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When you think about things you could do to be more eco-friendly, don't leave out leisure activities. Here are 28 tips ranging from quick fixes to lifestyle changes that will benefit the Earth -- and save you some greenbacks.
Quick fixes
1. Drink tap water at restaurants.Tap water is more strictly regulated than bottled water, and there's no need to add to the tons of plastic and glass bottles and jugs -- about 60 million a day -- going to landfills. Recycling them takes energy, too.
You could save as much as $7 by going with tap water, and it may be safer to drink. If everyone drank tap water instead of bottled water in the U.S., it would save about $8 billion.
2. Download music.
Download tunes instead of purchasing compact discs at a store. Each month, more than 45 tons of CDs become obsolete -- outdated or unwanted -- and end up in landfills.
The average price of a CD is about $15, whereas an album download is about $10.
3. Rent, don't buy, movies.
One hundred thousand DVDs and CDs are thrown away each month. Why contribute to the trash pile? And you could save more than $12 a pop. The average movie rents for about $4, while the average new DVD sells for more than $16.
4. Read your news on the Internet.
Cancel your paper subscription and get your news online. Each year, 10 million tons of newspapers are tossed into landfills and aren't recycled. If just half of these were recycled, it would save 75 million trees.
Picking up the daily rag at a newsstand will cost you $225 to $300 a year. If you must have the paper in your hands, at least subscribe to it rather than buying single copies -- you'll save about 50% off the cover price.
5. Turn off your entertainment center.
Electronics, including TVs, cable boxes, DVD players, computers, music systems and gaming consoles, consume as much as 40% of their full operating power when switched off or left in standby mode. They also continue to produce heat, which increases home cooling loads.
Turn them completely off all at once with a common surge protector. They'll last longer, and you'll reduce your electric bill. You'll likely recoup the investment in a $6-$10 surge protector on your first two power bills.
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6. Host a "green" party.
Play cards or board games: They're fun, interactive, mentally stimulating and don't use a single kilowatt. Classic card games include bridge, canasta, cribbage, hearts and rummy. If you're stuck for players, there's always solitaire. Monopoly may be the king of board games, but Risk, Scrabble and Life have their devotees, along with relative newcomers Taboo, Scattergories and Cranium. For a 1980s flashback party, there's always Trivial Pursuit.
A deck of playing cards costs $2, a board game $15 to $35. Recycle your newspaper into party hats.
7. Read green books.
To expand your green thoughts, check out Rachel Carson's groundbreaking "The Sea Around Us" and "Silent Spring," Peter Matthiessen's lyrical nature studies "The Birds of Heaven" and "Tigers in the Snow," and Michael Pollan's revelatory "The Botany of Desire" and "The Omnivore's Dilemma." For daily "green" tips, check out Danny Seo's eco-blog.
Save a tree -- and some green -- and check these books out of your local library.
8. Host a green film fest.
You can talk about saving the Earth until the ice caps melt, but a more effective way to sound the alarm might be a film festival. These thought-provoking DVDs should incite a lively discourse: "Who Killed the Electric Car," "Syriana," Leonardo DiCaprio's "The 11th Hour" and, of course, Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth." To lighten the mood, finish with "The Day After Tomorrow."
The DVDs: less than $25 each. The lasting wake-up call: priceless.
Short-term ideas
9. Take a guilt-free cruise.Yes, marine diesel still has to turn those enormous propellers, but a few cruise ships are boldly exploring the potential for "greener" seas. Holland America's Alaskan cruise ship Zaandam has added a $1.5 million saltwater "scrubber" to detoxify its engine emissions. If you book a cruise through Australia's Clean Cruising, the company will plant sufficient trees to make your voyage carbon-neutral, at no extra cost.
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Use your money to go greenYour dollars can help make the world a more sustainable place, says MSN Money's Ann Monroe. Strategies range from investing in environment-friendly funds to buying local food.
10. Carry your golf clubs.
Forget driving to the greens: These days, carts are definitely déclassé. It's hip to walk the course, carrying or pulling your own clubs. In fact, Tiger Woods felt so strongly about it that The Cliffs at High Carolina, his first U.S. golf course design, near Ashville, N.C., will prohibit carts altogether.
Save the $10-$25 cart fee for the 19th hole.
11. Choose paddle or sail power.
For guilt-free boating, consider a kayak, canoe or inflatable raft for a good cardio workout, or a sailboat or sailboard for a little help from the wind. Added bonus: With the exception of some sailboats, you'll save a bundle of green over a motorboat.
At REI.com, kayaks run from $300 to $3,000, canoes from $550 to $1,050 and inflatables from $70 to $110. Sailboards start at $1,000, sailboats at $2,000.
Continued: Green lodging and tours
