FuelMonger

Go to MSN’s Green Directory at http://green.msn.com/Tools/GreenDirectory/Food/ to find farmer’s market’s, CSA’s, and other locally grown food near you!

Tomorrow is election day. Make sure you get out and cast your vote. Go to each candidates website to read up on their energy policies so that your vote is a vote for the planet!

Ensure that you know the status of the water levels in your area. Check out the government’s drought information website at www.drought.gov to see if your area is under an advisory and to see what you can do to help!

This year, see what you can do to make your Halloween celebration a little bit greener. One of the easiest ways is instead of buying costumes, which are generally made out of synthetic fibers which eat up a lot of petroleum in their processing, see if you can make your kids’ costumes out of stuff you already have around the house. And if that doesn’t work, try having a costume swap with your neighbors. See if they can use any of your costumes from years past or if your kids can use some of their old ones!

Help attract birds to your neighborhood by creating habitats for birds that need the most help in your area. Whether you live in an urban, suburban, or rural setting there are birds that are native to that area. Visit www.audubonathome.org/birdstohelp/ in order to find out what birds need the most help in your area and how you can attract them to your neighborhood.

According to National Geographic’s The Green Guide, Americans throw away 96 billion pounds of food every year. Before you go to the market, plan out your meals for the week so that you buy only what you will use. You will save money, conserve on the resources that went into making food that you throw out, and keep extra trash out of the landfills. A win-win situation all around!

Whether you are buying college text books or just your next late night read, check out BetterWorldBooks.com. This company sells books while keeping social and environmental responsiblity at its core. Additionally, not only is shipping free, but the company ensures that each purchase is shipped carbon neutral by buying carbon offsets from Carbonfund.org. And to top it all off, the store collects donated books and uses the money to fund literacy and education programs. This is a great company that allows you to buy books while lessening your impact! Check them out.

As the school year gets back into full swing, make a concerted effort to make your kids’ lunches as eco friendly as possible. The easiest and most effective way to do this is to use reusable containers whenever possible, instead of paper and plastic bags that your kids will throw away each day. Pack the meal in a lunch box, buy food in bulk and put into reusable containers instead of buying individually wrapped items, and you can even put the drinks into a reusable container (if you are concerned about plastic drink containers, buy a metal one).

Instead of throwing out those old sneakers, donate them to Nike’s Reuse-A-Shoe program. The program takes used athletic shoes (of any brand) and turns them into sports surfaces in communities around the world. Go to www.letmeplay.com to find a drop off location near you.

Clean out your vehicle by removing all the extra stuff in it that you don’t need on a daily basis, such as that set of golf clubs or all the kids toys, and you will improve your gas mileage. For every one hundred pounds of extra weight you carry, your fuel efficiency drops by 2 percent.