Earth Day

Buy new light bulbs
When it's time to buy light bulbs, opt for the premium fluorescents. They will shine a pure-white or buttery-golden light and can cut your electricity bill by 5%. These bulbs can range from $3 to $12.

Have a barbeque
Outdoor grilling doesn't just result in a tasty burger — it's also good for the air. Outdoor grills use less energy that your electric kitchen stove and also keep heat out of the house; therefore, lowering air conditioning costs. Choose a grill that uses propane or natural gas because they emit 5.6 pounds of carbon dioxide per hour whereas a charcoal grill emits 11 pounds!

Brew coffee with an energy-efficient coffee machine
The energy-efficient coffee machines brew coffee at the exact temperature recommended for coffee; therefore, it doesn't waste any extra heat and you'll never have burnt coffee again!

Buy a flat screen monitor
The old, bulky monitors not only take up space, but they also increase your electric bill. You'll save money by switching to an LCD flat-panel model because a flat screen uses as little as a third of the electricity as the conventional tube-based models. You should also consider this when shopping for large-screen TVs — the savings are in the LCDs and rear-projection models because they use less than half the energy of plasma TVs.

Clean-up with recycled papers towels
Next time you're in the paper good aisle, throw the recycled paper towels into your cart — they're cheap and environmentally-friendly.

Become an expert recycler
Local recycling practices may vary, but there are a few universal rules that you can follow. First of all, shopping bags never go in your recycling bins. Look on the bottom of your plastic items for a number and only put the items with a one or two in your bin. Second, don't put light bulbs, broken glass or bits of food into your bin — they slow up the process and make waste professionals feel like they've been tossed to the curb.

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