Earth Day is right around the corner (less than a week) and several retailers are offering discounts, or donating a portion of their sales to green charities.

Yesterday, I wrote about several cool free or cheap ways that you can celebrate Earth Day. Today, I’m going to tell you about some of the ways you can help be eco-friendly with your purchases.

If you are in the market for a new EnergyStar appliance, Earth Day just might be the day to buy one. I’ve written about the Cash for Appliances Rebates before. These are organized by states and several are starting their programs on April 22. Check out when your state’s program begins. You will need to act fast. Some of the programs that have already begun ran out of money within hours.

Send your friends a a cute, but not cutesy, e-cards. Try VerveCards. They will donate 10 percent of every purchase this month to American Forests, which plants trees where they are most needed. Check out their Earth Day e-cards – they are my favorites!

Wear a cool T-shirt for Earth Day. Check out the Go Green styles at KCTees. They are made of organic cotton, and 15 percent of the sales of these tees will go to Global Green USA. This organization is working to shift global priorities to a sustainable future.

Buy a GreenBagTag at CVS. The tag costs 99 cents, and can save you money each time you shop at the pharmacy. Five cents of each tag sold through March 31, 2011, goes to the World Wildlife Fund.

Update your underwear drawer. For every three pair of Hanes undies sold, the Arbor Day Foundation will plant a tree. Don’t throw away the old undies! Save them to use as rags around your house. They make great dustrags.

Go to the movies. Disney’s Oceans movie opens on Earth Day. DisneyNature will make a donation to save the coral reefs for every ticket sold.

Any other good deals that I’ve missed?

Earth Day is next week. Have any big plans? I know it’s not a party holiday like St. Patrick’s Day or Cinco de Mayo, but there are lots of fun (and cheap or free!) ways to celebrate.

–Talk with President Bill Clinton. He’s part of a special Earth Day edition of Digg Dialogg. He’ll be answering questions about “Take Initiative,” his campaign to address climate change. The conversation will go up on April 22nd. You need to submit your questions early.

–Help people in Haiti. You can also take a climate quiz at clintonfoundation.org. The foundation will donate $2 for every quiz completed to buy solar flashlights for people in Haiti. (I got six out of ten questions right.)

–Protect an acre of forest land by joining Ebay’s Green Team. They are featuring auctions this month that support green causes. You can also enter a contest to win $10,000 if you take the the Green Team Challenge.

–Help feed hungry families by donating to The Dinner Garden. This organization’s goal is to help end hunger in the U.S. with gardens. They send free seed packets to anyone who requests them.

–Try to win a hybrid by entering Target’s Drive Home Green Sweepstakes. There are over 5,000 green prizes and the contest is open through April 30th.

–Get on the bus! All next week, people who ride Greyhound’s BoltBus, will be helping out the New York Restoration Project. Greyhound will donate a portion of all of those fares to the environmental organization. The Bolt Bus sounds pretty neat. It’s got Wifi, and has emissions lowering technology.

What have I missed? Please let me know!

To make it easier to experience America’s Great Outdoors, the National Park Service is waiving entrance fees, so visitors can enjoy all 392 national parks for free April 17-25. This is great news for all of you spring breakers out there looking for a quick trip to the great outdoors. For others, its a perfect opportunity to experience your local national parks in bloom this spring.

At more than 100 parks, there will be specials on concessions, lodging, and transportation in the parks to give further incentive to get out and explore.

If that were not enough to get you out in the nice weather and out of the winter doldrums, take a moment to check out the list of events parks plan to have around the country nearly all of which are family friendly. For those of you looking for ways to give back to your community as a way to celebrate this year’s 40th Earth Day, the National Parks Service has more than 400 volunteer opportunities announced.

For those of you resigned to spend the week in your office staring longingly out your window, check out the virtual tours of your favorite national parks and enjoy the scenery virtually!

So which park are you making plans to visit next week? Get out there and explore!

Earth Day is fast approaching, and some major retailers are going to great lengths to show their greenness. The good news is that many of these lengths can benefit you!

Starting April 19th and running through the 22nd, Home Depot will give away 1 million CFL lightbulbs. The lightbulbs are available while supplies last.

Now through May 15th, you can design your own reuseable Kroger shopping bag. You will get a free canvas bag just for entering and will be entered to win up to $1,000. Kroger is a national grocery chain.

If you bring in three plastic bottles to any Disney Store, they will give you a free canvas tote bag.

Have you heard of any other cool freebies?

Grist, a well-known environmental website, is telling people to “Screw Earth Day!”

While that seems like an oxymoron, Grist has actually begun a campaign to urge us to make every day Earth Day.

Earth Day was first held on April 22, 1970. Some call it the birth of the modern environmental movement.

“Too many people tokenize Earth Day, using it as an excuse to hug a tree one day and ram it with their SUV the next,” said Chip Giller, founder and CEO of Grist in a press release. “We say, screw that. One day is for amateurs. We can do better.”

What do you think? Are you an amateur or pro when it comes to being green?

Did you know there are two Earth Days? One is the March equinox, and the other is celebrated on April 22. The Earth Day celebrated on the March Equinox, was founded by peace activist John McConnell in 1969. The April 22nd Earth Day was founded by U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson also in 1969.

Both Earth Days raised public awareness about pollution, oil spills and the extinction of several species. Earth Day events have spread, thanks to the help of the internet. In 2008, most local communities host their own events, joining major cities, countries and millions of people across the world.

Earth Day is a time for reflection. But how can the enthusiasm for change and making a difference be translated into daily action? They say that “Every day is Earth Day,” and Begreenminded.com says that every action (however small) will create a collective change – and the first step is to take that action.

What action for change will you pledge to make on Earth Day?

For more information on the history of Earth Day, click here for an account by Senator Gaylord Nelson himself.