An Eco-Friendly Holiday Season

Thu Nov 30, 2006 8:07PM EST

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'Tis the season for giving, but some of us are too concerned with environmental issues. If you think it's a waste to give someone who has it all a gift that'll wind up in the closet, why not just give them something more environmentally friendly? Sure you're laughing now, but the reality is the environment is paying a high price for our way of life. I'll spare you the rant, but in the meantime, I'll encourage you to be nice to Mother Earth this Christmas and try these eco-friendly ideas:

Pictures of You: The gals over at Photojojo have a nice video tutorial that'll teach you how to turn CD jewel cases into photo frames. This is a great way to save money when decorating your pad for that Christmas party. You can also create some cubicle decorations for your coworkers for the gift exchange this year.

Luggable Bike: I used to be able to walk to work, but a bike would have been a lot nicer. It might've encouraged me to leave the car at home more often. Treehugger highlighted the Mobiky today, which is a bike that "folds into hand luggage." It's so cool how it fits in the trunk of your car and comes in handy if you live in big city such as New York or San Francisco. It would also be a great way to get the blood pumping during your lunch hour.

Go Solar: Battery power always drains, even when you're not using your gadgets. I'm so frustrated by gadgets that run out of juice quickly, and I'm sure you are too. It's time gadgets went solar, don't you agree? Until then, we'll have to settle for solar chargers such as the Nova Solar Camera bag or the Scotty Personal Solar Charger. Here are more awesome solar battery charger alternatives.

Low-Energy Lights: Switching to LED (light-emitting diodes) Christmas lights will help you save money and energy. One study by the U.S. Department of Energy concluded that if everyone replaced their light strings with LED lights, we would save enough energy to power 200,000 homes a year. That's a lot of energy! You can find LED lights online at Holiday Creations.

Do you have any eco-friendly ideas to share? Tell me what works for you.

Related:

Beam Me Up Scotty
Charging Cameras the Solar Way
Juice 2 Go: Portable Power

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  • 1 Posted by vix98vcas98 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:36PM EDT Report Abuse

    Gina, I'm an avid reader of your column! You always offer wonderful solutions! We have fan club at work that worships you! Love your ideas!

  • 2 Posted by longhorn812002 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 6:56PM EDT Report Abuse

    Gina, first time on the blog. Searched your earlier thread about using XP on a Mac. My question is: How do you use a Ctrl-Alt-Del combo to log on to my office network? I haven't been able to figure this out. Thanks.

  • 3 Posted by ironfish_nt on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:25PM EDT Report Abuse

    Hey tree-huggers! Here's a more useful link to Holiday Creations LED products. www.animatedlighting.com. Ciao

  • 4 Posted by aprilwetshowers on Thu Sep 3, 2009 2:57PM EDT Report Abuse

    Thanks for comparing lifestyles with the environment. We need to wake up and be more responsible. It's obvious from our past mistakes we can not keep repeating the problems - there are solutions.

  • 5 Posted by chris6_1999 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:24PM EDT Report Abuse

    Just a word to the wise.. I spent almost $100.00 last year to switch all my household lights to LED. What we didn't realize was that if one of them burns out.. you have to replace the enitre STRING of lights, as they are NOT removable. I was also not impressed as only a couple weeks into the season, lights started burning out!! I've got some strings with 5 lights out, and these LED's are supposed to last over 5 years. Sure you'll save money on the power bill.. by about 10 bucks.. but it will cost you a lot more to replace the strings every year.

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