The Green Life

Cradle-to-Cradle

Did you miss the New York Times Magazine that was dedicated to all things green? If so, here is just one interesting story. Jon Gertner wrote about a Virginian firm that has been awarding a “Cradle to Cradle” certification.

A cradle-to-grave product is a product that would be dumped in a landfill at the end of it's life, whereas a cradle-to-cradle product is one whose "materials are perpetually circulated in closed loops. Maintaining materials in closed loops maximizes material value without damaging ecosystems." In this sense, the "firm endorses rethinking the way products are designed and manufactured."

A cradle-to-cradle (C2C) approval means that "a product needs to be made from components that are either 'technical nutrients' (which can be recycled or repurposed) or 'biological nutrients' (which can degrade naturally, like compost)."

So far, the C2C certification has been limited to a small variety of products, from Herman Miller chairs to the US Postal Service envelopes, but they will soon be certifying more than 500 products.

Schmooze or Lose

Green-business networking events are multiplying like investors chasing a hot stock. Among the eco-entrepreneur magnets: EcoTuesday, with four new branches from Seattle to Atlanta, and Green Drinks, which since early 2007 has tripled in size to more than 355 chapters worldwide. Good ideas flow along with organic merlot at these get-togethers. One Green Drinks event in Nashville, Tennessee, sparked a partnership between a garden center and Vanderbilt University. Now the leaves of Vanderbilt's more than 7,500 trees, formerly landfilled, are enjoying a second life as compost. ecotuesday.com, greendrinks.org

Illustration by Mark Matcho; used with permission.

Green Biz

A new brand of green hospitality is generating buzz across the country--and it's no longer simply a matter of urging guests to reuse their towels. Many profit-minded hotels are installing solar panels, using nontoxic cleaners, and even growing their own organic food on the premises.

The Gaia Napa Valley Hotel and Spa, which opened recently in Northern California, was built from timber approved by the Forest Stewardship Council and is partly illuminated by high-efficiency tubular skylights that direct sunlight to the interior halls. The Gaia derives 10 percent of its electricity from solar panels, and a lobby fountain circulates captured rainwater.

At the new Proximity Hotel in Greensboro, North Carolina, 75 percent of the construction waste was recycled, its water is heated by 4,000 square feet of solar panels, and a state-of-the-art elevator creates electricity as it descends.

More earthily, the Doubletree Hotel in Portland, Oregon, composts 14 tons of waste monthly and is working to eliminate its landfill impact by 2015. To find other ecofriendly accommodations, visit greenseal.org/findaproduct/#lodging or ecorooms.com. --D.O.

Able Labels

For savvy shoppers, there's a raft of new reasons to look at labels: REI's ecoSensitive tag (right) ID's clothes made of materials like organic cotton, hemp, bamboo, or recycled synthetics. Stickers on all new U.S. vehicles now estimate the annual cost of fueling up. (In New York and California, they'll soon include information on greenhouse-gas emissions too.) U.K. manufacturers are adding carbon-footprint data to food ingredient lists, and a new California law will require the source of bottled water to be disclosed on the label.

Trendsetter

Diane MacEachern, age 55
Founder & CEO, Big Green Purse

After struggling for years to help pass environmental bills on Capitol Hill, former communications consultant Diane MacEachern wondered if it would be easier to change how people spend the bills in their wallets. So the mother of two created a Web campaign--with a companion book coming out in late February--to get women to shift $1,000 of their annual spending to ecofriendly products.

Q: Why focus on women?

A: Women are doing most of the household shopping, and they are more sympathetic to environmental issues than men. Women understand that when the planet is in trouble, they're in trouble.

Q: How do you suggest that consumers prioritize their spending?

A: Start by shifting $10 of your weekly grocery budget. For example, cut out bottled water--you're just paying for plastic and transportation--and spend the money you're saving on organic food.

Q: Some people say we can't buy our way to a better planet. Are there limits to what changing consumption patterns can achieve?

A: In a way, I feel that argument is intended to dissuade women from being in control of their own homes, spending, and lives. Money talks, and manufacturers are listening every time you put a product on the checkout conveyor belt.

Fast Fact

Women make 85 percent of retail purchases in the United States.

Your Gifts Are On Our List

Finding one of these presents under the tree could turn the most ardent Hummer driver into a tree hugger. What green gift would you be most grateful to receive?

FOR YOUR BROTHER
He'll have style and substance with a fresh renewable-energy T-shirt (pictured; organic and sweatshop free), hipster hoodie (made from organic fleece), rugged wallet (made out of discarded truck-tire inner tubes), geek-chic luggage tags (made of old circuit boards), or recycled messenger bag.

FOR YOUR SISTER
She'll toast your thoughtfulness when she unwraps this recycled-glass necklace (pictured) by artist Kathleen Plate. Or send her out on the town with a pull-tab clutch or shoulder bag and some ecofriendly lipstick to stick in it. Sis the shy and retiring type? Encourage her to express herself in a vintage-record-sleeve journal or one made from elephant poop (no, really).

FOR YOUR FOLKS
Decorative bowls woven from telephone wire (pictured) or vases made from recycled paper will add beauty to their home and benefit craftspeople in South Africa and Vietnam. Foodies or green thumbs will appreciate an herb-garden kit with organic seeds in a biodegradable pot.

FOR YOUR (FURRY) BEST FRIEND
Fido will drool his appreciation for a fabric chew toy made of recycled soda bottles (pictured) and rest easily on an organic, hemp, or recycled doggie bed.

The Year(s) They Stopped Shopping

When Sierra interviewed John Perry, a founding member of the Compact, he and his friends were about halfway through their yearlong agreement not to buy anything new. As that anniversary approached, other publications checked in on the progress of their pledge. Almost another year later, Good magazine reports, many of the Compacters are still going strong. To celebrate their continuing commitment, we've gone back and added additional interviews with other Compacters to our original coverage. Check it out and let us know, what would be the hardest thing for you to stop buying?

Seeing the Light

A little darkness can be eye-opening. At this weekend's Lights Out SF event, San Franciscans turned off lights at City Hall, local bars, and in their own homes for one hour to raise awareness about energy conservation. A similar event in Sydney, Australia, reduced carbon dioxide emissions by 24.86 tons. (An added benefit, as one commenter on local blog SFist.com put it: "Your fellow partygoers are much cuter by candlelight.")

Organizers are already working on a nationwide follow-up for Saturday, March 29, 2008. Also carrying the energy-conservation idea forward are members of the Sierra Club-sponsored S.F. Climate Challenge, in which teams of households compete (for some pretty nice prizes) to reduce their utility bills over the next month. Tomorrow, October 24, is the final day to sign up. Not the competitive type? You can still celebrate the remaining week of Energy Awareness Month by taking some simple actions. According to the EPA, "If every U.S. household changed a single light bulb to an Energy Star bulb, it would save enough power to light more than 2.5 million homes."

Keen to be Green

Going green at work seems to be a popular topic, so if you haven't gotten your office on board the eco-train yet, you might be interested in some tips from the Big Green Switch for starting a workplace recycling program. Although it's a British site (which I read about this morning on ENN), most of the advice would be useful anywhere, and I like their convivial approach to finding, tracking, and sharing small lifestyle changes you can make at home or school, while traveling, even in pubs. (Not to mention the way they call a recycling plan a "scheme" without meaning anything bad by it.) So why not have a go at it?

Opportunity Knocks

It's easy to tire of kids hawking candy bars and magazines--even for a good cause. Fortunately, there are more-innovative, ecofriendly ways for schools to get their hands on much-needed cash. Students can collect used printer cartridges for recycling and sell fair-trade stationery, natural body-care products, or, in Wisconsin, locally made cheese. Mmm, cheese. Where's my wallet?

Illustration by Christoph Hitz

Fast Fact

Constructing green buildings can reduce costs for the average U.S. elementary or high school by $100,000 annually.

Read All About It

A roundup of news worth noting from the past month or so:

BUSINESS/MONEY
* GE jumped on the green-credit-card bandwagon with its GE Money Earth Rewards Platinum MasterCard, which must be applied for online or by phone (to save paper, don'cha know). Boosters and doubters weighed in.

* A Portland startup has developed software to reduce paper waste while printing.

GRAPEVINE
* Actress/activist Daryl Hannah is working to green this weekend's Virgin Festival (sponsored by the media company, silly) in Baltimore. Music-lovers coming to see the Police, the Smashing Pumpkins, and dozens of other acts will also find plates made of sugarcane, biodiesel-run generators, and "green angels" monitoring waste disposal. Don't miss Explosions in the Sky, y'all. They totally rock.

* Puerto Rican actor Benicio del Toro has joined the campaign to preserve the island's Northeast Ecological Corridor. (Yeah, the article is in Spanish and from April, but even old news is worth reporting when it comes to Benicio.)

Sustainable Swells

The rich and famous don't have to give up their caviar dreams to go green. Roe from U.S.-farmed sturgeon and trout (below) are gaining cachet as an environmentally friendly alternative to overfished beluga sturgeon. And where better to enjoy these delicacies than in a luxe living room at the Solaire, one of the energy-efficient, green-roofed highrises popping up in Lower Manhattan? As night falls, the eco-elite might don a couture coat made of recycled soda bottles and hop into an eye-catching all-electric car--perhaps a speedy Tango like the one actor George Clooney drives to the set (above). That's the beautiful people for you--always doing their part.

(George Clooney/Tango photograph by Bryan Woodbury; Sterling Caviar photograph by Kenny Morrison)

Green Biz

To many drinkers, green beer means adding a few drops of food coloring to a St. Patrick's Day pint. But for a growing number of brewers--micro- and major--ecofriendly brewing is a year-round obsession.

In Chico, California, the Sierra Nevada Brewing Company is installing solar panels that, along with hydrogen fuel cells already in use, will generate 75 percent of the company's electricity--and heat for the brewing process.

The New Belgium Brewing Company in Fort Collins, Colorado, captures methane gas released while treating wastewater and uses it to produce 10 percent of the brewery's power--trimming $18,000 off its 2006 energy bills. Along with running its local delivery trucks on biodiesel and awarding bicycles to its workers on their first anniversary, New Belgium was the first U.S. brewer to buy wind power for all its needs.

In pursuit of producing zero waste, the Great Lakes Brewing Company in Cleveland shares its spent grains with an artisan baker (who makes cracked-barley beer bread and pretzels from them) and a local farmer who uses them as a substrate for growing organic mushrooms. Leftover veggie oil from the brewpub fuels the Fatty Wagon, a shuttle bus that carts patrons to baseball games. And in winter, the owners shut down the refrigerator and blow in cold air to keep the beer chilled. All that effort hasn't hurt the bottom line, either: Business was up 30 percent last year. --Andrew Becker

Pick Your Poison

I like to pat myself on the back because I don't own a car, but if my boyfriend offers to pick me up after I've had a long day at work, I'm not about to say no. Despite what we know about their polluting ways, cars are still a part of life for many environmentalists. And unless you've converted yours to run on French fries or plug-in power, you've still got to buy gas. But where?

Pulling up to the gas pump is never something you can feel 100 percent good about, and the huge size and complex organization of oil companies makes their activities hard to track. But there are differences. When Sierra looked at oil companies, we broke our research down into four categories:

Get a free air freshener listing our top, middle, and "bottom of the barrel" choices

• environmental and human-rights abuses, e.g., oil spills and pipelines driven through indigenous communities
• toxic releases from refineries, or how much pollution they create per barrel of oil processed
• stance on global warming; and
• green initiatives

Based on this, we gave our worst ("bottom of the barrel") ratings to ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips and middling scores to Royal Dutch Shell, Chevron, Valero Energy Corporation, and Citgo.

Philadelphia-based Sunoco came off looking pretty good, but the company is relatively small and doesn't do its own oil drilling and exploration, so there are fewer opportunities for it to do ill. Of the big companies, BP ended up as our "best" (or, really, "least worst") choice because of its leadership on reducing CO2 emissions, supporting the Kyoto Protocol, backing off on drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and investing in alternative energy. Of course, BP has plenty of black marks on its record too. All the more reason to reduce the amount of gas you have to buy, by walking, biking, taking transit, carpooling, or driving a more fuel-efficient vehicle.

Check out the full survey or find out how you can get a free air freshener listing the summary results.

Fast Fact

If all U.S. households received and paid their bills online, it would eliminate more than 800,000 tons of waste each year.

Shop and Save

An ecofriendly mall may seem oxymoronic, but Green Exchange won't be selling sweatshop-made fashions or contributing to sprawl. The shopping center, set to open next year in a renovated lamp factory on Chicago's North Side, will feature an organic cafe, stores carrying sustainable clothing and building supplies, and dozens of other like-minded tenants. And malls aren't the only consumer icons getting a green sheen: A new credit card racks up carbon offsets with every purchase, while YoNaturals stocks vending machines with dried fruit, yogurt, and organic snacks.

(Illustration by Josef Gast)

Fast Fact

An energy-efficient home saves up to $400 a year in utility costs.

Tip Sheet

Already recycling and conserving at home? Some simple changes at work can save energy and resources too:

• Turn off the lights when you leave a room for 15 minutes or more. Artificial lighting accounts for 44 percent of the electricity use in office buildings.
• Set your monitor or laptop to go automatically into sleep mode during short breaks, and turn off your computer and monitor--and the power strip they're plugged into--when you leave for the day.
• Print on both sides of paper or use the back side of old documents for faxes, notes, and drafts. Conserve toner by printing in econo or draft mode when feasible.
• Recycle your junk mail and catalogs--and request to be taken off unwanted mailing lists.
• Bring your own mug and dishware for meals you eat at the office.
• Carpool, bike, or take public transit to work, and telecommute when possible.

For more office tips--and ecofriendly, often cost-effective policies for your workplace--check out sierraclub.org/greenoffice.

Shop for Pop

Bring a little green into Dad's life with these low-impact, last-minute gift ideas for Father's Day:

• For the busy dad: Surprise him by tackling some of those pesky household chores he's been meaning to get to. Replace incandescent lightbulbs with efficient CFLs or LEDs and let him know how much he'll be saving on his energy bill each month.
• For the dad who loves to travel: Lonely Planet's ecotourism guide, Code Green: Experiences of a Lifetime, is printed on 100 percent recycled paper and chock-full of dream destinations and practical tips.
• For the dad who's always on the go: The Solio portable hybrid solar charger will be a hit. It uses the energy of the sun to recharge cell phones, digital cameras, and MP3 players--and it's available at any REI store.
• For the well-groomed dad: Pick up some Preserve razors from Recycline--the handles are recycled (made from old yogurt cups) and recyclable. Look for these environmentally friendly alternatives to disposable razors at Whole Foods Market, Wild Oats, Trader Joe's, and other natural-foods stores.
• For the 9-to-5 dad: Keep him looking sharp at the office with an organic hemp neck tie. Or spoil him with a new hemp courier bag or work tote. (If it's not going to arrive before Sunday, just make him a card with a picture of the item on order.)
• For the beer-loving dad: Kick back and enjoy an organic brew with your dad, and help him pop it open with a funky Resource Revival bottle opener made from old bike chains.
• For the musical dad: Opt for an iTunes gift certificate instead a CD and take the wrapping paper, plastic packaging, and drive to the store out of the picture while still giving the gift of music.
• For the active dad: If he'd rather be biking, riding, or hiking, or doing anything else outdoors, a Klean Kanteen water bottle is a no-brainer. It's reusable, lightweight, and cased in stainless steel that won't leach chemicals into his water. Or splurge on a pair of Greenscapes Mountain sneakers from Timberland. The recycled-rubber soles, recycled-plastic laces, and hemp body earned a 3.5 on the company's Green Index, a ranking of environmental impact on a scale of 0 (best) to 10 (worst) based on greenhouse-gas emissions, chemicals used, and resources consumed during production
• For the dad with a green thumb: Organic and water-saving garden supplies from Seeds of Change or Home Depot's Eco-Options line are a gift that grows.
• For any dad: Instead of wrapping a bunch of presents, plan to spend an afternoon together: Take Dad hunting or fishing, play a round of golf, or cook him dinner. Or arrange a family outing in nature and take him to the beach or a park. He'll love the quality time with his favorite son or daughter and you'll cut back on waste.

By Emily Meinhardt and Hannah Simon

A Tip a Day...

...keeps global warming at bay. (And other environmental problems too!)

Want to start living a lower-impact, higher-quality lifestyle? Not sure where to begin? Sign up for our new Green Life newsletter and receive an easy tip every day about a small change that can make a big difference. Simple steps like replacing conventional lightbulbs with more efficient ones, keeping your car tires properly inflated, or adjusting your thermostat a degree or two can save you money, reduce waste, and help save the planet. Don't delay, sign up today!

A City's Crash Diet

To successfully combat global warming, we need to cut carbon-dioxide emissions 80 percent by 2050--or 2 percent each year. How would that change our daily lives? Residents of Berkeley, California, may be the first to find out. The city, which passed a mandate late last year to make those necessary greenhouse-gas reductions, is already creating a blueprint for its carbon-lite future that includes free bus passes for every apartment dweller, a car-share vehicle parked on every block, and mandatory upgrades to household appliances and insulation. "I think people are looking for ways to lighten their footprint," Mayor Tom Bates told the San Francisco Chronicle. "People are willing to make these lifestyle changes, and the cumulative effort will add up. It's not rocket science. We can do this."

What would you change in your daily life to combat global warming? What wouldn't you be willing to give up?

Filling up for Less

Worried about the high cost of gas this summer? Here's some easy ways to save money at the pump--and make a difference for the planet too:

Mind your maintenance. A well-tuned car burns less gasoline, so get your oil and air filters changed regularly. Not sure if your filter needs changing? Take it out and hold it up to the light. If you can't see any light coming through, it's too dirty. It's also important to check your tire pressure monthly. (You'll get the most consistent results by using your own gauge when the car is cold.) Americans driving on under-inflated tires waste 4 million gallons of gas a day and reduce the lifespan of their tires.

Clear out the clutter. According to the Department of Energy, every 100 pounds you carry inside your car lowers its fuel economy by one to two percent. So if you don't need it on the trip you’re taking, don't have it in your trunk.

Don't drive like a jerk. Fast, aggressive driving is a big fuel waster. Try to maintain a constant speed--most cars reach peak efficiency while cruising steady between 55 and 60 miles per hour--and avoid rapid acceleration and braking, which can increase fuel consumption by as much as 40 percent. (And make everyone else on the road hate you.)

Keep your cool. Need relief from the heat? Consumer Reports recommends using the air conditioner if you're going faster than around 40 miles per hour, since a lot of engine power at high speeds goes to reducing drag. When you're cruising around town, it's more efficient to keep your windows open.

Think different. Could some of your short trips be made on public transportation, or by walking or riding a bike? Combining trips also helps, as does carpooling with friends.

Want to know how much you'd save on gas if your car got 40 miles to the gallon? Visit the Sierra Club's MPG calculator. Just enter in your car's make, model, and how many miles you drive each year, and it'll do the math for you.

Apple Starts Polishing Its Image

After its dismal showing last month in Greenpeace's "Guide to Greener Electronics," Apple announced some sweet news: a phase-out of two particularly nasty types of chemicals, brominated fire retardants and polyvinyl chloride, in all of its products by 2008--a year before Dell and other competitors have planned to get BFRs and PVC out of their PCs. While heralding the move, Greenpeace plans to keep up its campaign until Apple gets even greener.

Green Gifts for Your Grad

With the school year drawing to an end, high school and college seniors are getting ready to begin the next phase of their life. Celebrate your grad's achievement with a green gift that will ease (or at least honor) the transition:

• For the gadget-loving grad: A sleek and sturdy Solio solar charger, will juice up their ubiquitous cell phone, MP3 player, or portable game player on the go. Its fan-blade design collects a lot of energy, but folds up nice and compactly.
• For the grad on-the-go: A solar backpack or messenger bag from Reware, Voltaic Systems, or Clear Blue Hawaii will charge the same kinds of small accessories as the Solio, and hold lots of gear too. The fabric on some of the Reware bags is even made out of reclaimed soda bottles.
• For the cyclist grad: A CD rack or picture frame made from old bike parts.
• For the grad that likes to wear their passions on their sleeve: A special accessory. Tarma's recycled stainless-steel wristbands and pendants are great for sporty types (both male and female), while aspiring writers might cherish cufflinks or earrings made out of old typewriter keys.
• For the not-so-neat grad: A basket of green cleaning supplies.
• For the urban grad: A year’s membership in a local car-sharing service, or a green city guide (e.g. the Greenopia guide for San Francisco or Los Angeles, The Big Green Apple for New York).
• For the grad who’s moving far away: A train ticket for a visit home or some recycled stationery  so they’ll write more often (maybe).
• For the grad who might otherwise live at McDonald’s: A set of bamboo cookware (durable and easy to clean) and a good cookbook for cheap and healthy food.
• For the grad on a budget (and aren't they all): A green coupon book with discounts and free offers at environmentally friendly businesses in their new home (e.g. Green Zebra in SF, Chinook Book in the Pacific Northwest, Blue Sky Guide in the Twin Cities).

A Taste of Fair Trade

As people gather tomorrow to taste coffee in San Diego, buy rugs in Boise, or listen to world music in Tallahassee, they’ll be united by a common cause: ensuring that workers around the globe are paid a fair wage for their work.

Similar events are taking place in two dozen countries as part of World Fair Trade Day, an annual celebration of Fair Trade and a way to spread the word about its benefits, which include community development and environmental sustainability. To spotlight how better wages for adult workers improve children's lives too, this year's theme is "Kids Need Fair Trade" and the variety of family-friendly activities planned make it an excellent pre-Mother's Day outing--or an opportunity to get in some last-minute shopping for Mom.

You can also support Fair Trade year-round by joining Oxfam and Co-op America's consumer campaign to get more Fair Trade products in local supermarkets.

Mom's the Word

Fresh out of green gift ideas for Mom? HGTV picked this cute countertop compost pail as its Mother's Day selection for the "eco-friendly mom." Our suggestions:

• For the foodie mom: Treat her to brunch, lunch, or dinner at a restaurant specializing in seasonal, regional cuisine. Or reciprocate for all those home-cooked meals by whipping up a fresh organic feast yourself.
• For the literary mom: A purse handcrafted from an old book or made out of recycled newspaper.
• For the quirky mom: A bracelet made out of recycled flatware, earrings refashioned from old tin cans, or a necklace with a china-shard charm.
• For the socially-conscious mom: A beautiful bowl, scarf, or picture frame made by artisans in a developing country.
• For the traditional mom: Organic or VerifFlora-certified flowers, of course.
• For the fashionable mom: Elegant fair-trade jewelry that supports women's rights.
• For the meditative mom: Organic-cotton yoga pants or a hemp journal.
• For the outdoorsy mom: Recycled-steel earrings reflecting her favorite active pursuit or sportswear that incorporates recycled fabrics.
• For the indulgent mom: Organic or fair-trade chocolate. (You know she'll share!)

Going Green at Work, Part II

According to a recent poll commissioned by staffing agency Adecco, "52 percent of employed adults think their company should do more to be environmentally friendly." I also received word this week from an email-archiving company promoting its services as a way to save trees. This growing interest in going green at work was certainly reflected in the great response to our green-office tips, which are now available in pdf form for easier distribution. Check 'em out and spread the word!

Save Some Green On Your Taxes

It's the final weekend to finish up your taxes, and if you bought a hybrid car or made energy-efficient improvements to your home in 2006, you may be eligible for a credit or deduction. Find out if the government owes you any green for your green decision.

Sad Mac

Ouch. While I've been following my boyfriend around our apartment, turning off lights and recycling things he puts in the trash (he's getting a lot better about that), he may actually have been being the better environmentalist--at least when it comes to our respective choices of computers. As a devoted Apple partisan for more than two decades (ah, the memories), I was none too pleased to see the maker of my favorite machines come in dead last in Greenpeace's recent ranking of electronic manufacturers' policies on recycling and toxic contents. My better half's employer, Dell, was a respectable #4 on the list, and his boss got props for "challeng[ing] the entire industry to adopt a worldwide takeback policy."

Fortunately, I'm not the only one feeling a little pain. The Greenpeace folks admit to being Apple fans too, and have started up a "Green Apple" campaign to get the company to offer safer products and better recycling. I'm off to write my letter to Steve Jobs now...

Green Biz

When Toyota first introduced the Prius, its fuel-consumption display seemed like a minor feature. But drivers loved the instant feedback, challenging themselves (and family members) to see how high they could get their mileage--and how much they could save on gas.

New environmental innovations aim to tap into that same mix of competitive spirit and cost incentives. Two California utilities are testing or installing "smart" electricity meters that will show customers when they're using the most energy (and allow the companies to charge more during peak hours). Participants in a pilot program used that knowledge to cut their consumption by an average of 13 percent.

On the East Coast, RecycleBank is trying a similar technique with trash. The company contracts with garbage haulers to install computer chips that measure the weight of materials in recycling bins. Households get coupons to spend at local and national retailers based on how much they recycle, while cities save on disposal fees. Just don't try to cheat the system--RecycleBank's onboard computers allow garbage collectors to report scammers who put bricks in their bins.

10 Ways to Go Green at Work

NEW: Download these tips in pdf format.

Greener homes are in the spotlight these days, but what about the other places where many of us spend huge chunks of our time--our offices? Some simple changes of habit can save energy and resources at work, and these small steps can be multiplied by persuading the powers-that-be at your workplace to adopt environmentally friendly (and often cost-effective) policies.

1. Be bright about light
Artificial lighting accounts for 44 percent of the electricity use in office buildings.

> Make it a habit to turn off the lights when you're leaving any room for 15 minutes or more and utilize natural light when you can.

> Make it a policy to buy Energy Star-rated light bulbs and fixtures, which use at least two-thirds less energy than regular lighting, and install timers or motion sensors that automatically shut off lights when they're not needed.

Fast Fact

A dollar spent in a locally owned business is worth three times as much to the local economy as one spent in a chain store.

Organic on the Cheap

Here at Sierra, we often get letters from readers who say they can't afford to eat organically. Fortunately, you don't have to buy organic versions of every single food item to make a difference for your health and the planet.

The Environmental Working Group in DC has done a great job figuring out which fruits and vegetables are most and least contaminated with pesticides—and they even offer their findings on a wallet-sized card that you can download. If you're on a tight budget, make sure you at least buy the most contaminated items organically.

Since all produce is not created equal when it comes to pesticides, eating a wide variety of foods can also help you reduce your exposure to dangerous chemicals. This is all especially important for kids, since their growing bodies are more susceptible to toxic exposures.

According to Mission Organic 2010, if everyone in the country increased their organic consumption to just 10 percent of their diet, it would restore more than 6 billion pounds of carbon to our soil, and eliminate more than 2 million pounds of antibiotics used in livestock and more than 2 billion barrels of imported oil annually, not to mention significantly cleaning up our drinking water. Who says little changes can't have a big impact?