Plant short, dense shrubs close to your home's foundation to help insulate your home against cold, and use a light-colored roof to reduce heat absorption. You'll be saving an estimated 13 lbs of CO2 per tree!

Compost your leaves and yard debris, or take them to a yard debris recycler. (Burning them creates air pollution, and putting them out with the trash wastes landfill space.)

Trees and gardens make your yard beautiful, but they also help clean the air and reduce greenhouse gasses.

Artificial fertlizers contain many chemicals that aren't good for you OR the environment, and they can contribute to the pollution of the water table. You'll see (and taste!) the difference in your fruits and veggies!

"Non-toxic pest management tools are those methods, products and techniques that do not put human health and the environment at risk. Simple changes in your environment can significantly reduce pest populations. Before reaching for a pesticide, monitor the pest population, make structural repairs, use proper sanitation inside and outside, and modify the pests' habitat. Any openings that pests are using to access the structure should be caulked, screened or repaired. Some outdoor pests are attracted to spilled greasy or sugary liquids, improperly stored garbage, untended pet foods or explosions of naturally-occurring food sources like aphids or scale infestations on nearby plants. Efforts to eliminate food sources may eliminate pest problems. "

"WHAT TO USE: Aeration of soil - black molasses - calcium products/talc/lime - caulk - corn gluten - dehumidifier - door strips/door sweeps - electrogun (electrocution) - fans - flyswatter - habitat modification - heat treatment - hot pepper wax - glue boards - liquid nitrogen (cold treatment) - living biological controls (parasitic wasps, ladybugs, praying mantis, nematodes, etc) - mow high with sharp blades - netting - overseed - prune - sanitation - seal holes - screens - sodium chloride - sticky tape - thatch removal - traps (flytraps, sticky traps, pheromone traps, jar traps, insect light trap, etc.) - vacuum - water drainage - water pipe maintenance - water spray - weed-hound. " (From Ecomall.Com)

Also check out the home brewed pest control recipes available on the Ecomall website.

You benefit either directly or when local taxes are kept lower by reduced disposal costs.

Composting can sound daunting if you've never done it before, and many people believe it smells bad. Not true!

Check out this beginners guide to composting to see just how easy it is! Added bonus: if you have a garden, you can use the "juice" from the compost to super-charge your soil.