a beautifier for leather shoes. After rubbing the soft inside on the shoe surface remember to buff and polish with a cloth.

Citrus Shine: When life gives you lemons...cut them in half, dip them in salt and voilà: an easy and effective polishing agent for copper and brass.  Lemons squeezed and dropped into water infused with spices then brought to a boil can help banish stubborn household odors.

Baking Soda Carpet Freshener:  Recycle an old shaker-type container by filling it with a mix of baking soda and a few pinches of your favorite spices like ginger, cinnamon or cloves. Sprinkle the homemade freshener on the carpet 20 minutes prior to vacuuming whenever you want to neutralize noxious odors (and save cents on expensive carpet powders).