Tiny steps you take everyday can make a huge difference in the impact you can have on the planet. If you are a beginner, slightly altering your laundry habits can not only save water but also save in your power bills and conserve energy.

Ninety-two percent of American households own clothes dryers. In comparison, less than 4% of Italian households own dryers. Further, eighty percent of American households dry between 2 and 9 loads per week, not to mention the millions of us who use multi-housing laundry or coin-operated laundry facilities. Pretty shocking right? If that weren’t enough, while a quarter of Americans use Energy Star washers, there are no Energy Star dryers on the market, further compounding the amount of energy we use to dry our clothes.*

Just by line drying even one of the loads you do a week you can make a significant impact. Project Laundry List, an organization dedicated to helping people line dry their clothing, estimates that about 8% of households in the United States line dry their clothes during 5 months of the year. According to them, if all Americans line dried their clothes for ten months a year, we could avoid 12 million metric tons of carbon dioxide a year from entering the atmosphere. That’s the same as the annual greenhouse gas emission from 2.2 million cars or 3 coal fired power plants.

Needless to say, we aren’t talking about small fries here!

The problem is that while there are more than 300,000 community associations, but the majority of them restrict or ban clotheslines. In response, Levi Strauss & Co. is encouraging consumers to think differently about their laundry habits with its “Care Tag for Our Planet” campaign and now with its “Care to Air” contest. The company is working to spread the word about the positive environmental impact of line drying and encourage creative design solutions that may change the way people dry their clothes.

Starting on June 1, you can submit original air-drying solutions as part of Levi’s “Care to Air” contest, with the chance to win $10,000 in prizes. The company is looking for the next generation of air drying design ideas that will improve or replace the typical clothesline. Design ideas will be accepted from June 1- July 31, 2010, and winners will be announced on August 16. Full contest details are available on www.levi.com/care.

The best part of changing your laundry habits is that your clothes will last longer (don’t you wonder where all that lint came from?), sunlight bleaches and sanitizes your clothes, and air dried clothes smell great without chemicals! Considering 23.8 billion pounds of clothing and textiles end up in landfills each year.

In case you need an extra kick to make some change in your laundry you can also promise to care for your jeans and the planet by taking the Care Tag Pledge on-line at www.levi.com/care, vowing to washing in cold, washing less, line drying and donating unwanted clothing to Goodwill®.

*This is due to the fact that all dryers operate at the same efficiency because no technology exists to improve them and differentiate their efficiency from one product to another.

Faith-based activism is certainly in vogue these days so it should be no surprise that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced last week that houses of worship can now earn the Energy Star label.

There are an estimated 370,000 houses of worship across the United States which now can use Portfolio Manager to receive an energy performance rating, and the most energy efficient among them can earn the Energy Star label.

According to the US EPA website, most congregations can cut energy costs by up to 30% just by investing strategically in efficient equipment, facility upgrades and maintenance.  Worship facilities in the United States spend more than $3 billion annually on energy costs. Improving the energy efficiency of America’s houses of worship by just 10 percent would save nearly 2 billion kilowatt-hours each year, preventing more than 1 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions and representing a cost savings of about $315 million annually.

US EPA says that if America’s more than 300,000 houses of worship cut energy use by 10 percent nearly $200 million would be saved for congregations’ missions and other priorities. Think that’s all? They also say that more than 5.4 billion kWh of electricity would be available without additional cost and pollution and if that were not enough, more than 2 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions would be prevented, equivalent to the emissions of about 400,000 cars, or to planting over a half million acres of trees.

Don’t waste another minute reaching out to your house of worship and helping reduce the congregation’s carbon footprint. US EPA has a guide to help members work with their church, synagogue, mosque or any other religious building. With your help, your congregation could be the next to be awarded the Energy Star Congregation label and would be well on your way to reducing greenhouse gases.

Its been what seems to me like forever since I posted to BeGreenMinded but I am thrilled to be easing back into my regular posting position with some great news for some major U.S. cities. Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency annouced the top 25 cities that are home to the most buildings certified as ENERGY STAR energy efficient. Nationwide there are more than 3,200 buildings, representing 750 million square feet.

Take a moment to see if your hometown made this years list.

ENERGY STAR certified buildings help reduce our nation’s reliance on carbon-based fossil fuels – energy sources which contribute to global climate change. In 2008 alone, ENERGY STAR buildings and plants across the country have saved more than $1.1 billion in energy costs and reduced more than 7 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions-savings equal to the emissions associated with the electricity use of more than 1 million homes for a year.

2008 showed an increase of 130% from the number of ENERGY STAR buildings built the year before. With the passage of a “green” economic stimulus package in Congress which includes incentives for the construction of energy efficient buildings, it’s likely that in 2009 and 2010 we will see an even greater bump in the number of ENERGY STAR buildings.

And what is good for the environment, is good for the economy too. Building energy efficient buildings reduces the amount of energy the building will use over the life of the structure. ENERGY STAR qualified office buildings cost $0.50 cents per square foot less to operate than average office buildings. Even better, ENERGY STAR qualified office buildings consume nearly 2x less energy per square foot as average buildings.

While the buildings included in this latest announcement are commercial in their use, everyone can take a lesson in energy efficiency. Check out ways you can incorporate energy efficiency and ENERGY STAR into your home.

Have a tip that you think others can use to improve their home’s energy efficiency? Share it below in the comments.

Welcome to 2009! We hope you had a great holiday and can’t wait to help you fulfill your New Year’s resolution to integrate more acts of green into your lives. 

Below is a pledge for you to sign which we are certain will help you up your green ante over the course of the year. While the list may be daunting at first, consider incorporating just a few new eco-friendly tasks each month. Over the course of the year, you will have made great strides towards reducing your carbon footprint and deepening your shade of green.

At home, I pledge to…

• turn off lights and appliances when not in use
• unplug chargers  and appliances that are not in use
• use computer sleep mode and turn off monitors when not in use
• open the dishwasher and air dry dishes instead of using the hot air dry cycle, run only full loads
• dry laundry on a clothesline
• wash clothes on cold cycle, wash only full loads
• turn down my hot water heater to 120F
• shorten showers by a few minutes to conserve hot water
• lower my thermostat by at least 1F during the winter season
• install a digital, programmable thermostat. Set it and forget it
• adjust thermostat when I leave the house (10F down in winter, 10F up in summer) (if you install the programmable thermostat and set it, you can check this one off too!)
• keep up with basic furnace maintenance- have it professionally tuned and cleaned, replace air filters regularly
• cook more efficiently- cover pots, use a pressure cooker when appropriate, keep burners clean, cook several dishes at a time in the oven, use microwave to heat food, for small meals – use a toaster convection oven instead of heating up your larger oven
• keep drapes or blinds closed at night in winter and during the day in the summer to reduce heating and cooling needs
• clean refrigerator coil every 4-6 months
• replace incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs
• when bulbs blow out, dispose of them properly or recycle if possible
• install light dimmers
• install faucet aerators in sinks to reduce hot water use
• install low-flow shower heads to conserve hot water
• install low-flow toilets to reduce water use
• insulate 4 ft of hot water pipes closest to hot water heater
• insulate all hot water pipes
• caulk and weatherstrip all my doors and windows
• have a professional seal my heating ducts to reduce loss of heated air
• replace old inefficient dishwasher (over 10 years old) with an Energy Star model
• replace old inefficient refrigerator (over 10 years old) with an Energy Star model
• replace old inefficient clothes washing machine (over 10 years old) with an Energy Star model
• improve my home’s insulation
• replace old furnace with efficient Energy Star model
• install a solar hot water heater
• eat one less beef meal per week
• eat organic food as much as your budget allows
• eat as local as possible; maybe eating “100 miler meals” – food that hasn’t traveled more than 100 miles
• compost food and yard wastes
• recycle paper, bottles, cans and other reusable materials
• buy recycled products whenever possible
• buy products that use as little packaging as possible
• take clothing and small appliances to charity thrift stores or other donation centers
• join a volunteer organization, or an environmental organization
• participate in government so I have a voice in sustainability issues and decisions
• register to vote so I can create help change in environmental policy decisions
• tell a friend

For my transportation, I pledge to:

• take public transportation to work or school instead of driving at least 1 day a week
• carpool to work or school at least 1 day a week
• replace at least 5 miles of driving with biking or walking per week
• inflate car tires properly, use recommended motor oil and keep car well tuned
• buy a fuel efficient vehicle (30 mpg)

For my workplace, I pledge to:

• make double sided copies
• only print when I really need the hard copy
• use the blank side of old documents for scrap paper
• buy recycled copy/printer paper.
• turn off my computer at night

The Green Ribbon Pledge will compute your energy savings for energy saving specific points. Thanks to the Stonybrook Green Pledge.

What are suggestions you can add to creating a greener 2009?  Please tell us below in the comments!

It’s my first post for BeGreenMinded.com so it seems only fitting that I give all my new readers a gift for making it through this post. Sound too good to be true? Its not.

We all know about the federal tax credit the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and many states, offer to consumers who purchase certain hybrid vehicles. What you might not know is that similar tax credits and rebates are available for many other green-minded initiatives you might already be doing in and around your own house.

Ok, so you caught me, the gift isn’t really from me, precisely. But, by utilizing the following information, you might just find yourself basking in the glow of a rebate check or tax refund – and if that’s not a great gift, I don’t know what is!

Energy Star is more than just a cute logo- it could be your ticket to cash in your pocket
Did you know that there are more than 40,000 product models carrying the Energy Star logo and that Americans saved $12 billion on their energy bills by purchasing Energy Star products? Contact your local and state governments to find out if they offer rebates for purchasing certain Energy Star products, especially your major appliances like washers, TVs, and refrigerators.

Hitting up your power company might pay for a quiet dinner out with your sweetie
In Austin, Texas, the local power company offers rebates for purchasing and installing a variety of energy efficient technologies. As strange as it may seem, it benefits power companies to encourage their customers to be energy-wise. Sure they aren’t making that extra buck off of you, but with more energy usage comes the need to increase the amount of energy available and thus, build more power plants – an expensive venture for everyone involved. Do your research before you purchase your next air conditioning system and you could get a rebate for making the energy-efficient choice.

Think you can’t afford solar panels… think again
Federal, state and local rebates can significantly reduce the set-up and equipment costs of installing solar panels on your home. This isn’t just for Californians either. More than 75% of states offer rebate programs to residents interested in getting off the grid and 44% of the country offer tax incentives. Best of all, the federal government just extended their rebate program!

Planning to improve your home in 2009 might pay off
Energy Star isn’t just about the home appliances and electronics you purchase. The program will include some home improvements in 2009 which can help reduce all of your energy bills.

Increasing the water table and decreasing your pollution runoff could payoff
Its not all about energy efficiency, though. In Montgomery County, Maryland, the county government offers rebates to residents who help recreate natural ecosystems to help soil capture and filter rain water, which prevents pollution runoff and erosion, while also recharging groundwater supplies. These projects can be as simple as adding rain barrels to the end of a home’s drainpipes to creating detailed rain gardens. Learn more about the program and encourage your municipality to implement similar programs by sharing these ideas with your elected officials.

The federal, state and local governments have all realized the benefits of voluntary programs aimed at corporate partners, but over the last few years, they have also realized the benefits for individuals and households. Rewarding positive individual consumer behavior today equates to environmental benefits for years to come – and of course the short lived excitement of crisp cash.