Starting this Saturday, and stretching all the way through the following weekend, entrance fees are being waived at all national parks that usually charge for admission. The occasion is what’s become an annual event, National Park Week, which in 2012 is scheduled for April 21 to 29. It’s one of several periods during the year when normal admissions fees are waived. Other no-fee dates include Get Outdoors Day (June 9), National Public Lands Day (September 29), and Veteran’s Day (November 10 to 12 this year). The Parks Department likes to point out that 397 national parks and monuments, in fact, never charge admission. But even if and when admission is free, we’re all paying for the national parks to varying degrees. The think tank Third Way offers an annual Tax Receipt Calculator revealing that roughly 1% of your federal tax dollars goes to environmental protection and natural resources, which include the parks system. [Read this article]

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The number of Americans who admit that they suffer from environmentally related “green guilt” has more than doubled in the past three years, according to a new survey. Environmental experts define green guilt as the knowledge that you could and should be doing more to help preserve the environment. Today it affects nearly one-third (29%) of Americans. More than half of Americans (57%) say they have old electronics that they need to dispose of or discard, including cellphones (46%), computers (33%) and TVs (25%), followed by cordless phones (19%) and rechargeable batteries, according to a survey of more than 1,000 Americans sponsored by Call2Recycle. But they have good intentions, the survey found. Eighty-four percent say they have recycled in the past year to help the environment; as well as turned out lights/unplugged rechargers (68%); and purchased “green” products (53%). [Read this article]

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With energy costs on the rise, this summer could be sweaty – and expensive. But there are some easy ways to trim your cooling costs without suffering through 90-degree evenings, sans air conditioning. In fact, if you start preparing for the coming heat wave now, you can probably save a few hundred dollars. You’ll also be doing the environment a favor, since the Energy Department estimates that half of a household’s overall energy usage goes toward heating and cooling costs. For example: close those shades. Anything that keeps the sun from coming in and creating a greenhouse effect will make it easier for your air-conditioning unit to maintain cooler temperatures. For the longer term, consider planting leafy trees or bushes in areas that give your home more coverage. Also, unplug television sets, DVD players, and computers. Even when turned off, they can suck power out of outlets. That’s why you should either unplug your electronics or use a Smart Strip, which cuts power when it’s not needed. [Read this article]

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Exercise is a foundation helping pave the way to great environmental change. It starts small and quietly, but quickly, builds into monumental differences in our lives. While walking, jogging and cycling are wonderful for heart health and overall fitness, they also have a lasting impact on green living. Here are a few ways exercise helps the Environment. In most of the world bikes are a common transport. In smaller towns across Europe carpool lanes are less common than seeing a handful of locals cycling. Some cities are trying to follow this example and in a world where cars are king, cyclists need a safety revamp to take the lead. People want to bike to work and to their favorite local eateries but they need to feel safe doing so. When more people bike, the demand for change is greater and more likely to occur. Also, when safe and well-maintained walking paths are available, people are more willing to take a walk to their local grocer, restaurant or event. Any time you get people walking over taking their car is a major dent in carbon emissions. [Read this article]

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We all know about the devastating effect plastic bags have on nature. Plastics degrade too slowly. The chemical bonds that make plastic so durable make it equally resistant to natural processes of degradation. Since the 1950s, one billion tons of plastic have been discarded and may persist for hundreds or even thousands of years. A lot of us have decided to stay away from plastic and get their own shopping bags to the store, and yet there are too many people who use plastic bags daily, resulting in too much plastic circulating around. There are practically endless ways to reuse plastic bags. If you can, choose a way that will stop these bags’ progress toward the trash. Here are 15 ideas on how you can reuse and repurpose the plastic bags that have sneaked in your home. [Read this article]

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So, would you stop washing your clothes in warm water if your best friend tried doing it in cold and said her jeans were coming out clean? Would you be more likely to weatherize your house if your college roommate said that it had cut her heating bill by 30 percent? And if your mom got one of those power strips that turn off devices that suck electricity in the middle of the night, would you do the same? It’s not so much factual information that motivates behavioral change – knowing that smoking is bad for you, or that most electricity generation emits heat-trapping carbon dioxide – but the way that such information plays off social relationships and creates peer pressure. Now Opower is harnessing social media to further that kind of psychological connection as well. Teaming with Facebook, energy conservation advocates and the Natural Resources Defense Council, an Opower released a a new app that allows interested parties in 20 million households served by 16 utilities to post their energy use on their Facebook pages and invite friends to do so as well. [Read this article]

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