Looking to cut back? Here are some simple ideas for decreasing your energy consumption and impact on our environment!

Eliminate junk mail! The energy used to produce, deliver, and dispose of junk mail creates more greenhouse gas emissions than 2.8 million cars! Nonprofit agencies, like 41 pounds, will contact the direct mail companies to remove your name from their lists - get in touch with them today!

Keep your car tuned and your tires inflated! Just keeping your tires at the proper inflation can save 700 punds of CO2 per year.

Invest in a programmable thermostat! You can find great models for less than $50, and you'll save much more that that within the first year of use, plus they reduce your emissions by more than 1,000 pounds of CO2 a year.

Replace incadescent bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs! They last up to seven times longer and use much less energy, saving up to 75 percent on electricity bills.

Purchase green power! If available in your area, purchase 100% green power from a company and prevent 3800 to 6200 lbs. of CO2 from entering the atmosphere.

Try eating more vegetarian meals each week! More than a third of all raw materials and fossil fuels consumed in the US is used in meat production. Eating vegetarian a few days a week and you could help save close to 500 lbs. of CO2 emissions each year.

Drink of of a glass! The more than 25 billion single-serve plastic water bottles that American purchase each year require more than 1.5 million barrells of oil to produce enough to fuel 100,000 cars for a year!

Get your hands dirty! Get in the yard and rake, gas-powered leaf blowers can generate as much emissions in one hour as driving a car 350 miles.

Turn off the water! Running your faucet for 5 minutes is equvalent to running a 60-watt light bulb for 14 hours.

Manage your computer energy useage! Set your computers to hibernate so it stops using power if inactive for 15 minutes. This saves almost $200 a year and reduces emissions by 3,560 pounds of greenhouse gas. And, don't forget about the laptop - which is the energy efficient choice, using 90% less energy than desktops!

Eliminate the phantom! Phantom loads, or the energy that your electrical devices use when they are switched 'off,' add up to lots of wasted energy. Products are on the market that help you measure how much power your appliances and gadgets use, even when they are 'off.' Use power strips for your electronics - this allows you to truly power off everything. It's an easy way to eliminate more than 1,000 pounds of CO2 emissions each year.