The news and certain television shows are where you’ve probably seen it. The way to go is keeping an environmentally friendly home. A lot of money can potentially be saved as well. Just how expensive it can sometimes be to purchase energy efficient products for your home, such as solar panels or appliances, is where the problem lies. You don’t have to break the bank to be environmentally friendly though. Certain products that do their part in helping preserve the environment can be purchased at low cost.

A prime example is paper products. There are other options, despite assumptions that paper products consist only of items you eat food off of. Why not make sure you’ve purchased recycled paper if you have to print off a lot of it for work or school projects? Tissues, napkins and, yes, even plates and other tableware products are all included in this list. You’ll be doing your part to keep your home eco-friendly as a result, and the cost is virtually the same as the non-recycled counterparts.

How about office supplies, in the same vein? It is possible to recycle many plastic and metal office products. Many people also have home offices today, even if you don’t have any say in what products your employer’s office uses. Why not ensure you’re only purchasing office supplies that have been recycled, then?

Did you know it was also possible to recycle glass as well, despite most peoples’ belief that using paper products is the only cost-effective way to be environmentally friendly? Great examples of recycled glass products are drinking glasses and bottles, but there are more beyond that. Glass plates and dishes do exist. Plus, you can always request new windows be made from recycled glass, the next time you need to replace your home’s windows.

A variety of different shapes and sizes are consequently available in which to purchase recycled products. You as an American may most easily recognize paper products, but you can also look into other relatively inexpensive products made from recycled material. Helping the environment doesn’t have to cost you an arm and a leg. People just need to be able to spot office supplies, glass and other products as recyclable in order to make use of them. You just need to be cognizant and constantly on the look-out, and before you know it, you too can be purchasing products that are ready for a second (or even third) use.

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It’s not easy being green — for a city, that is. It’s tough enough to simply keep up with the endless trash, traffic and pollution generated by urban life. To actually get the better of it with good public transportation, smart recycling programs and the kind of well-kept streets, parks and playgrounds that make cities fun and healthful places to live, that’s the true challenge. So who measures up?

We’ve picked 10 places — in no particular order — that we think are doing a great job at putting residents first. That means they’re obsessed with clean air and clean water, renewable energy, reliable city buses, trams, streetcars and subways, a growing number of parks and greenbelts, farmer’s markets and, very important, opportunities for community involvement.

1. Portland, Oregon – Affordable and accessible, this city straddling the banks of the Willamette River has long made sustainable living a priority. More than 30 years ago, with other cities in a freeway-building frenzy, Portland broke ranks and tore down a six-lane expressway to make room for a waterfront park. Since then the city has set an urban growth boundary to protect 25 million acres of forest and farmland, started a solid-waste program that recycles more than half of the city’s trash and erected more than 50 public buildings that meet tough standards set by the United States Green Building Council. One of the most bike-friendly cities in the U.S., Portland’s public transportation systems boasts a high rate of ridership. Add in one of the nation’s largest city parks — the aptly named Forest Park has 74 miles of running, biking and hiking trails — and Portland’s rep as the nation’s greenest city makes sense.
2. Austin, Texas – Home to the first Whole Foods Market and more than 300 days of sunshine a year (and you thought this city was all about the music) Austin spreads out among 205 parks, 14 nature preserves, and 25 greenbelts. Talk about green. The city plans to meet 20 percent of its energy needs with renewable energy and energy efficiency by 2020. Factor in county laws protecting the region’s natural watershed from development, a recycling center that dates back to 1970, a dozen outdoor farmer’s markets, city buses that offer free rides on ‘high ozone’ days and an innovative “pay-as-you-throw” trash collection program that rewards residents for being less wasteful and Austin easily earns a spot on the Green List.
3. Minneapolis, Minnesota – Named one of the top business districts in the nation for by the Environmental Protection Agency, Minneapolis is a commuter’s paradise where more than 60 percent of downtown workers use public or alternative transportation to get to the office. Free parking for registered van and car pools, an extensive bike path and bike lane system and employer-sponsored showers and locker rooms not only add endorphins but make a significant dent into auto-based air pollution. On the way to work, commuters thread their way among scores of lakes and parks and ponds and greenbelts and more than 200,000 trees. With great drinking water, active community organizations and the Minnesota State Department of Commerce nudging businesses and residents to hook solar systems up to the city’s grid, it doesn’t take Mary Tyler Moore tossing her beret into the air to let you know this is a great place to live.
4. Boulder, Colorado – Being green has been a way of life in this small Rocky Mountain city ever since prescient city planners started preserving parkland in 1898. Today, with more than 42,000 acres of pristine land cushioning the city from urban sprawl, Boulder is a place where hiking trails, rock-climbing areas, picnic spots and fishing holes are within reach of every resident. But there’s more to this city than just a pretty face. It’s a place where more than 90 percent of residents recycle, where new water meters are not allowed above certain elevation, thus protecting ridgelines and peaks, and where, when recent federal tax cuts gutted city budgets, residents voted themselves a third sales-tax hike to raise $51 million to buy and protect even more open land.
5. Burlington, Vermont – In this small city on Lake Champlain, community pride and responsibility drive the urge to be green. More than one-third of all energy used in the city comes from renewable resources, an impressive statistic in chilly New England. Burlington laws don’t allow the use of pesticides on public parks, land or waterways. Challenged by their local leaders to come up with environmental priorities and solutions to existing problems, residents formed an extensive network of citizen-based groups that take on everything from environmental programs to clean up toxic sites to watchdog groups to monitor pollution in Lake Champlain. With local agriculture a mainstay of the region, schools are switching to locally- and organically-grown foods. The idea of sustainability is becoming part of the school curriculum so, as Burlington’s children grow and take their places in the community — any community — they can take a greener way of thinking along with them.
6. Madison, Wisconsin – Madison was the first city in the United States to offer curbside recycling (and one of the few with a university course on ice cream making), and its 15,000 acres of lakes and 6,000 acres of parkland give it great appeal. Drawn by the natural beauty, residents seem determined to help preserve it. The recycling program gets a whopping 97 percent participation, with 265 tons of material — everything from broken washers to empty beer cans to grass clippings — collected each week. A year-round farmer’s market (held indoors in the frigid winter months) draws vendors and buyers from throughout the fertile region. As a result, organic and local-grown foods are a priority. This bike-friendly city with more than 100 miles of bike paths ranks high in air quality, no surprise in a place where there are three bikes for every car.
7. New York, New York – Surprise! Thanks to its storied (and widely used) public transportation, energy-efficient housing and good water quality, New York rates a place among the nation’s green cities. Central Park makes it even greener. Considered a folly of epic proportions when its 843 swampy, muddy acres were set aside in the 1850s, Central Park is a wilderness within the urban core. More than 80 percent of NYC residents use public transportation, something that earns the city bragging rights. In fact, New Yorkers burn gasoline at the rate the U.S. did in the 1920s. The key to the city’s low use of fossil fuels, pesticides and other energy sources is population density. Calculated by square foot, New York uses as much energy and produces as much solid waste as any city. Calculate by population, however, and the numbers shift. Per capita, New Yorkers use fewer resources and put less pressure on their surroundings than any other city of its size. So welcome to the Big Green Apple.
8. San Francisco, California – To the superlatives the City by the Bay has acquired over the decades — steepest, foggiest, most expensive — add greenest. With bus, subway and ferry services that reach throughout the Bay Area, avid bikers and devoted car poolers, San Francisco has a good track record for getting people out of their cars. In fact, more than half the city’s residents use public or alternative transportation to get to work. With Golden Gate Park, the newly-decommissioned Presidio, beaches, extensive bike paths and access to the Pacific and the Bay, the city has an abundance of recreational options. Prevailing winds from the water help keep pollution at bay. The city is also a leader in green building, with more than 20 building projects registered for official green certification. And city residents are willing to tax themselves. Voters said yes to allowing the city to sell $100 million in revenue bonds to support renewable energy.
9. Santa Monica, California – Just 12 years ago, the environmental future of this seaside city looked unimpressive. Thanks to an active city council, which wrote and enacted the Sustainable City Plan, Santa Monica has turned green. Three of every four of the city’s public works vehicles run on alternative fuel, making it among the largest such fleets in the country. All public buildings use renewable energy. In the last 15 years, the city has cut greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 10 percent, a feat in car-crazy Southern California. City officials and residents have made the ongoing cleanup of the Santa Monica Bay a priority — an urban runoff facility catches 3.5 million gallons of water each week that would otherwise flow into the bay. Add in the miles of beaches, extensive curbside recycling, farmer’s markets, community gardens, the city’s nimble bus system and Santa Monica is clearly more than just another bathing beauty.
10. Chicago, Illinois – With open space, public transportation and a commitment to renewable and sustainable energy, Chicago has earned a spot on numerous ‘greenest city’ lists. The city has 42 green-certified building projects, with more to come. All of the city’s nine museums and the Art Institute of Chicago have been converted to run partially on solar power. Close to one-third of all residents use public transportation to get to work. Among the city’s energy goals, likely to be met, is buying 20 percent of its electricity from renewable energy sources this year. City officials have voted to give tax incentives to homeowners who invest in Chicago’s many historic homes and retrofit them with energy efficient heating and cooling systems, as well as water-saving plumbing. Water quality on the city’s lakefront is rated as excellent by the Natural Resources Defense Council, a happy detail for all the swimmers, boaters and sun bathers along the shore in the summer. And you thought it was all about Oprah.

source Move.com and Yahoo Real Estate

The message is slowly getting out, buy green. People have begun to realize the importance of green products as the food we eat and houses we live in affect our health as well as that of our families. Others are making the switch as they see our natural resources stripped from the planet to be used for our convenience. Many are starting to realize the importance of stewardship of planet earth.

Green shopping means more that just buying foods that are grown without growth hormones or pesticides. Green shopping involves purchasing supplies that are made through sustainable practices.

You can often find small produce sections located in many supermarkets that are labeled as organic produce. Sometimes finding such produce is difficult in the smaller cities or towns. When they are found, they are often small. One option is to shop at the online green stores. You can find produce that has been canned or preserved using green practices.

Buying green is more that just changing the groceries that you purchase.

Buying green also should affect the items that are purchased for use in homes. One example of bamboo flooring. Bamboo that is harvested can be replanted and another crop ready for gathering in a short time. The flooring produced is as durable as oak which takes many years to grow. By using materials such as bamboo, we lower our carbon footprint and can improve our world.

Even the compounds used for cleaning in our homes can be green. While the store bought cleaners give off chemicals that can be harmful to humans and pets, green cleaners can be made at home from simple ingredients. These ingredients, such as borax, vinegar, hydrogen peroxide or baking soda can be bought a the local grocery store or online at one of the many online green stores.

Slowly but surly more people are realizing how important it is to buy green. Some have realized how important green products are for their health and the health of their families. Others have realized that there truly is a limited amount of resources that are available on planet earth and that we need to be wise stewards of what we have.

When green shopping, you need to look for foods that are grown without the use or pesticides or growth hormones. When buying other supplies, look for those that come from sustainable practices.

Although some grocery stores have small produce sections that are now labeled as organic produce, in smaller cities and towns, the selection is often very limited. There are many green stores that can be found online. These stores offer organic products that are produced in such a way as to lower your carbon footprint on the earth.

If you truly buy green, it will affect more than the groceries that you purchase.

Buying green can even affect the products that we use to build our homes. One such product that has gained in popularity is bamboo flooring. Bamboo grows quite rapidly and plants can be re-grown in one growing season. The flooring is high endurance and is much more earth friendly than use of oak that can take generations to grow.

Do not forget that even the cleaning agents that are used in your home should be green. Many traditional cleansers give off fumes that can be dangerous in enclosed areas. Several of the green cleansers can be made at home using simple ingredients such as borax, vinegar, baking soda or hydrogen peroxide. These cleansers give off practically no odor and are very effective at keeping your home clean. If you want to buy green cleaners be sure to shop online at the many green stores.

As time passes more and more people are realizing that it is important to buy green. Green products improve the health of all consumers, from the youngest to the oldest. Choosing green shopping helps to stretch those limited resources which are left for us on earth. We must be good stewards of what has been entrusted us for the success of future generations. Our resources are no longer unlimited, so we must choose sustainable practices to continue life as we know it.

Green shopping involves purchasing foods grown without growth hormones and without pesticides. Prepared foods should not have artificial colors or preservatives added. If you have difficulty in finding these products consider shopping at green stores or green stores found online.

While some grocers may have small sections in their produce aisle that are labeled as organic or green, the selection is often very limited. This is especially true in smaller towns where the demand is low. Green stores offer many organic products that may be difficult to find in traditional grocery stores and are worth a shop.

When you buy green, you must expand beyond basic groceries.

Buying green can mean buying light bulbs that take less energy or installing used materials in our home. When choosing products like wood flooring, we can opt for bamboo that can quickly be replaced with other fast growing bamboo to keep our carbon dioxide levels down and avoid cutting trees that may have taken hundreds of years to grow.

Even you cleansers can be made green. Some of the things we buy in spray bottles is toxic to human beings or to pets. Most can be replaced with green mixtures, some that you mix yourself using hydrogen peroxide, borax, vinegar or baking soda. These cleansers give practically no smell, but are as effective as many of the spray bottles. You may choose to buy these cleansers at variety stores, grocery stores or online at green stores.