-
How to Keep Your Green New Year's Resolutions
Tweet Share on Facebook December 31, 2008 Comment (1)Green New Year's resolutions (like these ones for the home, the office, and the food you eat - more to come), are like any other resolutions - great on paper, but sometimes hard to keep. One website will lend a hand - Pledgehammer wants to know what your resolutions are, but if you don't keep them, your "penalty" is a charity donation to an organization of your choosing.
Though many of the pledges on the site pertain to weight loss, a few people have gone public with their green resolutions, pledging not to use more than one plastic bag a month, donate something to charity each time they buy something new, recycle plastic bottles, and minimize their water use.
There's no way to check up on you if you haven't fulfilled your New Year's resolution, of course - the site works on the honor system. But if you don't remember to use your reusable bags, for example, you can donate to an organization that preserves rainforests. That way, even if you fail, a green organization succeeds.
-
Green New Year's Resolutions: Food
Tweet Share on Facebook December 31, 2008 Comment (3)As we spend the next few days thinking of ways to better ourselves in 2009, here are a few green resolutions to add to your list. Many of them will help you with your financial resolutions, as well, since going green can often save you money. Add your own resolutions in the comments below.
(More green resolutions: For the home, the office, transportation, fashion)
- Buy organic - but if you're worried about the expense, learn which foods to prioritize. Apples, cherries, grapes, nectarines, peaches, pears, raspberries, strawberries, bell peppers, celery, potatoes and spinach are always better to buy organic. But bananas, kiwi, mangos, papaya, pineapples , asparagus, avocado, broccoli, cauliflower, corn, onions and peas are ok for you if they're conventionally grown, because the contain less pesticide residue.
- Cook at home, with healthful, organic ingredients. It's cheaper than eating out, and creates less waste.
-
Green New Year's Resolutions: For the Office
Tweet Share on Facebook December 31, 2008 Comment (1)As we spend the next few days thinking of ways to better ourselves in 2009, here are a few green resolutions to add to your list. Many of them will help you with your financial resolutions, as well, since going green can often save you money. Add your own resolutions in the comments below.
(More green resolutions: For the home, your food, fashion, transportation)
- Don't print that document out unless you really have to. And if you do, use recycled paper. And when you're done with it, recycle it. Of course.
- Bike to work. You can even get tax credits for it. You can also save money that would go towards gas, car maintenance, and a gym membership. People who bike to work are often healthier than their gas-guzzling counterparts.
-
Green New Year's Resolutions: For the Home
Tweet Share on Facebook December 30, 2008 Comment (7)As we spend the next few days thinking of ways to better ourselves in 2009, here are a few green resolutions to add to your list. Many of them will help you with your financial resolutions, as well, since going green can often save you money. Add your own resolutions in the comments below.
(More green resolutions: For the office, your food, transportation, fashion)
- Save energy with simple steps like turning off lights and unplugging appliances. Plugged-in but unused appliances, such as phone chargers, are constantly sucking energy (hence the name "vampire power"), and unplugging them can help you save.
- Shut down your computer every night. The computer is one of the biggest energy hogs. You can also tinker with the energy-saving settings so that it goes into deep sleep.
-
The Top 5 Environmental Newsmakers of 2008
Tweet Share on Facebook December 29, 2008 Comment (53)2008 was a year when environmental news was perhaps more prevalent than any other - from green campaign promises to plastic bottle scares to the staycation - but some names were in the headlines much more frequently than others. Here are five of the most environmentally newsworthy people of the year, both good and bad. Who would be on your list?
Al Gore -- Fresh off the momentum from his recent Nobel prize, Gore continued to spread his climate-change message around the country and the world. He gave a speech in Washington this past July in which he challenged the U.S. to produce 100 percent of our electricity from renewable sources within the next 10 years. Gore also continued his work with the We Campaign, which had an aggressive marketing campaign throughout the election, and later met with President-elect Obama to discuss climate change. Some were disappointed he wasn't appointed to an environmental cabinet position, while others were relieved. But even though he won't be serving Obama directly, expect Gore to stay in the spotlight.
-
Waste-Free, Low-Cost Ways to Wrap Your Presents
Tweet Share on Facebook December 23, 2008 Comment (4)My childhood Christmases involved a lot of cleaning. What's more fun for a kid than tearing into a giant present, doing whatever it took to get the paper off and the box open as soon as possible? Afterwards, once our living room was blanketed in paper pieces, my dad would bring out a trash bag for us to scoop up all of the snowman and Santa-printed paper and throw it out.
A beautifully-wrapped gift is part of the magic of the holiday season, of course, but in tough times, it's hard to justify spending money on something as immediately disposable as wrapping paper, especially when you consider the environmental impact of the millions of tubes of paper sold each year. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, "the amount of household garbage in the United States generally increases by 25 percent between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day, from 4 million tons to 5 million tons." Much of that waste is wrapping paper and shopping bags, but it doesn't have to be that way.
Tonight, I'll be wrapping gifts sans wrapping paper. There are plenty of ways to do this with recycled paper or objects you have around the house, all of which can make presents that are just as pretty as traditional gift wrap. Your wrapping can even be a part of your gift. Here are some tips:
-
Toby Keith: Secret Environmentalist?
Tweet Share on Facebook December 22, 2008 Comment (1)Country singer Toby Keith - the infamous lyricist who composed the lines "We'll put a boot in your ass/it's the American way" cautions listeners not to write him off as an "ignorant redneck" in a recent interview with Esquire. He gives us good reason not to.
In January's "American Issue," Esquire editors repeat their monthly feature "What I've Learned," in which they gain sage advice from all sorts of notable Americans, with a person from each of the 50 states. Keith, who represents Oklahoma, offers as part of his wisdom, "If we need to save the planet, let's save it. " Surprising, and straight to the point - just like his songs.
-
Automakers Keep the Environment in Mind to Prove Bailout Viability
Tweet Share on Facebook December 19, 2008 Comment (5)President Bush agreed today to bail out GM and Chrysler, but the companies only have the first quarter to prove that they are "viable." And if the plans the automakers presented to Congress are any indication, viable means green.
Here's what the companies have to say:
-
Chevy Volt Plant Construction Delayed
Tweet Share on Facebook December 18, 2008 Comment (7)Hot on the heels of news that China has beat American automakers to mass-producing a plug-in hybrid, GM announced that they would be delaying construction of a Flint, Mich. plant for the production of engines for the Chevrolet Cruze and the electric hybrid Volt. The delay is a result of GM reviewing their finances as the company waits for word from the White House about emergency relief funds, after being denied a bailout by Congress. The plant will cost $349 million to build.
-
5 Things You Should Know about the FD3M, China's First Mass-Produced Electric Plug-in Car
Tweet Share on Facebook December 17, 2008 Comment (17)This week, China's first mass-produced plug-in hybrid car went to market, produced by relative newcomer BYD. The car costs about $22,000, and can run up to 60 miles on a battery charged by a normal electrical outlet. Here are a few things you should know about the F3DM:
1. It may beat American plug-ins to the market. The F3DM may come overseas as soon as 2010. The United States is currently examining the F3DM to see if it is up to standards for the market. If it checks out OK, it would narrowly beat the Volt - and cost almost half as much.
[More on Electric Cars: Everything You Need to Know about the Chevy Volt]
advertisement
Follow U.S. News Money
Like Us On Facebook
advertisement
Subscribe
U.S. News Weekly
An insider's guide to politics and policy, available on the iPad or as a PDF download.
