Ten Simple Things to Reduce Our Environmental Foot Print ^[1]

1.      It's a turn-off. Shut down your computer, monitor, printer, lights, ("Unauthorized") space heaters, and electrical equipment before leaving your office, even if it's just for a couple of hours. Be a good neighbor and turn off any lights that neighbors may have left on after they have gone home for the day (even if their lights have motion sensors). And neighbors don't turn against neighbors for being thoughtful enough to punch out your lights.

2.      Pass on handouts. Eliminate excess handouts at meetings by e-mailing copies of presentation and documents, display them on a screen during the presentation, or have them posted on the internet, intranet, a share drive or burn to a CD. If you must have handout at least double-side copy them (Two Sides are Better than One!).

3.      Printing panache. Before you print something or make a copy, ask yourself if you really need it. If you do print it, don't forget to pick it up--so you can avoid printing twice! Print double-sided whenever possible (remember--Two Sides are Better than One) and print only the pages that you need. Did you know that a typical laser printer consumes as much as 600 watts of power when printing and 12 when idle?

4.      Lug your Mug. Brandish a reusable mug in the office (with the corn based BioPreferred Mugs the HQ Cafeterias will discount your "high brow" coffee). And don't forget to show your mug at outside meetings.

5.      Can you hear me now? Before scheduling travel, ask yourself if a conference call can accomplish the same or nearly the same thing AND some locations even have video conferencing capabilities (where you can show your Mug).

6.      B.Y.O.B. Bring your own bag. Americans throw away more than a billion plastic shopping bags every year. Use re-useable shopping bags instead of plastic bags.

7.      Shift into ECO-drive. Join a car pool, slow down to save gas and reduce emissions (for every mile per hour faster than 55, fuel economy drops by about 1 percent), don't "top-off" your fuel, check your tires to make sure they are properly inflated (under inflated tires can cut off up to 3 mpg), and avoid refueling on ozone action days.

8.      Cool it! Try to minimize the use of your vehicle's air conditioner. Using the air conditioner on sweltering summer days can increase fuel consumption by as much as 20% in urban areas. Open the windows when driving in town. Open the vents when driving on the highway. If you're still uncomfortable, keep the car windows closed and use the air conditioner only as needed.

9.      Bin there, done that. All #1 and #2 plastics, glass, and aluminum cans should be deposited in to the proper cafeteria receptacles. Recycle cardboard, newspaper, and paper into the bins provided in many of our hallways or in your office.

10.  Paper or Plastic? Neither! Save for the Earth. By saving more and spending less, you prevent the production of things you don't need. It's green not to use green, whether cash or credit.

These are simple and easy things you can do, that in most instances will save money while saving resources.