Going green is a concept whose time has finally come. Ideas such as green building and adding solar panels to existing homes have received a huge amount of press in recent months. But what do you do if you simply want to stay in your existing home (even if you don't own it) and can't afford the large up front cost of adding solar panels to your roof? Well, the answer is plenty!!

First of all, it is a good idea to check your home to see where you are wasting energy. Simple measures like recaulking around windows, adding weather stripping to doors, and installing foam draft stoppers on all power outlets that are mounted on exterior doors can make a huge difference.Beefing up your ceiling insulation is another very cost effective way to decrease energy use. If you don't have a ceiling but it is time to replace your roof, adding even 2 inches of foam under a tar and gravel roof can keep the house cooler in summer and decrease heating bills in the winter.

Of course, everybody should have a programmable thermostat, programmed to turn heat down automatically at night when you are sleeping and during the day when, perhaps the entire family is either at work or at school. If you can afford it, low e, double pane windows are very efficient ways to save energy in the winter and stay cooler in the summer. (Ask me about what a huge difference it made when I installed them in my own floor to ceiling, west facing windows!!)

Creative landscaping is an often overlooked way of conserving energy and improving the comfort of your home. Instead of a cement patio or driveway, consider one made of cinderblocks with holes in the. You can plant grass on these areas, yet they are durable enough to permit car parking, lawn furniture, and heavy foot traffic. They decrease reflection of heat in the summer and they allow better drainage of surface water in the winter, so more water is returned to the ground with less runoff into storm sewer lines. Deciduous trees will provide shade in the summer but let the sun shine into your home in the winter. Instead of throwing away lawn clippings, you can use them for compost (and add food scraps too!)

For lighting, try to use CFL's (compact fluoresce lights) or LCD lighting whenever possible. This should include porch lights, security lights, lights that you have hooked up to timer to turn on when you aren't home, kitchen and bathroom lights (at least for general lighting, although I still prefer incandescent for reading and task lighting.) No longer are CFL's restricted to the old fashioned warm white or cool white, but they are available in a variety of colors that will fit with any decor.

There are of course, techniques to increase gas mileage (smooth starts and stops, driving more slowly, keeping your car well tuned and your tires inflated correctly... according to the car manufacturer's specification. (According to PG&E, under inflated tires waste 4 million gallons of gas every day!!) Take advantage of our wonderful climate and improve your health by walking or biking whenever possible. Or take public transit, carpool, or purchase a hybrid or other low emission vehicle if you can.

Here are a few extra tips:

1. Unplug all non essential electrical devices, or plug several devices into a power strip and turn off the power strip, whenever you are not using them. Chargers, TV's, microwave ovens, computers, etc. all use power even when they are turned off.

2. Take recycling seriously. Use cloth grocery bags to reduce plastics and also to save trees. Instead of discarding anything that is still useable, try posting it on Craigslist. You can dispose of almost anything on Craigslist. Sometimes you can sell the items, but if it is something old and beat up and not really something that somebody would be willing to pay for, I can all but guarantee that if you offer it for free, somebody will be calling you!! You can dispose of old appliances, computers (be sure to erase all personal information.. best to reformat the disc,) cell phones (check with your carrier to make sure they have "released" the phone or the new owner may not be able to initial service in their name,) furniture (even furniture that charitable organizations will not take for one reason or another,) decorations, you name it!! Used books can go to "Friends of the Library." What they can't use, they will sell. The garbage should be that choice of last resort for any personal belongings.

3. Support green businesses. Green Zebra (www.TheGreenZebra.org) sells coupon books ($25) with coupons for a large variety of green businesses on the peninsula.

4. Monitor you own carbon footprint by going to www.climatecrisis.net/takeaction/carboncalculator .

5. Eat locally grown food. This saves transportation costs and fuel use and also helps to support local industry. There are a few grocery stores that purchase local produce, and almost every city has a farmer's market where you can find fresh, locally grown produce.

Whether you believe in global warming or not (and I do) taking action now will help to preserve our quality of life for future generations. If everybody would adopt even a few of the suggestions listed above, it would make a huge impact on our environment. If every American, for example, replaced just one incandescent light bulb with a CFL, we would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes for a year, cut annual energy costs more than $600,000, and prevent greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to 800,000 cars (www.energystar.gov )

Copywrite  Lynne Mercer, March 2008

Do not reproduce or duplicate without permission from author.