Recent news about the impact of global warming has many of us wondering how we can do our part to live “greener” in our homes. One of the ways we’ve learned how to do this, of course, is to simply conserve and recycle when we can, but it’s also very easy to go green in other ways. If you have a green home, you’re helping the environment, and it’s also a way to save money. With just a few changes to your lifestyle, everyone can go green — yes, you too.

One of the big ways you can save energy costs and go green relates to the energy it takes to heat your home. If you set your thermostat to 20 degrees Celsius or 68 degrees Fahrenheit in the winter and to 25 degrees Celsius or 78 degrees Fahrenheit in the winter, you’ll conserve energy and save money on your energy bills simultaneously.

You can also save energy costs if you can create shade in the summer at the west and east ends of your home. This can keep your indoor temperature several degrees cooler while the sun is at its hottest in the morning and afternoon. If you cook early in the day before the temperature is at its hottest or late in the day after it has cooled down, this will also reduce your energy needs because heat won’t be trapped inside your home, thus reducing your dependence on air conditioning. You can also use ceiling fans to circulate the air and help keep it from becoming too hot.

Polyethylene plastic bags, like those commonly offered by grocers, are manufactured using petroleum. As 100 billion plastic bags are thrown away annually, their disposal by burning presents a devastating assault upon the environment. By investing a dollar or two in re-usable cloth grocery bags, the amount of plastic bags wasted can be reduced along with their global warming impact.

Plastic water bottles, too, cause significant damage to the environment because they are not biodegradable; they spend years and years in landfills. Do your part to keep this from happening by buying every member of your family their own reusable water bottle and then filling it with tap water from home. (If you’re concerned about the quality of your own tap water for drinking purposes, filtration systems are still a very environmentally responsible and economic way to drink your tap water from home.)

Travel, too, is another thing you can easily adjust to help reduce your fuel costs and reduce carbon emissions, which negatively impact the environment. Use public transportation or carpool to get to work, and walk or bike shorter distances whenever you can. Reducing the number of cars on the road makes the air cleaner and also saves you money, because it’s much cheaper to take public transportation, to carpool and/or to ride a bike or walk where you need to go. In addition, walking or biking provides you a very effective form of exercise that’s easy to do.

If you’re about to remodel your home, bypass the hardwood flooring and instead install bamboo flooring. Bamboo flooring is environmentally friendly because it is self-replenishing and produces a high yield. The bamboo matures in six to eight years, versus the 50 to 100 years it takes the trees necessary for hardwood floors to mature. And when you install your bamboo flooring, use glues that don’t contain formaldehyde, which is very toxic.

Finally, whenever possible, to see electronic bill payment system of paper bills. Companies sometimes offer discounts to customers who opt out of the paper bill choice and who choose to receive and pay bills electronically. This saves many trees every year because of the paper saved, and also helps keep paper waste products out of landfills. To further reduce paper usage and keep paper out of landfills, when you must buy paper products choose those that are recycled and choose products that are unbleached. Bleaching paper is toxic to the environment.

Some erroneously assume that going green takes a lot of thought and work, but in fact, it’s pretty easy to do once you know how. If you go green, you can have the satisfaction of knowing that you are doing your part to take care of the planet — and save some money besides.

About the author: Jerry Dyess has been in the Texas Electricity business for the past 7 years. He has published many articles on Texas Electric prices.

With the signing of the economic stimulus bill, there has been a rush to identify “shovel ready” jobs. But, behind the scenes, business and government leaders are grappling with the problems of being “people ready” for the millions of green jobs that will be created through the investment in renewable energy and energy efficiency.
Meanwhile, job seekers, anxious and excited about the prospect of a lifeline into a new career, are finding it difficult and confusing to identify and determine the qualifications needed for a sustainable jobs. Many find, after navigating the waves of information about the green jobs, they end up with far more questions than answers.
An ebook released by www.TheCompleteGreenJobGuide.com identifies the challenges and solutions for green job hunters trying to make the transition to a sustainable job. “The Complete Green Job Guide 2009: Secrets For Getting The Job You Want” is the most up-to-date green job search resource available.
Experts agree that the money allocated thus far for training falls far short of that needed to meet the demands for skilled workers trying to make a green job transition in the coming years. In fact, research conducted by National Renewable Energy Lab (http://www.nrel.gov/) shows the major barriers to a rapid adoption of renewable energy and energy efficiency are insufficient skills and training in America’s workforce.
It is important to understand that momentum for green energy has been building for several years. After almost thirty years of debating the issues, government, business, financial and environmental experts agree that the conversion to sustainable energy is a necessity. The message is clear: we must act now. And those who act on their own to adapt to the new job market will have limitless opportunities in a green energy economy.
With the support of government and business, green energy is poised to provide the largest growth in employment opportunities of recent decades. Statistics prove the green job movement has already started.
• The American Solar Energy Society (http://www.ases.org/) reported that nearly 8.5 million jobs were created in renewable energy and energy-efficient industries in 2006. By 2030, that number will sky rocket to 40 million. In twenty years, one in four workers will be in a green energy job.
• The online job site, Career Builders (http://www.careerbuilder.com/ ), reports that thirteen percent of employers they surveyed said they plan to add “green jobs” in 2009, up thirty percent from the previous year.
• Several studies estimate that $1 invested in renewable energy or energy efficiency would yield up to four times as many jobs as $1 invested in oil and gas.
In his pre-inaugural speech on the economy, then President-elect Obama outlined the reasons for investing in sustainable alternatives when he spoke of the paradox and the promise. “So many are in need of work and there is so much work to be done.” It will take an army of workers—an estimated 5 million—from all backgrounds to begin the work to build viable alternative energy sources; retrofit our homes, offices, schools and hospitals for energy efficiency; improve and expand mass transportation; build fuel efficient cars and trucks, and develop biofuels.
For many, the big question remains unanswered. That is how to be competitive in the green job market? With information scattered throughout agencies, it is difficult to understand the qualifications needed to qualify for the cleantech jobs, what businesses are emerging in this new market that will create sustainable jobs, and how to conduct an effective green job search.
Never before have so many complex issues intersected to create such an urgent need to act. This complexity makes information a key advantage for the green job hunter. Those who don’t arm themselves with research, don’t monitor ongoing developments, and don’t take the initiative to identify, adapt and upgrade their skills risk losing an early advantage in the emerging green economy.
So where do you start in this quest for information? Inspired by the growing questions among job seekers, the green hiring professionals at www.TheCompleteGreenJobGuide.com decided to find answers. To find the answers green job hunters need, their staff did extensive research to:
• review the history of the green energy job movement
• consult with hiring and training experts
• examine the statistics to ferret out the facts behind the headlines
The results of their research is compiled in a comprehensive report, “The Complete Green Job Guide 2009: Secrets For Getting The Job You Want”. For those green job seekers who want the make transition into a sustainable job, “The Complete Green Job Guide 2009: Secrets For Getting The Job You Want” is a comprehensive green job resource which organizes your job search into a ten-step program. The steps are:
1. First things first: define a green energy job?
• Green energy is a move toward a new economy, with new industries, new jobs, and a new vision for economic and environmental stability. Learn what defines a green energy job.
2. Be informed and be committed
• Although green energy is a key item in the stimulus package, it is first and foremost a critical part of discussions on national security, energy independence and global warming. Any professional pursuing a career in this market segment will need a thorough understanding of the myriad of issues impacting green energy.
3. Learn “green speak”
• Green tech, cleantech, sustainable…green terms such as these have become part of corporate and popular culture. New idioms show up in conversation frequently. Job candidates need to extend their grammar check to include green glossaries and dictionaries.
4. Find the company that fits
• Find out where green jobs are growing. Identify the top new business in the industries for your green job search. Learn where green jobs are emerging in traditional businesses.
5. Pick the job you want
• What are the job titles for a green energy job. Qualifications? Career track? Pay? Green job seekers will need to see where they fit in the new job market.
6. Take inventory and show your skills
• Assess your skills for a green job transition. How will you transfer them to a green energy job?
7. Bulk up your qualifications
• Do you need more training or certification? Identify short term, cost effective ways to become better qualified for a green energy job.
8. Be sociable and network your way into the back door
• Learn how to get into the back door through personal contacts. Understand how social networking can enhance your green job search.
9. Brand your unique qualifications
• Translate your unique abilities into benefits for cleantech job. Create your own brand, and market it through your resume, letters, networking contacts, and interviews.
10. Make job boards and job fairs work for you.
• Navigate the 40,000 job boards and effectively narrow your search. Utilize job fairs for research and visibility and find the one that will help you make the green job transition.
By following these ten steps, job seekers can successfully navigate the path to a green job. As job losses mount weekly, that transition becomes increasingly urgent. The good news is that, armed with a thorough understanding of its goals and requirements, we have the opportunity to meet the challenge being “people ready” for the emerging economy.

thecompletegreenjobguide.com is the Complete Resource for Green Job Seekers, green job search, green job preparation, career search, green job opportunities, green engineering jobs, career search, green building jobs, clean energy jobs and green design jobs. More on that at How to go from shovel ready to people ready in a green job market?