How to live green

Below are some tips for anyone who is eco-conscious and want to find out ways to reduce their carbon footprints.
1. Use fluorescent bulbs: Fluorescent bulbs use two-thirds less energy and last 10 times longer than standard incandescent bulbs. If Americans replaced just one bulb in their home, it would save enough energy to light 2.5 million homes in one year and prevent an amount of greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of 800,000 cars.

2. Bring your own coffee mug: Less casually used paper cups to dump into landfills.

3. Save water: Run the dishwasher only when it's full, and don't pre-rinse. Take shorter showers. By skipping pre-rinse, you'll save 200 pounds of carbon dioxide from being released and $40 a year. And by taking shorter showers, you'll conserve 350 pounds of CO2 and keep about $100 in your pocket each year. Look into low-flow shower heads. They still have great pressure but conserve gallons of water from each shower.

4. Cutback on Phantom Power: When in standby modes, electric appliances are still using energy. In fact, 75 percent of electricity used in your home comes from electronics that are turned off. Turning off a 75-watt monitor for 40 hours a week might only save $4.38 a month, but it reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 750 pounds, burning 450 fewer pounds of coal each year!

5. Stop Paper Trails: Stop all the junk mails. Less energy is spent on creating and less trash is created when we can reuse products. Call: 888-5-OPTOUT or get off the lists at NewDream.org.

6. Use reusable bags: Next time you shop, try to use reusable and recyclable bags. You're reducing pollution. The amount of oil it would take to make just 14 plastic bags would run your car for one mile.

7. Buy Green Cars: When you are in the market for a new car, buy an energy efficient car. Driving a 13-mile-per-gallon SUV wastes more energy in one year than if you left your refrigerator door open for six years! Getting regular tune-ups, performing maintenance, and having clean air filters will help you burn less gas and therefore pollute the air less. And properly inflated tires could save around 2 billion gallons of gas each year.