Antony Nagelmann
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By Megan Cohen
On World's Greenest Homes, the relaxed family dwelling in Aspen proves that eco-smart choices can be super-convenient. Each of these incredibly easy green ideas takes just sixty seconds or less, and for a few, you don't even have to move from the chair you're sitting in right now - talk about convenient!
- Switch your computer's home page to an eco-friendly search engine like Blackle, which offers the same functionality as regular Google, but has a dark background so it burns through less electricity than the standard bright white page.
- Grab a handful of lint. Clearing out the lint basket in your dryer will help keep the appliance running at peak energy efficiency, shrinking your carbon footprint.
- Get educated by subscribing to a green e-mail list, newsletter, or blog rss feed, or make your voice heard by signing an online petition. The more you learn about green issues, the smarter all your lifestyle choices will become, and the more you let the powers that be know that green matters to you, the faster we can all look forward to lasting global change.
- Turn something, anything, off. No matter how conscientious you are, there's a pretty good chance that at any given moment, somewhere in your house, there's a light on that doesn't need to be, or an extra charger plugged in that's drawing phantom power. When you've got a minute to spare, just look around and see what's glowing - it's like a treasure hunt, except that instead of pirate gold, you're finding a chance to help save the planet.
- During the Winter, close your curtains as soon as the outdoor temperature starts to fall along with the setting sun. The extra layer of insulation will trap warmth in your home, so that you won't have to crank the heat as high during the chillier hours of the night.
- During the Summer, open the very highest windows in your house. This will let heat out for natural air conditioning, and help provide increased air movement and cross-ventilation for a lighter, more comfortable feel to your rooms.
- Tell someone about a great eco-smart solution or habit you've picked up. Grabbing the phone or shooting off an email to a friend about something environmentally sound that's also really awesome, or posting a quick blog entry or comment about an eco-topic, only takes a couple of seconds, but the impact from sharing a cool green idea can make some seriously big ripples!
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