shares some ideas for all of us to live a little greener.

 It’s become quite fashionable these days to talk about going green. Kroger and even Wal-Mart have recently followed Whole Foods and begun to offer reusable grocery bags instead of asking everyone “paper or plastic”. The coal companies are touting things like FutureGen… a fancy word for some kind of coal-burning power plant that has fewer harmful emissions. NBC devoted a week of its programming to environmental issues… complete with several “The More You Know” segments aimed at encouraging greener behavior.

 And in the number one sign that green is in… Oprah The Magazine had a 5+ page spread in March on how you can be kinder to this planet we call home. (Yes, I read Oprah Magazine. My wife bought it, if you must know. I only picked it up for the articles. Wait, that’s another magazine.)

 Maybe you’re out there saying, “I’m already making enough changes… trying to drink less, exercise more, etc.” If you say you don’t have the time to go green… I beg to differ. Here are three easy things you can do to leave a little lighter footprint on Ol’ Mother Earth.

1)      Light Up Louisville: I know this might be blasphemy in a town where Thomas Edison once lived… but it’s time to toss out the incandescent light bulb. Compact fluorescent lights are the way to go these days. They’re a little more expensive than the conventional bulbs… but the energy savings make them pay off over time. And they have some serious environmental benefits. But don’t trust me… ask the Federal government’s Energy Star people: http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=cfls.pr_cfls

If every American home replaced just one light bulb with an ENERGY STAR qualified bulb, we would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes for a year, more than $600 million in annual energy costs, and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of more than 800,000 cars.

2)      Care for your car: Do you know what a tire pressure gauge looks like? You should find out. If your tires aren’t at the correct pressure, you’re wasting some of that $3.50 gas… and releasing extra pollution as well. Things like air filters and oil changes are also important. According to the Federal Highway Administration,

“a well-maintained vehicle produces up to 20% less ozone-related emissions over a 10-year period than a poorly maintained vehicle.”

3)      Remember the Three “Rs”: No, Jethro, I’m not talking about readin’, ‘ritin’, and ‘rithmetic. I’m talking about reduce, reuse, recycle.

The point is… we have too much trash. Our consumer society is throwing away too many things that can be used again. And not only is that a problem at the landfill and on the roadside… but it takes energy to make new stuff. And that energy-making causes pollution that we don’t need. So after your next Diet Coke or after a more “adult” beverage… reach for the recycling bin.

 Now, those tips don’t sound too tough. And they might make you feel a little better in the process.