The Green Life

Green Your Thanksgiving -- Seasonal Ingredients

Just thinking about Thanksgiving dinner seems to expand the stomach. This week we'll offer tips to help you green your feast.

Tip #1: Stay Seasonal

Americans are notorious for their super-sized portions, so it isn't surprising that the US Census Bureau estimates that 272 million turkeys were raised in 2007, while 1.6 billion pounds of sweet potatoes were produced. The Thanksgiving meal lends itself nicely to seasonal foods, so opt for sustainable, local and organic ingredients. Find humanely raised turkeys using the Eat Well Guide, or try a heritage bird. Stock up on your root vegetables at local farmers' markets and produce stands.

Share your tips: What are your favorite Thanksgiving recipes for local, seasonal foods?

Green Holiday Travel -- Reuse Towels

Even dedicated staycationers can be lured from home during the season of family gatherings. This week we'll offer tips on how to green your holiday travel.

Tip # 4: Hang it up

The celebratory atmosphere of the holidays can test the best kept habits (another slice of pumpkin pie, anyone?). A little indulgence is natural, but if you wouldn't normally waste water and energy to wash a towel that's only been used once, don't break that rule just because you're staying in a hotel. Many hotels won't wash towels that are hanging neatly on the rack, but it's wise to find out before you check in. The Green Hotels Association recommends giving each family member a safety pin with a different colored bead, then attaching them to the towels to tell them apart.

Share your tips: How do you avoid waste during the holidays?

Green Holiday Travel -- Drink Locally

Even dedicated staycationers can be lured from home during the season of family gatherings. This week we'll offer tips on how to green your holiday travel.

Tip # 3: Turn to the tap

You can chalk it up to homesickness if the tap water in your relatives' city doesn't taste as sweet as the water where you live, but don't fall prey to the bottle. In the United States, city tap water must undergo more-strenuous testing than bottled water, so it's generally safe to drink local water. Refilling a reusable container at the faucet also reduces your carbon footprint: The production and transportation of U.S. bottled water uses the equivalent of 50 million barrels of oil annually.

Share your tips: When traveling, what reusable items to you bring along to avoid extra waste?

Green Holiday Travel -- Transportation

Even dedicated staycationers can be lured from home during the season of family gatherings. This week we'll offer tips on how to green your holiday travel.

Tip #2: Plan Your Transit

Chances are, there's more than one way to reach your destination. Trains are a great option for traveling long distances at a leisurely pace. If you're planning to drive, try renting a hybrid or carpooling. If you must fly, consider buying offsets for your emissions. Coordinate your arrival time with other relatives to minimize the number of trips from the airport to Grandma's house.

Share your tips: How do you minimize solo car trips during the holidays?

Green Holiday Travel -- Pack Light

Even dedicated staycationers can be lured from home during the season of family gatherings. This week we'll offer tips on how to green your holiday travel.

Tip #1: Put Your Bag on a Diet

The more weight those planes, trains, and automobiles have to carry, the more fuel they use. Do your part to cut emissions by sporting a streamlined suitcase. Packing early will give you time to weed out unnecessary items. Check with your host or hotel to find out if appliances such as hairdryers will be available. Coordinate with your traveling companions to avoid doubling up on items that can be shared, such as toothpaste or shampoo. Find more tips for smart packing from OneBag or Rick Steves.

Share your tips: What are your tricks for packing light?

Nesting Period

Picasso had his Blue Period. Photographer Rosamond Purcell, often called the "doyenne of decay," has entered her nesting one with the recently released Egg & Nest. You can take a peek at some of the images (melamine-free!) at the New Yorker Book Bench blog, which has posted a slideshow with five snapshots from Purcell's book of avian wonders.

What you won't find there are the notes, stories, and fun facts that provide food for thought alongside photos of eggs, innovative nests, and skins from the Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology in California. Beside the image of a brightly colored oriole nest made almost entirely of plastic, for example, the authors explain that "Today, we are much more likely to find nests containing all manner of synthetic fibers that mimic natural materials, sometimes to the detriment of the chicks." 

If you'd like to attract birds to your yard and see nests up close, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology recommends giving feathered friends some tools:

Green Your Heating -- Attic Insulation

November is here, and wintry weather has blown in with gusto. This week's tips cover ways to make the most of your home heating system.

Tip # 4: Insulate your attic

If you've managed to stop heat from escaping downstairs, you may still be letting it seep out through your roof. To make the most of energy saving efforts, consider checking insulation levels in your attic. According to the Alliance to Save Energy, households with less than 6 or 7 inches of insulation in the attic generally benefit from adding 6 to 10 additional inches. Energy Star recommends distributing insulation evenly, with no low spots out near the eaves.

Green Your Heating -- Thermostat Settings

November is here, and wintry weather has blown in with gusto. This week's tips cover ways to make the most of your home heating system.

Tip #3: Get a hot bod without cranking up the thermostat

The human body is essentially a walking heat factory (check out these cool infrared images of mammals for proof), so why not harvest your own natural resource? For each degree you lower your thermostat over a regular eight-hour stretch in the winter heating season--every night when your tucked snugly in bed, for example--energy costs drop by about 1 percent, according to the Department of Energy. If that leaves you feeling a little chilly, consider following the lead of a Green Life reader who commented on yesterday's post: She always adds a layer of clothing before resorting to cranking the thermostat.

Green Your Heating -- Unused Rooms

November is here, and wintry weather has blown in with gusto. This week's tips cover ways to make the most of your home heating system.

Tip # 2: Only heat the rooms you use

Your heating system guzzles needless energy trying to keep every room in your house cozy during winter. Make sure the room with your thermostat is getting heat, but instead of sending warmth to the four corners, keep vents and doors closed in rarely used rooms. This reduces the amount of work your heating system needs to do to reach your thermostat’s temperature setting. You might even find that your house has fewer drafts and warms up faster. Now that's cozy.

--Mario Aguilar

Share your tips: How do you keep heating bills down during colder months?

Green Your Heating -- Furnace Filters

November is here, and wintry weather has blown in with gusto. This week's tips cover ways to make the most of your home heating system.

Tip #1: Check (and maybe replace) your furnace filter

Dirty filters block air flow and can make your heating system work overtime. According to the Alliance to Save Energy, that can cause faster burnout and higher heating costs. Old-style furnace filters (inch-thick fiberglass panels) typically need to be replaced monthly, while newer pleated, electrostatically-charged filters usually last about three months. For both types, experts recommend checking for buildup every month and being especially diligent during months of heavy use.