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Issue Date: April 22, 2008
Earth Day: Green ideas for your home
We invited the popular host of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" to take you on a home tour that could benefit the environment -- and your wallet.
By Ty Pennington
In this issue:
Like the popular ThinkSmart page in your regular USA WEEKEND Magazine, this special ThinkSmart issue is jam-packed with helpful tips. You'll find waysto make your home a better place to live -- and give Mother Earth a hand at the same time.
Features:
 Bathroom Conserving water is a good place to start.
Attic & Yard Check insulation; build a habitat garden.
Kitchen Appliances are only part of the story.
Bedroom Create a more restful, healthful room.
EACH PAGE OFFERS EARTH-SAVING TIPS FROM USA WEEKEND, TY PENNINGTON AND A BONUS EXPERT.
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Welcome to USA WEEKEND's ThinkSmart: The Green Issue, a special supplement to celebrate Earth Day 2008. The theme is The Green House, offering room-by-room tips on how to make your home more eco-friendly.
By now, we all know that going green is more than just a fad. We're to the point where we can see natural resources being depleted and the damage that's been done to the air we breathe and the water we drink. The big picture is that making greener decisions in your home affects everyone for the better. If you take a few moments to consider how much waste you're producing, whether it's energy, water, heat, you name it, you can then start to figure out what changes you can make to best conserve our precious resources.
The smaller picture, though, is that one person really can make a difference. I'm a guy who sees that every week. On "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" (which airs Sundays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC), we go into a community, and people join together to make a difference in someone's life. And if we can build a house in four days, I think anybody can figure out ways to turn off lights and unplug things that don't need to be plugged in.
The first thing I did to make my home greener was to replace all the light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs. It took less than 15 minutes, and the results were almost immediately noticeable. The energy bill is lower, and the bulbs actually produce less heat. Sure, this is a small step, but when you put them all together, the smaller picture becomes the bigger picture: If we all do our part, we can change the world. The key is, we're not alone, and all of us can do something to help.
As you'll see in the following pages, making your home green is easy if you take it one step, or room, at a time. It simply comes down to thinking a little bit more about the products you use. Are they energy-efficient? Are they contributing to cleaner air or water? Are they made from recycled materials?
Making the switch to greener products also can help your wallet. Many of today's green products are more durable than previous ones, so, in the long run, they can make it easier to maintain your home and reduce your utility bills.
So take a walk through our green house, and check out all the ways you can turn Earth Day 2008 into a long-term, meaningful commitment. You'll hear from some of the top experts in their fields and get bonus tips from some high-profile pros who've gone green. I'll bet you'll find things you can, and want to, do immediately.
Cover and inside photographs of Ty Pennington: ABC/Bob D'Amico; Cover background: Saundra Giering
All articles by Natalie Ermann Russell
© Copyright 2009 USA WEEKEND. A Gannett publication. Printed in the USA.
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