steps to a greener you

lifestyle
evaluation

30 Days
Later for carbon neutrality and net-zero waste
goals. Today, do just one thing to walk more lightly
on the earth. Tomorrow, do another. Go green, one
slightly carbon-reduced footstep at a time
By jennifer parish CTW FEATURES

to a L
ooking to go green but don't know where to start? How about one step at a time?
Implement each of these daily suggestions and, in one month, you'll be leading a
healthier, happier, more eco-friendly lifestyle.

Day 1: Inspire yourself!

Greener
Read books by people who have succeeded in greening their lives to inspire you to take the
plunge.Try Vanessa Farquharson's “Sleeping Naked is Green,” (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2009)
or Mindy Pennybacker's “Do One Green Thing,” (St. Martin's Griffin/Thomas Dunne Books, 2010).

Week 1: Create less garbage

You
Reduce junk mail. Save paper and aggravation by reducing the amount of junk mail landing in
your box.Visit stopjunkmail.org for a free, downloadable Stop Junk Mail Kit.
Use cloth instead of paper towels. Use a dishcloth to wipe up your spills.
Compost - with worms! Let little red worms break down your food scraps into rich, fertile
compost for your garden.You'll need a large container, worms and leftovers.
Pack reusable, stainless steel containers.These are perfect for school lunches and to use as
doggy bags when dining out.

Recycle your shoes.Turn your old athletic
shoes into sports surfaces such as tracks or
courts with the Nike Reuse-A-Shoe program.
Find a drop-off location near you at www.
nikereuseashoe.com.
Trade for it. Is a child in your life pestering
you for a new video game? Just have to own
that movie you watched last night? Try swap-
tree.com and trade for what you want.
Stop e-waste before it starts. Buy refur-
bished rather than new cell phones, cameras
and other electronics.
Week 2: Save energy and reduce
your carbon footprint
Choose LCD TVs over plasma. In the mar-
ket for a new television? LCDs use 40 percent
less power than plasmas, according to a study
by the Florida Solar Energy Center.
Insulate switch plates to stop an air leak..
Unscrew your switch plates and install pre-cut
insulation that fits over electrical sockets.
Install the NightBreeze night ventilation
cooling system in your attic and reduce your
A/C usage.These nifty systems work nightly to
exchange the warm air indoors with the cool
air outside, helping keep home temperatures
comfortable all day long.
Get a home energy audit.A professional
energy auditor can offer valuable suggestions
for reducing your energy consumption and
lowering your monthly utility bills.
Go tankless. On-demand water heaters can
save the average family $100 a year on their
gas bills, reports ENERGY STAR.
Eat lower on the food chain once a week.
Eating red meat adds an average of 5,000 lbs
to your yearly carbon footprint.Try going veg-
gie once a week.
Install a Solatube.These skylights are
tubular - and save energy! Cylindrically
shaped Solatubes look and act much like
recessed lights, so you can turn off your arti-
ficial lighting and let the sunshine in!
Week 3: Protect
your family's health
Make your own green cleaners. Many com-
mon household cleaning products are full of
chemicals that may endanger your family's
health. Use baking soda, vinegar and lemon to
make your own cleansers.
Invest in an EPA-rated wood burning fire-
place. In addition to polluting the outdoors,
fireplaces also release dangerous particulate
matter back into the home.An EPA-approved
fireplace can reduce these emissions by eight
steps to a greener you
Save Now! with organic shampoos, digestible hemp rope
toys and pet waste compost bins.
greener grocery shopping Install a whole-house water filter. Discover
which toxins may be lurking in your tap
Can't afford to go all organic, all the time? Mindy Pennyback, author of “Do One Green Thing,” water by entering your zip code into the
(St. Martin's Griffin/Thomas Dunne Books, 2010) suggests taking a strategic approach when EWG's drinking water quality database: www.
selecting organic produce. ewg.org/tap-water/home.Then, install a whole-
house water filter to remove them.
Choose It. Buy non-organic in food you eat only once in a while, or those having the lowest pesti-
cide residues. The Tasty 13 listed here are generally low in pesticides and OK to buy non-organic. Avoid smelly products.That odor emitted
by new products indicates they are releasing
Asparagus toxins into your home.Trust your nose.
Avocados >> Choose low-VOC carpeting, paints and sealers,
Broccoli formaldehyde-free furniture and shower cur-
Cabbage tains made without vinyl.
Eggplant
Mango Week 4: Improve your
Onion ***** global community
Pineapple Volunteer for a local environmental organi-
zation and feel good knowing you're making
Sweet corn
your community a better place. You will make
Sweet peas
new friends and a difference.
Sweet potatoes Don't toss your meds. Studies show pills
Tomatoes and powders can end up in your community's
Watermelon drinking water supply if not disposed of prop-
*****Which had the very lowest number of pesticides? The lowly onion
erly. Return expired meds to your pharmacy.
Lose It. Buy the organic version of the produce you and your family eat the most. You may also Donate used sheets, blankets and towels to
want to buy organic in the following foods, which otherwise have the highest pesticide residues: an animal shelter. Faded and stained fabrics
Apples can offer comfort to a homeless animal.
Carrots Avoid palm oil products. The Girl Scouts
Celery and Fox News agree, palm oil plantations in
<< Cherries Southeast Asian are destroying rainforests and
Grapes endangering species such as the orangutan.
Reuse produce bags. Disposable plastic pro-
Kale
duce bags often wind up in our waterways
Lettuce
where they are mistakenly consumed by
Nectarines aquatic life. Bring reusable bags to the market
Peaches for your fruits and vegetables.
Pears Start a community garden. By working
Spinach together with your neighbors and local elect-
Strawberries ed officials, you can start a community garden
Sweet bell peppers project.These gardens offer a source of fresh
© CTW Features produce and the opportunity to experience
nature to everyone in your hometown.Visit
the American Community Gardening
Eat lower on the food chain once a week. Eating red Association at www.communitygarden.org for
ideas on how to get started.
meat adds an average of 5,000 lbs to your yearly car- Use rain barrels.With many communities
bon footprint.Try going veggie once a week. facing water shortages, collecting rainwater for
use in irrigating your garden is one way to
help prevent waste of our most precious
to 60 times over older models. You may be surprised by the number of harm- resource.
Visit your local farmer's market. Get to ful chemicals in your personal care items.
know your food and who grows it. Produce at Learn which are the safest for you and your Day 30: Celebrate the new, green-
your local farmer's market is often organic and family by visiting the Environmental Working er you with a glass of organic
travels a shorter distance from farm to plate, Group's cosmetic safety database at www.cos- bubbly. Cheers!
leaving a smaller carbon footprint. meticsdatabase.com. © CTW Features
Choose less toxic personal care products. Green your pet. Even fido can go green

By jeff schnauffer CTW FEATURES
W You
ith a new government pro-
gram offering cash for old
appliances, there’s never
been a better time to get a
new refrigerator, dishwasher or washing
machine that can save money on energy
bills while lending a helping hand to Mother
Earth.
“There is a rapid growth in the number
of appliances marketed as energy-efficient
or green,” says Tony Napolitano, publisher of
Portland, Maine-based Smart HomeOwner
magazine.
“By introducing new energy-efficient
appliances and methods into the home, fam-
ilies can reduce costs, and their associated
environmental impact, by cutting down on
the large portion of energy that is wasted,”
adds Sean S. Miller, the director of education
for the Washington D.C.-based nonprofit
Earth Day Network.
Consumers may already be eligible to
receive rebates for the purchase of new
Energy Star-qualified appliances when they
replace used appliances. Funded with $300
million from the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act of 2009, these rebates
vary from state to state, but generally range
from $50 to $250 on appliances including
freezers, furnaces, refrigerators and dish-
washers.The government also is offering tax
credits of up to $1,500 for the purchase of
water heaters and other energy-saving home
improvements.
Washing Machines
While taking advantage of a sunny day by
using your clothesline is the most eco-friendly
way to dry clothes, beating your laundry with
rocks by the river isn’t a throwback – energy
efficient or not – that most people would
embrace. But this week’s laundry still needs to
be cleaned, doesn’t it?
ENERGY STAR-qualified washing machines
use roughly 30 percent less energy and at
least 50 percent less water than regular wash-
ers, according to the U.S. Department of
Energy. Many qualified models also have a
greater capacity than conventional models,
which translates into fewer loads of laundry.
“The biggest development in clothes
washers is the demand for new front-load-
ing models,” Napolitano says.“A number of
manufacturers have released front loading
washing machines, and they perform
exceptionally well as a green product –
ste p s t o a g ree n er y o u
Oughta
Know
requiring less water and energy than a tra-
ditional top loader and often reducing the
amount of drying time needed.”
Miller says that ASKO washing machines
are a solid contender for their energy effi-
ciency and low water consumption.The
Scandinavian company that started in 1950
also boasts that most of the parts in their
er can offer a savings of up to $1,000 in
water and energy costs, compared to pre-
2004 conventional washers. Napolitano
notes the LG SteamWasher series as an
energy-efficient combo.
Refrigerators
The refrigerator is the single biggest pow-
er-eater in most households, accounting for
about 15 percent of residential electricity
usage. In most households, it’s the one appli-
Home appliance ance that runs 24 hours a day, 365 days per
year. Replacing a refrigerator from the 1980s
energy-gluttons with an ENERGY STAR model will save
have gone the way more than $100 annually on utility bills, the
of the Hummer. DOE reports. Replace a 1970s fridge and
save $200 each year. ENERGY STAR refriger-
Here’s what every ators are required by the DOE to use 20 per-
homeowner needs cent less energy than uncertified models.
“ENERGY STAR models are a great start-
to know about ing point for any consumer looking to pur-
his energy chase a new refrigerator,” Napolitano says.
options. “Most manufacturers offer ENERGY STAR
models that are significantly more efficient
than older models.” Fisher & Paykel’s DCS
36” Side by Side refrigerator uses 20 percent
less energy than required by current federal
standards.
Purchasing any refrigerator with a capaci-
ty of 25 cubic feet or less can add up to sig-
nificant energy savings.
Those seeking a super-efficient model
suitable for households run on solar, hydro
or wind power, Sun Frost, an Arcata, Calif.
firm, offers what it claims to be the world’s
most energy-efficient refrigerators. In a con-
ventional home, the Sun Frost refrigerators,
several of which bear the ENERGY STAR
label, cut energy costs by a factor of five,
according to the company.
Dishwashers
Dishwashers across the board are becom-
ing more energy efficient.“An even more-
exciting trend is the development of water
conserving units,” Napolitano says. For exam-
ple, the Evolution Series from Bosch is recog-
nized as big water saver, using just 1.8 gallons
of water per wash and beating ENERGY STAR
standards.The DOE estimates that a dishwash-
appliances can be recycled. Whirlpool’s lat- er built before 1994 wastes about 8 gallons of
est Cabrio HE top load washers with the water per cycle compared to new
H2Low wash system use 75 percent less ENERGY STAR models, and a pre-1994 model
water and 65 percent less energy, says also costs an extra $40 a year to run.
Warwick Stirling, global director of energy Whirlpool will be offering tall-tub dishwash-
and sustainability for Whirlpool in Benton ers with an eco cycle, which cuts cycle time
Harbor, Mich. He adds that over a 10-year in almost half.
lifespan, Whirlpool’s Duet front-load wash- © CTW Features
top energy savers
Cook it TurboChef’s Double Wall Speedcook
Oven uses a microwave element that helps cut
food preparation time, working 15 times faster
than a conventional model.
Clean it The Electrolux UltraSilencer Green is
made of 55-percent recycled plastic and it runs
on just 9 amps of power. The Eureka Envirovac
offers an 8-amp motor that uses 33 percent
less energy than a typical upright vacuum, with
an allergen filter that can be washed and
reused.
Cool it Consumers interested in getting the
most energy-efficient air conditioner should
focus on the SEER [seasonal energy efficiency
ratio] rating. “Higher SEER ratings equal more
efficient units,” says Tony Napolitano, publisher
of Smart HomeOwner magazine. “As a general
rule, all new air conditioners are improving in
efficiency as awareness and demand grows.”
Heat it GE’s new GeoSpring Water Heater
combines a compressor and an evaporator
with traditional electronic heating elements to
cut residential water heater energy costs by
more than half.
dream it On the drawing board: “smart”
appliances that can communicate with the local
TurboChef’s Double Wall Speedcook Oven
utility grid and time operations to use electricity
when overall demand (and cost) for power is
lowest.
1/2 page ad

Save Now!
rein in the gluttons
Start conserving electricity through efficient appliance usage today.
“There are many opportunities for substantial energy savings
through equipment replacement, but there are many ways we can
change how we use the products we already own,” says Jennifer
Thorne Amann, director of the buildings and equipment program
at the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy and a
specialist in residential energy efficiency. “Small improvements
and minor behavior changes can yield cost savings right away.”
• Scrape, don’t rinse. Studies show that most people pre-
LG’s SteamWasher & SteamDryer
rinse dishes before loading them into the dishwasher, even
though most dishwashers purchased within the last decade can adequately clean even heavily
soiled dishes. If you can’t break the habit, try at least switching to cold water.
• Inspect door seals. Check the door seals or gaskets on refrigerators and freezers. Try this
test: Put a dollar bill in the door as you close it and see if it holds firmly in place. Or, put a bright
flashlight inside the refrigerator and direct the light toward a section of the door seal. With the
door closed and the room dark, inspect for light through the crack.
• Use Lower Temperature Settings. Use cold water for the wash cycle instead of warm or
hot (except when cleaning clothes with greasy stains), and use only cold water for the rinse
cycle. Experiment with different laundry detergents to find one that works well with cooler water.
• Relocate the refrigerator. If a refrigerator is in the sunlight or next to a stove or dish-
washer, it uses more energy to maintain cool temperatures. Move the fridge to a cooler spot and
it won’t have to work so hard.
• Shine up the stovetop. When burner pans turn black from heavy use, they can absorb a lot
of heat, reducing burner efficiency. Shiny pans reflect heat up to the cookware.
© CTW Features

Save Now!
Home
Energy
Miser
Not all home energy savings projects require
a budget of thousands and the mobile phone
number of Norm Abrams, the friendly Mr. Fix-It
on “This Old House.” Each of these steps can
cost less than $20.
• known as “Cash for Caulkers”) that pro-
Flip the switch. The energy you never con-
sume is the cheapest. Turn off lights and elec-
tronics when they’re not in use.
•
Tame vampire devices. Look for little red or
green lights on the control panels of computers,
TVs and appliances that are turned off. These
lights indicate that the appliances are consum-
ing small amounts of energy 24/7. Standby
power accounts for about 5 percent of all resi-
dential energy use. Plug these devices into a
smart strip; when the smart strip is switched
off, vampire devices can’t suck power.
• to determine what leaks, where it seeps and how a home-
Eliminate incandescents. Replace an old-
fashioned incandescent bulb with a compact flu-
orescent lamp. An ENERGY STAR-qualified CFL
will save about $30 over its lifetime and pay for
itself in about 6 months and lasts about 10 times
longer than an incandescent bulb – while using
75 percent less energy. Besides, by law, incan-
descent bulbs will be phased out in the U.S.
starting in 2012, and they’ll be gone by 2014.
ste p s t o a g ree n er y o u
How Do
You Rate?
The Home
Energy Audit
Energy auditors put homes through a sort of stress test
owner’s money is flying out the door. The checkups
aren’t cheap – but the utility savings can be huge.
By melanie wanzek CTW FEATURES
A
sk most homeowners about the
best way to save energy and cut
their bills for heating and cool-
ing and they’ll have a quick
answer: Install new windows.
Trouble is, says Steve Luxton, most
homeowners are wrong.
“By far and away, most home owners
incorrectly think they need new windows,”
says the national manager for residential
energy audits for Maryland-based CMC
Energy Services. In fact, says Luxton, unless a
window is broken or structurally unsound,
it may not be cost-effective to replace it.
Hanging a heavy, insulated curtain over a
problem window might suffice.To deliver
long-term cost savings that would make a
homeowner sit up and take notice requires
a serious, whole-house evaluation, he says.
That’s where a home energy audit
comes into play. Luxton’s company is part
of a growing number of private firms that
provide homeowners with a detailed, mea-
sured prescription for how best to
improve the energy efficiency of a home.
Virtually unheard of 10 years ago, energy
audit programs once were typically pro-
vided free to lower income homeowners,
via subsidized government or utility pro-
grams.Today, driven by the Homestar
national weatherization program (also
vides a $3,000 federal tax rebate to indi-
vidual homeowners who undertake a
whole house energy audit and achieve at
least 20 percent in energy savings, the
audit business is booming.
Energy auditors are a varied group,
from one-person shops that conduct an
occasional audit to big, fast-growing com-
panies such as GreenHomes America in
Irvine, Calif., which conducted nearly
2,000 audits in 2009.The Building
Performance Institute, the national stan-
dards development and credentialing orga-
nization, estimates that around 53,000
home energy audits took place in 2009.
This year, it estimates that as many as
178,000 could take place.
A professional audit can cost between
$200 and $600, depending on the size of a
home, and deliver savings of $200 to $500
per year in energy costs if a homeowner fol-
lows through on recommended upgrades.
“A typical home about 20 years old or
older can most likely save at least 25 per-
cent on their energy bill if they have an
energy audit and carefully fulfill every pre-
scribed measure,” Luxton says.“With an
energy audit, there are no assumptions that
new windows or adding more insulation
ought to improve everything. It really comes
down to house-by-house situations.”
Energy audits can range in complexity
and detail, depending on the interest and
needs of a homeowner.“Anything from an
online survey of energy usage and living
style to a full diagnostic home performance
assessment,” says Damien Flaherty, building
analyst and envelope professional with
Homestar. Of the 128 million homes in the
U.S., 43 million need urgent improvement
for energy efficiency, comfort and safety,
according to consultant McKinsey & Co.

In a comprehensive energy audit, an audi-
tor assesses the condition and efficiency of a
home’s envelope, the structure of roof, walls,
windows, doors and floors that protects
inhabitants from the elements. Rather than
calling a different specialist to assess each sys-
tem in a home, such as the electricity or insu-
lation, an energy audit provides the big pic-
ture of the entire system.
An energy auditor typically conducts a
room-by-room examination of a residence
and scrutinizes past utility bills.They may use
equipment like furnace efficiency meters and
surface thermometers to detect sources of
energy loss.
Many audits will include a blower door
test, using a powerful fan to measure how air-
tight the home is, and a thermographic scan,
using infrared cameras to detect thermal
defects and air leaks.
Auditors also perform safety checks for con-
ditions that may affect the safety or health of an
occupant, such as carbon monoxide contami-
nation, poor moisture control, which can lead
to mold formation, and natural gas leaks.
ste p s t o a g ree n er y o u
Finally, the data is analyzed to determine
the most cost-effective opportunities to
address the home’s energy usage.
Fixing the issues unearthed in a profession-
al audit can be costly, however.The average
20-year-old home may show need for $5,000
or more in upgrades, Luxton says. However,
audits enable a homeowner to make
informed decisions on retrofitting energy
upgrades.Those who purchase an energy-effi-
cient product or renewable energy system are
eligible for a federal tax credit of as much as
30 percent of the cost up to $1,500. In addi-
tion, some states now offer tax deductions to
homeowners who have a qualified energy
audit and implement its recommendations.
“There is something that can be done to
virtually all older homes to lower energy
costs and improve comfort,” Luxton says.
“Quite often, the cost of the audit alone can
be paid back in a year or less, and sometimes
dissuading a customer from installing margin-
ally cost-effective measures can save thou-
sands of dollars.”
© CTW Features
1/2 page ad
• Be a foam gasket guru. One best
home insulation tips is one of the cheap-
est. Foam gaskets that cost about 10
cents each will help insulate your home
envelope around light switches and plug
outlets on exterior walls. Unscrew the
switchplates and place the slim foam cut-
outs between the switchplate and the
walls.
• Go low-flow. Save water and energy
with a low-flow showerhead. A 2.5-gallon-
per-minute showerhead uses about 25
gallons of water during a 10-minute
shower, saving about five gallons of water
over a typical bath and about $145 each
year on electricity, according to ENERGY
STAR.
• Be kind to the furnace. Clean and
change the air filter on your furnace to
improve air quality and reduce the amount
of energy the furnace consumes in order
to make and distribute warm or cool air. old filter with the new one, and close it all
There are 30-day filters and 3-month fil- back up tightly.
ters. For information on how to conduct
A filters MERV number (Minimum your own home energy audit, drop by the
Efficiency Reporting Value) indicates its U.S. Energy Department Web site – www.
efficiency. Find the furnace, turn off the energy.gov – and click “How to conduct
power, open the front casing, replace the your own audit"
 steps to a greener you

Natural
Solutions
For a cleaner, greener home,
consumers are looking to nontoxic,
chemical-free products that are bet-
ter for them – and the environment.

By deborah douglas CTW FEATURES according to Mintel, the market research com- “Natural is a fake, fluffy word, and you can- to company officials. Since not all plastic is

A
t 32,Ajana Boone owns her
own condo in the big city,
has a carbon-friendly car and
even manages to keep a small
dog alive. But that doesn’t
stop her mother, who lives hundreds of
miles away in a small college town, from
pestering her about the stuff she buys –
namely, household cleaners
“I’m very sensitive to chemicals and the
smell of them,” says Boone, a Chicago mar-
keting consultant whose mother is always
chiding her to remember those sensitivities.
“So for over a year now, I’ve been using non-
toxic, environmentally friendly products. I
don’t stick to certain brands, though, but I
try to think green.”
Boone and others who have been think-
ing – and acting – green for a long time are
called “Devoteds” by marketers of eco-friend-
ly household cleaners.They’re the folks who
can be depended on to invest first and con-
sistently in nontoxic household products.
Thanks to them, those who have been reluc-
tant (whom marketers call, er, Reluctants) to
buy products made with “less” are flocking
to store shelves in search of natural products.
In 2008, green cleaners only made up about
3 percent of the household products market,
pany. However, the company expects that
number to reach 30 percent by 2013.
The brands Method and Seventh
Generation are eco-friendly mainstays. SC
Johnson (Nature’s Source) and Clorox
(Green Works) offer natural cleaning prod-
ucts. Shaklee’s Basic H2, yet another green
cleaner, made Oprah’s Favorite Things list as
an environmentally sound product.
In fact, as eco-friendly living goes, more
consumers want their purchases to fall in line
with their values.As a result, fair-trade prod-
uct sales are up, and consumers are increas-
ingly interested in sustainable, local, natural
and humane products, according to SPINS, an
industry tracker for natural products.
“The more people are interested in buy-
ing these products, the less expensive they’ll
be,” says Terri Trespicio, editor of Body &
Soul magazine.
 
Don’t Be Fooled
While Trespicio applauds homeowners
who are concerned by research linking the
use of harsh chemicals to skin reactions,
asthma, among other conditions, she warns
about buying anything labeled “natural,”
which, she says, does not mean anything.
“Everyone is slipping in the word ‘natu-
ral’; it’s not a certified term,”Trespicio says.
not trust that.You might have a company
that adds lavender, but the burden is on the
consumer to really research what’s going on
with these brands.”
For example,“unscented” doesn’t mean
the absence of chemicals, she says.
Chemicals actually may be added to negate
the bad smell of ingredients used to make a
cleaning product.And dazzling colorings – a
sensory sales tool used to hook consumers
– don’t make a cleaner better, either.
The addition of plants and herbs isn’t
always a selling point, either, she says,
because pets may have negative reactions to
certain plants.
So how does one choose a workable
cleaning product? Just know that “natural”
should mean no synthetics, says Jill Zilligen,
chief sustainability officer at Shaklee Corp,
Pleasanton, Calif.
Aside from what is in the cleaning bottle,
what it’s made of is important, too, because
non-recyclable plastic will eventually end up
clogging a landfill somewhere. For example,
Seventh Generation’s packaging for its line
of laundry liquid, dishwasher powder and
disinfectants is made of recycled plastic
where possible.This effort requires two-
thirds less energy and is equal to taking
nearly 40 million cars off the road, according
recyclable, the company is aiming to have
75 percent of its offerings in recycled pack-
aging. Martha Stewart’s new Clean line of
plant- and mineral-based products also
comes in recycled plastic packaging.
 
Don’t Overdo It
Be assured that dialing it down and rid-
ding homes of harsh chemicals does not
mean giving in to dirt, experts say. Using so-
called green cleaners doesn’t mean learning
to accept that homes won’t be as clean as
they would with the chemical-laden stuff.
“We don’t need to be using these super-
harsh products to wage war on dirt in your
home.That’s overkill, and the tide is turning
on that,”Trespicio says.
But green cleaners also need to live up to
a performance test, the experts say. So those
who are interested in testing out how well
they work should audit their cupboards and
phase out chemical cleaners while phasing
in nontoxic ones.
“I like to tell people to think about func-
tion,” Zilligen says.“What are you trying to
accomplish? You don’t have to have a coun-
ter cleaner, a tub cleaner and a sink cleaner.
You can do all those things with a concen-
trated [green] cleaner.”
© CTW Features
2010 green living guide o n e s t e p at a t i m e

you publisher name here

may be
greener
than
you 30 days to
think a greener

you
driven
to be
green:
Electronic
cars, coming
soon to a plug
near you

green jobs are keeping a clean house how much energy

growing all over the earth-friendly way does your home lose?
 a greener you
know your planet
Grab a recycled
pencil! It's time for
an Earth Day quiz
Earth Day, founded 40 years ago by U.S. Sen. Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin, takes place on April 22 each
year. It's now celebrated across the globe as a day to discuss important environmental issues, plant trees,
clean up neighborhoods and celebrate our home planet. Conceived of as “environmental teach-in,” Earth Day
has become a time to take measure of our impact on the environment. In honor of the day, take this Earth
Day quiz to test your eco-savvy.
1. How much water (in gallons) reduced by carpooling, walking, non-recycled copy paper gener-
does the average American biking or using public transporta- ates how many pounds of green-
household waste every year due tion, how many pounds of car- house gases?
to running toilets, dripping fau- bon emissions are reduced? a. 4
cets and other household leaks? a. 5 b. 13
a. 1,000 b. 15 c. 16
b. 3,000 c. 20 d.21
c. 7,000 d. 30
d. 10,000
2. For every gallon of gasoline 3. Using one ream of regular,
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4. What percentage of the nitro- 5. Between 2003-2005, how 6. Of all newspapers printed in
gen in the Chesapeake Bay many cell phones, in millions, the U.S., what percentage is recy-
comes from environmental depo- were put into landfills? cled each year?
sition (acid rain)? a. 61.3 a. 31
a. 30 b. 88.7 b. 64
b. 50 c. 104.9 c. 73
c. 75 d. 126.3 d. 82
d. 100

Happy 40th Earth Day! To learn more about Earth Day and connect with events taking place in your area,
drop by www.earthday.net/search and search using the name of your state.
Matthew M.F. Miller
© CTW Features

Answers: 1 - d; 2 - c; 3 - b; 4 - c; 5 - d; 6 - c 1/2 page ad

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 steps to a greener you

tesla
roadster

Nissan
leaf

Can't Resist It CHEVROLET

… It's Electric
VOLT

Could your next ride need a plug-in instead of a fill-up? A new

wave of electric-powered vehicles promise environmentally
friendly operation and reasonably low operating costs.
By jim gorzelany CTW FEATURES General Motors EV-1 ended its brief and

I
t is a marvel of advanced automotive
technology.A lithium-ion battery pow-
ers an emissions-free electric motor
that swiftly and silently enables a
motorist to reach 60 mph in just 4.9 sec-
onds and drive up to 244 miles on a single
charge.
It’s too bad the market for the low-slung
Tesla Roadster, produced by a small Silicon
Valley-based company, will likely never grow
past a select audience of well-heeled envi-
ronmentalists and auto enthusiasts.The
sweet green ride seats just two passengers
and carries a $109,000 sticker price.
Fortunately for fans of electric vehicles,
the coming year will see the first main-
stream models aimed at just folks since the
controversial run in 1999.
Bowing this November will be the much-
anticipated Volt from GM’s Chevrolet divi-
sion. Chevy calls the Volt an “extended-range
electric vehicle.” It can run solely on electric
power for about 40 miles on a charge. Once
the onboard batteries have been depleted, a
small gasoline engine runs a generator to
power the car’s electric motor.While the
gas-run generator adds complexity and cost
to this futuristically designed midsize sedan,
it makes the Volt practical for more than just
shorter runs; the company recently said that
a full electric-only version is in the works.
“Some people continue to think of GM as
the company that killed the electric car,” says
GM vice-chairman Bob Lutz.“Well, movie
titles to the contrary, the electric car is far
from dead at GM.” Nissan and Mitsubishi are
planning smaller pure-electric cars of their
own for the 2011 model year, the Leaf and
i-MiEV, respectively, both of which boast a
maximum range of 100 miles. Ford is ready-
ing an electric version of its next-generation
Focus compact car for release early next
year.And a Chinese company, BYD, hopes to
launch its e6 EV in the U.S. soon, a vehicle
the company says will run for up to 205
miles on a charge.
Tesla is expected to introduce its second
EV, the Model S luxury sedan, next year that
promises a 300-mile range; another niche car
builder, Fisker, is readying its four-door
extended-range Karma EV for a 2011 release.
Depending on the model, a full battery
charge using 220-volt current could take up
to eight hours, and much longer on a stan-
dard 110-volt circuit. Some sources peg the
cost to charge an EV at about one-third to
one-fourth the cost of gasoline to drive the
same car the same distance. Many owners
will be able to garner a discount for recharg-
ing their EVs overnight, when electric rates
are typically at their lowest.Tesla says its
Roadster costs about two cents a mile to
operate, but this depends heavily on utility
rates and the time of day during which the
car is connected to the grid.
The first wave of EVs will likely be sold to
environmentally minded consumers and
those who are on a mission – whether phil-
osophical or financial – to avoid fuel pumps

altogether. Businesses, especially those serv-
ing well-defined areas, could be the first to
embrace electric vehicles purely for their
cost savings. Ford will begin selling its new
Transit Electric delivery van to commercial
buyers later this year that promises an
80-mile range on a charge.
However, even the staunchest supporters
admit that widespread acceptance of elec-
tric vehicles is likely a long way off, and for
a variety of reasons. For starters, until manu-
facturing costs drop and battery technology
becomes more efficient, they’ll remain cost-
ly compared to conventional models.The
Chevrolet Volt, for example, is expected to
sell for over $35,000, the Nissan Leaf will
likely start in the upper-$20,000 range and
the Tesla Model S will carry a $49,900 base
price. Fortunately, EV buyers will be able to
take advantage of a one-time $7,500 federal
income-tax credit to help offset the cost.
Plus, pure EVs have a finite range on a
charge, which will vary significantly based
on the ambient temperature, traffic and use
of accessories like air conditioning.A maxi-
mum 100-mile range might be far less in
certain circumstances, possibly stranding an
steps to a greener you
unprepared motorist with a depleted bat-
tery.Those looking to take longer-range trips
and apartment dwellers with no access to
electric outlets next to their parking spots
will need ways to charge EV batteries.
To that end, several companies are build-
ing an infrastructure for remote electric car-
charging stations.Already, Silicon Valley’s
Coulomb Technologies has its ChargePoint
Networked Charging Stations installed in
public locations across 17 states, including
supermarkets and at least one McDonald’s
restaurant.A ChargePoint iPhone app gives
electric vehicle owners the means to locate
charging stations and see in real time if it’s
available, in use or out of service.
Encountering charging stations in places
like supermarket parking lots “brings the
reality of electric vehicles one step closer,”
says company CEO Richard Lowenthal.
One of the keys to furthering EV use will
be when 480-volt fast-charge stations just being
developed become ubiquitous.They promise
as much as an 80 percent charge in 30 minutes
or less, about the time it takes grab a quick
bite to eat while en route.
© CTW Features
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Save Now!
Driving Green
Until the day you park and plug in an
electronic vehicle in the driveway, be an
energywise auto owner.
• Check tire pressure regularly.
Under-inflated tires are a drag. Proper infla-
tion will improve gas mileage by about 3
percent.
• Avoiding jackrabbit starts and
stops can save more than $1 per gallon
and reduce CO2 emissions by up to 33
percent
• Get a tune-up. A properly tuned engine
will improve gas mileage by about 4 per-
cent
• Offload the extras. Every 100
pounds of junk in the trunk reduces gas
mileage by 2 percent.
• Slow down. According to the EPA,
every 5 mph you drive over 60 mph is
equivalent to paying 20 extra cents per gallon of gas. Maintaining a highway speed of 60
mph can improve mileage from 7-24 percent.
• Driving 10,000 miles in a year using cruise control could save you nearly $200
and more than 60 gallons of fuel (assuming $3 fuel, 20 mpg and 15,000 annual mileage)
urce: EPA and Department of Transportation, drop by www.ecodrivingusa.com for more tips
 steps to a greener you
By teresa odle CTW FEATURES
R
enewable energy, resource
On the
management, recycling,
green business, stewardship.
These buzz words pop up
Horizon: as companies and govern-
ments go green. They’re also appearing on
more résumés, as jobseekers try to hitch
Green-
their wagons to the growing green econo-
my.
There are plenty of green jobs, accord-
Collar
ing to San Francisco green recruiting agen-
cy Bright Green Talent. But like in all indus-
tries, there are plenty of applicants.“The
field is highly competitive,” says Nick Ellis,
Careers
managing partner with the agency. Skill
sets are important to make you stand out,
and many employers are picky about
degrees and experience.“You’d be amazed
how many Harvard MBAs are looking for
The future appears bright for jobs these jobs right now,” he says.
that help reduce waste, conserve
Growing a green paycheck
resources and curb pollution. The definition of a green job is not
clear-cut. Basically, any job can be a green
job. Let’s say your employer has decided
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to reduce waste, not only to lessen its car-
bon footprint but to save money. The com-
pany may want to hire or promote a cur-
rent employee to a new operations posi-
tion focused on achieving this goal. With a
green plan in place, the company also will
want to broadcast successes to customers
and the general public. It takes someone
with a range of skills who understands
and believes in these efforts to fit the bill.
“Green jobs tend to be more technical-
ly demanding,” says Alex Salkever, director
of marketing communications for Picarro,
a Sunnyvale, Calif., company that produces
greenhouse gas analyzers. He says tradi-
tional chemistry jobs are switching to a
green focus. And he adds that many high-
tech professionals with skills in optics or
semiconductors are shifting their focus to
green industries, which seem to offer
greater opportunities. Some other green
jobs you might not consider? Ellis adds
dairy industry consultant, solar installer,
HVAC engineer and carbon trader.
Experienced green professionals might
become sustainability consultants.

Wind Beneath My Blades
The wind energy business is poised to
create or re-create jobs. Renewable energy
should continue to grow, especially after
passage of the U.S. Recovery Act. Placing
wind turbines out on the nation’s prairies
requires more than a few specialized tech-
nicians. The work starts long before the
truck hauling the 90-meter tower shows
up. There are unique jobs to fill at every
level, says J. Matthew Garran, supply chain
manager at the American Wind Energy
Association,“from manufacturing the parts,
to moving them around, to preparing the
site, to installing the turbines, to ongoing
operation and maintenance.”
He says the installation of a wind tur-
bine requires years of studies to determine
the amount of energy the turbines can pro-
duce and the environmental impact in a
given location. Biologists may have to con-
sult on the impact to wildlife. Legal and
title searches must be done. And installing
a turbine involves construction crews.
Who does green suit?
The green industry definitely favors the
steps to a greener you
young, but just being a recent graduate
who’s excited about the environment
doesn’t guarantee anyone a green job. The
best green résumés often include engi-
neering degrees, stints at a nonprofit, expe-
rience in start-up companies (especially in
the energy sector) and in companies that
emphasize social and environmental goals.
Bright Green recommends internships
or volunteer work with green nonprofits.
To revamp skills, try local classes designed
for those seeking a career change. Many
offer training for environmentally focused
jobs. Simple resourcefulness is a big plus,
he says.“Listen for news reports about
wind turbines going up in your area and
find out which developer or construction
company is putting them in,” he says.
“Do your homework,” Salkever adds.
“Understand where your skills may align
with an existing or growing need in the
green space.” He ought to know. Salkever, a
former finance writer and programmer,
studied the green industry then acted on
his passion.“I feel very strongly that this is
more than a job,” he says.“This is about
leaving a better place for our kids.”
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green the workplace
Want to work at a green company? Start today – in your current job. Nick
Ellis of Bright Green Talent calls it “intrapreneurship,” leveraging a non-green
job to make your company greener and stronger. “When we consider the
impact we can have on a daily basis in terms of community, peers and our
environment, the opportunities are suddenly everywhere.”
• Start or ramp up the company recycling program.
Place marked recycle waste bins at each workspace and bins for bottles and
cans in the dining area. Move on to electronics, phones and furniture.
• Turn out the lights in unused meeting rooms.
Find ways to use natural light. See if there’s support for switching to
ENERGY STAR-rated light fixtures and CFLs instead of traditional incandes-
cent bulbs.
• Use recycled paper with no chlorine, made from post-recycled waste,
and find ways not to use paper at all.
• Research convenient local organizations that will accept used equip-
ment and furniture and recruit a team to help recycle the big stuff.
• Change the way you commute to a lower-impact method – bike, foot or
public transportation – and let colleagues know how it’s working.
• Get the boss involved.
Make sure there’s a marked recycling waste bin next to the top exec’s desk
and find ways to keep him or her in touch with steps the office makes to
save energy and resources.
© CTW Features

Greener Than
You Think
It’s easy to be eco-conscious. So easy, in fact, you may already
be taking some of the best possible sustainable steps.
By deborah douglas CTW FEATURES
M olly Sprengelmeyer doesn’t have a
cell phone for a reason. If you need
to talk to the 41-year-old Asheville,
N.C., resident, you’ll have to make an appoint-
ment to speak to her on her landline, the old-
fashioned way.
Sprengelmeyer’s way of slowing down, buy-
ing locally and only using the energy and prod-
ucts she really needs, harkens back to a time
not very long ago. In fact, folks are likely a lot
greener than they think if they stop to consid-
er of some commonsense things they do – or
used to. Increasing one’s commitment to sus-
tainability doesn’t seem so daunting after realiz-
steps to a greener you
ing how much comes naturally.
“Anything I can do to create a rhythm
around it becomes really easy to do; it’s kind
of second nature,” says Sprengelmeyer, who is
working to create a creative reuse center in
Asheville. She shares and barters so she can
avoid new purchases and mends before seek-
ing retail therapy.
That’s Sprengelmeyer’s recipe for curbing
the madness of everyday living: slowing
down, being scrappy, living simply.
She recalls last winter when things shut
down on the East Coast:“Some crises really
force us to adapt, like walking when we
would normally drive to the store.We realize,
‘Geez, I didn’t realize it was right there.’ If our
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car breaks down and we ride the bus or our
bike, in the process we see things about how
the seasons change and talk to our neighbors,
which increases our own resources.”And she
wouldn’t dare eat a winter strawberry.
The carbon footprint of a winter berry
versus a summer strawberry isn’t worth the
cost in fuel used to buy it, she says.“I grow a
certain percentage of my food,”
Sprengelmeyer adds.“Eating fresh, home-
grown tomatoes in the middle of December
is like eating pure sunshine out of a jar.”
Not sure where you should start? Green
gurus have plenty of suggestions for making
a firm commitment to sustainability:
Be a Little Seedy: Plant an herb kitchen
garden in containers that sit on your win-
dowsill.The freshness is unbeatable and the
plants a cinch to maintain.
skip the pre-rinse: Don't pre-rinse dishes
before putting them in dishwasher.Today’s
dishwashers work efficiently without a pre-
rinse, saving about 20 gallons of water a day.
Throw a Party: Invite friends and neigh-
bors over for a potluck featuring local, sea-
sonal, organic, low-on-the-food-chain dishes,
says Jill Zilligen, chief sustainability officer for
Shaklee Corp. Local-heavy dishes bring out
creativity that you can share on recipe cards.
In addition, prioritizing produce over meat is
a positive choice, reducing the environmen-
tal impact of meat processing.Vegetables are
closer to their natural state than, say, a steak.
Get Energized: Whenever you have the
choice of renewable energy, go for it. In some
places, wind energy that goes unused in one
home is stored in the electrical grid for use
by others. “In any given moment each and
everyone of us can transform our lives,”
Sprengelmeyer says.“I can only think of this
on a micro level, focusing on what I can per-
sonally do, from my neighborhood associa-
tion, my little town. It’s building from there.”
© CTW Features

One
Simple
Step
Going green doesn’t mean a complete lifestyle
change. It starts by finding the one thing you
can do – right now – to make a difference
By deborah douglas CTW FEATURES
F
or families who’ve fully
embraced recycling and shop-
ping for locally produced food
at farmer’s markets, the call to
be “green” is more than a
notion. When you think about it, it’s really
a charge to save the world. And in an age
of earthquakes, tsunamis and economic
downturns, well, saving world can start to
feel like quite the burden.
What can one person do to make a dif-
ference to cool off global warming? Can a
person be greener without getting all
crunchy-granola about it? Well, according
to people in the know, yes, it’s possible to
up the ante on committing to live a green-
steps to a greener you
er more eco-friendly life.
The place to start is by changing your
mind. For that, take an audit of your living
space and work out from there, the
experts say.The Web has loads of carbon-
footprint calculators that help families
determine how much carbon they’re pro-
ducing based on the energy sources they
use at home, the type of groceries they
buy, how much they travel annually and
other measurements that provide a com-
plete carbon dossier. Carbon calculators
like the one at the Nature Conservancy
(www.nature.org) calculate how much
energy individuals use, how they compare
with people in their state and country, and
offer meaningful ways to offset the impact
of those behaviors.
“A good place to start is at the opposite
end,” says Stephen Hren, co-author of “The
Carbon-Free Home” (Chelsea Green,
20080) and blogger at www.thecarbon-
freehome.com.“Buy one or two things
locally or handmade to see how important
the connection is when you know the
person. When you see it is possible to
make things and get things locally and it
has this immediate reward, when you go
to [the local big box chain store] you say
‘I’ve lost my personal connection with this
item, and this is what I have lost in the
process.’”
So, yes, a little homework is involved,
but after that, building in new behaviors
and a firmer commitment is pretty easy.
And these eco-gurus can testify that indi-
viduals don’t have to give up style to
reduce their carbon footprint and overall
impact on the environment. With few
changes, average people really do have the
power to save the planet.
We asked: If you could do just one thing
to leave a greener, more eco-friendly life,
what would do you?
Do the Homework
“The biggest thing you can do right
now is to get an understanding of the big
picture,” says Marianne Cusato, an award-
winning architect known for her work on
Katrina cottages, which make the most of
alternative energy sources.“My advice for
that is reading ‘The Smart Growth Manual’
(McGraw-Hill, 2009).”
While the economy is slow and not
much building is going on, Cusato encour-
ages people to think about the impact of
what they build and how they build it.
They’ll be informed when buying a new
home, renovating an old one or even con-
tributing to local zoning rules on how cit-
ies should develop. Cusato urges everyone
to be more civic-minded. Attend a town
meeting and see what city fathers (and
 steps to a greener you
mothers) are up to planning-wise, Cusato
urges. She favors more mixed-used areas
that make it easy to eschew cars and still
have walkable access to shopping and ser-
vices.
“To me, it’s fascinating to think about
the impact of how and what we build,”
says Cusato, who chose to live in Coral
Gables, Fla., because of its walkability. “A
lot of issues we’re dealing with right
now are because we built the wrong
things. We’re spending all our time in
cars.”
Do the Math
Hren and his wife, Rebekah, who co-
authored “The Carbon-Free Home,” prac-
tice and share what they preach at their
blog. People often know what to do, they
just need help rationalizing why they
should, Stephen says. So when Stephen
advises families to take advantage of
nature’s “solar clothes dryer” by drying
laundry on a clothesline rather than plop-
ping it in the dryer, he challenges individ-
uals to think in terms of money – a lan-
“To me, it’s guage anyone can understand. Don’t think
a certain eco-step is worth the effort?
fascinating to Price it out and compare the results.
“Using a ‘solar clothes dryer’ is the
think about the equivalent of installing $8,000 of solar pan-
impact of how els on your house,” Hren says.“You can
always rationalize things out in a monetary
and what we way: I’m saving X amount of money. Price
it out. Often you see you’re making $20 or
build. A lot of $30 an hour doing so.”
issues we’re deal- Do It with Style
ing with right “I’m a believer you don’t have to give
up anything to do well by your planet,” says
now is because Sloan Barnett, a “Today”show contributor
we built the and author of “Green Goes With
Everything” (Atria, 2008).“It’s as simple as
wrong things. making better choices when we go buy
consumer goods. Food is a good place to
We’re spending start. It impacts the world and directly
all our time impacts the health of your family.
“Buy more sustainable, more organic
in cars.” food,” Barnett says.“Not all at once, not a
clean sweep at all.”
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By buying locally, families reduce the
amount of fuel used to transport food from
grower to store shelf and the amount of
preservatives and chemicals used to grow
and maintain its quality, says Barnett. She
offers a “Body Burden” calculator at her
Web site (www.greengoeswitheverything.
com) to help families rethink their commit-
ment to things that harm the environment,
like nonstick pans, dry cleaning and hair
coloring.
Fill It In
Domestic maven Martha Stewart’s trick
is to use bags of ice to fill in the blank
spots in her freezer.The ice helps cool the
big, energy-sucking box, reducing its need
to tap electricity to keep everything cold.
After all, the refrigerator is the biggest ener-
gy user in a home, since it is constantly
working. Remember, though, just fill it with
bags of ice; don’t cram it full.Your freezer
will work more effectively as a result.
© CTW Features