Here’s an easy way to go a little green and save a little money at the same time — adjust your ink and paper usage while printing.

A few months ago, The University of Wisconsin, Green Bay, found that it could save thousands of dollars switching from Arial font to Century Gothic, which uses 30 percent less ink.

But, when switching fonts, you may also want to adjust your font size. Century Gothic is wider than Arial. This means that it can use more paper.

If you really want to cut down on the ink used while printing, download Ecofont. This free program shoots tiny holes into letters during printing, and reduces ink use by 25 percent.

While switching your font and font size, you might also look into changing the printer settings on your computer. Switch to gray-scale as the default and check the lower quality resolution.

Another easy way to cut down on ink and paper usage when printing is to hit the print friendly option when printing from the internet or your inbox.

If that’s not an option, copy the text that you want to print into Notepad, then print from there. This way you don’t end up printing pictures, ads and internet addresses. It’s not pretty, but it uses a lot less paper.

If you are printing coupons and have to print in color and can’t copy the text, save the extra pages that come out with only a web address along the top. Put those pages back in your printer so you can use them again.

Do you have any other suggestions for cutting down on ink and paper usage while printing?

A while back I did a piece on green dry cleaning, trying to find as green an option as possible.

I received an email after the piece went up about Solvair. This cleaning process uses a biodegradable cleaning fluid and recycled carbon dioxide (CO2) to rinse and dry your clothes.

The cleaning fluid contains dipropylene glycol n-butyl ether (DPnB), which is environmentally friendly and found in many green cleaning products. This fluid is purified and re-used several times by the system, which means it creates half as much waste as traditional dry cleaning systems. And the CO2 is reclaimed from other sources.

Since the process doesn’t involve heat, it’s gentler on your clothes.

Not only does is it more gentle on your clothes, the system also cuts down on the hazardous waste and waste water created by traditional dry cleaners.

Sounds like a win/win solution, doesn’t it? In 2010, the Sierra Club recommended that if you must dry clean, find a cleaner that uses Solvair technology.

This process is offered at several dry cleaners nationwide. The price varies by cleaners.

We’ve been talking about ways to help out the Gulf Coast, and one big way to help is to cut down on our dependence on oil.

Every president since Richard Nixon has pledged to cut the nation’s dependence on oil, but it hasn’t yet happened.

Now you can help encourage President Obama to cut our nation’s dependence on oil by signing this letter from the Environmental Defense Action Fund.

It only takes a minute, and could help encourage our leaders to really make an effort to switch to cleaner energies.

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill continues to gush into the Gulf Coast, killing sea creatures and wildlife and damaging the area.

Last week we wrote about how you should keep up with what lawmakers are doing to remedy the situation. You should also write your representatives and senators, and local lawmakers as well.

Last week, the Gulf Coast Relief Telethon raised more than $1.8 million to repair the coast.

You can call the Deepwater Horizon Response Volunteer Request Line at 1-866-448-5816.

There are two websites for people who want to volunteer in Louisiana —  Louisiana Gulf Response Volunteer Program and Volunteer Louisiana. In Mississippi try Volunteer Mississippi. There’s also a Volunteer Florida and a Serve Alabama.

There are lots of environmental groups and organizations that welcome donations for their efforts on the coast. Please be careful when making donations. Make sure that the organization you pick is legitimate.

I’ve been frugal (ahem, cheap) most of my life. When we started to put an effort into going green several years ago, I realized that some of my cheap practices were also good for the environment.

The discovery came at a good time for us. We had recently moved to a big city where most of our neighbors and co-workers were decidedly not thrifty. Having money, or more realistically, acting like you have lots of money was de riguer.

Times have certainly changed, haven’t they? I read the most interesting article in the July/August edition of AARP The Magazine this weekend titled “The Leap to Cheap.”

Author Jeff Yeager interviewed several cheapskates that would put my thriftiness to shame. The gist of the article was that the more money we try to make, and more things we buy, the less time we spend enjoying life.

One of the most interesting things I learned from the article is that the U.S. used to have a national “Thrift Week.” It began in 1916 and ran through 1966.

Thanks to our current economic crisis, frugality and thrift have come back in a big, big way. 

What’s green about being frugal? People are buying less stuff, which means less waste is generated. People aren’t buying gas-guzzlers and driving them all over the place. People are eating out less. More of us are growing our own gardens and spending more time with each other.

This newfound thrift has even spurred a movement to bring back Thrift Week. They even have a facebook page.

I think this is all great, but Yeager warns in his article, once the economy improves, many of us will drop our newfound thriftiness and go back to our regular way of consuming. What do you think? Do you think thriftiness will go back out of style?

Begreenminded now has an easier, and shorter facebook address! It’s www.facebook.com/BeGreenMinded.

I’m all for water-conservation, but I’m wondering about some methods — specifically the whole, “If it’s yellow, let it mellow.  If it’s brown, flush it down” rule.

According to Appropedia.org, this means that you don’t flush for number ones, but you do flush for number twos. 

I read about this in an eco-magazine a few years ago. While I guess it’s good in theory, I don’t think it would be good in practice.

The Appropedia article doesn’t suggest this practice if you have a low-flush toilet, because it could make the bathroom smelly.

This is also my reason for not liking the practice. We’ve all smelled school or locker room bathrooms. Do we really want our homes or work places smelling like that?

If so, how many pees before you flush? Two? Twenty? What about toilet paper?

We have pretty much successfully potty-trained our toddler. I think the whole only flushing for certain times would confuse him.

And what about company?

We’ve opted to install low-flow toilets. I think selective flushing is an extreme way to save water. The people doing that should either invest in a low-flow toilet or just go outside.

What are your opinions?

It looks like the success of the Cash for projects might expand to include insulation and water heaters.

President Barack Obama has announced proposed plans for HOMESTAR, a $6 billion program aimed at creating jobs in some industries — like construction and manufacturing – by giving consumers extra incentives to buy energy efficient appliances, systems and insulation.

The amount of the rebates is larger than previous rebates offered. Those who qualify can get up to $3,000.

This plan will need to be approved by Congress to go into effect.

Purchasing a car is likely the second largest investment you will make – and one that you will likely have to live with for at least the next few years – so you want to make the best, cleanest, most fuel efficient, safest, and cost effective decision. For my husband and I this decision has lead us beyond the land of hybrid vehicles and into the land of diesel engines.

The 2009 Green Car of the Year award went to a Turbo Diesel Injected (TDI) vehicle – the Volkswagen Jetta Clean Diesel (TDI). This is the first time the award has gone to a clean diesel vehicle. For Americans, a diesel car probably sounds like an old, dirty engine, but its time for all of us to get back on the diesel bandwagon. Europeans have been driving these new diesels for years, but these cars have only recently been able to meet the stringent American emissions standards. In fact while adventuring to Copenhagen, Denmark, it was hard not to see one of these (or the wagon version) cars on the street — even as taxi cabs!

Hands down, this is a performance vehicle. Its powerful, even though it is only a four cylinder vehicle. Because my husband and I have been seeking a car that would allow us to become a one car family and yet still have plenty of space for lugging things home, someday growing a family, and hopefully space for a dog, we looked at the sportwagon version of the VW TDI. Testing driving this car, we were nearly sold, but it was the little bonuses for the price that really sealed the deal. This car has gadgets galore — and most of them are standard! Between the Bluetooth (which even allows you to play music over the speakers that is streamed from your iPhone), the touch screen radio, and the digital dashboard readouts, this car has just about everything a geek could want! Further, the seats fold down perfectly flat, the front seats (and back!) are heated, and the side view mirrors have a defrosting option. All around, this car is fun to drive.

Its not all fun and games in these cars though. Some of the toys genuinely help the driver drive more efficiently. Much like the Ford and the Toyota hybrids which display the fuel efficiency of the car, the VW and Audi clean diesel cars show the average fuel economy for your current driving trip and your tank of fuel. They also show you instant fuel economy based on the speed you are traveling. These gauges help drivers learn which driving styles generate the best fuel efficiency for the vehicle. Of course, also like most of the hybrids, most clean diesel cars also offer built in navigation which can also help you increase your fuel economy by showing you the most efficient way to get from place to place.

But what’s so great about the clean diesel technology and how is it different today than it was years ago? First of all, today’s diesel engines are highly efficient. The VW Jetta Sportswagon, for example, gets 30mpg in the city and 41mpg on the highway. Best yet, these mpg stats are likely to be surpassed. (It is a Jetta TDI that currently holds the world record for best fuel efficiency with 67.1mpg.) With 236 foot pounds of torque, this vehicle is powerful to say the least, able to move quickly from a standing start and pass other moving cars with a light tap of the petal. In comparison, old diesel engines were known for being loud, hard to start, and belching smoke, a far cry from these clean engines, even if they were efficient for its time. With prices for diesel fuel not much more than that of gasoline and the prices staying far more steady, its no wonder why Americans are beginning to again look towards these new technologies.

Interestingly, the Audi A3 clean diesel TDI is the 2010 Green Car of they year. This makes two years running for a clean diesel cars to win the coveted award.

So if you are wondering what it is my husband and I purchased… you guessed right! The VW Jetta Sportswagon TDI. We call her “Gretta the Jetta.”

As I mentioned some time ago, my husband and I have been in the market for a new vehicle – but not any old car! As professional advocates on climate change issues, it is extremely important to us to make a choice that supports our daily efforts to improve fuel efficiency, keep our air clean, and reduce our carbon footprint.

When we’ve spoken about out interest in purchasing a new car with our friends, they all seem to simply think the obvious choice for us is a hybrid vehicle. But just because the vehicle includes hybrid technology, does not always mean that it’s the most fuel efficient. New technologies are always coming out and while we rely on manufacturers to tell consumers about the benefits, most have done a pretty lousy job. The educated car buyer is challenged to keep up with the innovations, learning the benefits, which manufacturer is using the technologies and when they will be brought to the marketplace. It’s not an easy task.

All hybrid technology is not created equal – and they differ from one manufacturer to another.Learn more about hybrids by checking out a post I wrote about them some time ago. You cannot rely upon car salesmen to tell you about the technology as many have not taken the time to learn about it or will be able to explain it well. Do your own research.

Compare vehicles that include hybrid technology with conventional models making sure to look at price, miles per gallon, and even maintenance. If you are more of a long distance, highway driver, hybrid vehicles may not increase your mpg enough to make it worth the extra money. For you, it may make more sense to seek out a conventional or diesel (TDI – Turbocharged Direct Injected) vehicle with excellent highway ratings. More on TDI another day… For those of you who are more short distance, city traffic drivers, hybrids may better suit your needs since the vehicle recharges the battery while breaking and operates utilizing the battery while slowing and stopping.

It’s important to also realize that hybrids will soon be coming out with another big improvement – plugs! No, this doesn’t mean you will be required to plug in your car or park near an electricity source. What it means is that you will have the option to charge the battery of the car with electricity from your home, allowing the vehicle to rely on the battery more than the gas tank. Still you can always fill up at the local station and still recharge the battery through slowing and stopping. Best of all, this improvement to the hybrid technology will come with a battery with much improved energy saving capacity. Hopefully, theses cars are only right around the corner, so if you are not quite in the market for a new car but are just starting to think about it, look out for new plug-in hybrids coming to a car dealer near you in the next few years – if not sooner!

Still, while the U.S. market has just barely more than a handful of hybrids currently available, they simply do not seem to fit our bill when it comes to picking a car. Sure the Toyota Prius, the best selling hybrid currently on the market, is worth a look and remains on our list, it does not have the hauling capacity we had hoped to maintain. The capacity is ok, and certainly doable but for a young couple likely to one day use the car for cross country trips, kids, and our occasional furniture shopping, it is only barely as big as we want – even with the seats folding down flat (a major perk in our book!). We do not prefer the relative low quality and lack of comfort of the Ford Escape and while the Saturn Vue was a pretty good ride, we felt it had very few tech options we wanted for the price, not to mention that we learned just after test driving that GM would be closing the line at the end of this year.

If price were no matter, the Lexus RX450h would be on the top of our list. It’s gas mileage is excellent (though could always be better!) and truly is an exquisite design of luxury. Unfortunately, that luxury comes with a hefty price tag that happens to be out of our ideal range.

So the question remains, will we find a vehicle that is both fuel efficient and family friendly in size which fits into our (hardly meager) price range at under $35,000? Stay tuned!