Happy Thanksgiving

Don't Forget to Take Advantage of Green Tax Credits

How to reduce energy bills, save the environment and get a tax credit:

1. Install Energy Star appliances
2. Install qualified insulation
3. Install energy efficient windows and doors
4. Turn your roof energy efficient
5. Use energy efficient heating and cooling systems and water heaters

You may be able to get a tax credit for up to 30 percent of the cost of installation, plus up to $1,500 in supplies and service costs.

Another 30 percent credit is available through 2016 for items such as:
1. Qualified geo-thermal heat pumps
2. Solar panels
3. Solar water heaters
4. Wind energy systems
5. Fuel cells

For more information on products that qualify for the tax credits, visit energystar.gov/taxcredits

How to Make Bachelor Party Cards From Scraps

A bachelor party might be the last hoorah for the groom before he says his "I dos." If you're throwing a bachelor party, you'll need invitations to invite guests and set the tone for the party. Using items that you probably have lying around the house, you can make some fun and creative bachelor party invitations--a collage of items that represent bachelorhood and the transition into marriage.

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Advantages of LED Lights

The way that LEDs are made and the way this type of lighting works means it has some advantages over other types of lighting.

LEDs are mounted on a flat surface, which allows it to emit a fuller light than incandescent and compact fluorescent light bulbs.

LEDs do not have glass enclosures similar to other light bulbs, so there is less of a risk for breakage.

It won't burn you if you touch it like what happens to a more traditional light bulb when it has been on for awhile. In fact, as the temperature of the LED light increases, it works better--emitting a brighter light.

Instill Green Ways in Your Kids

As you would teach your children to share their toys or how to pitch in with household chores, you also need to teach your children how to be friendlier to the environment. Instilling these habits in children helps them to grow up to be more eco-chic adults and can only help to make the world a better place to live.

Lead by Example

You know your children imitate your actions and the actions of others, so use this to your advantage in a positive way. Make sure your children see you doing green things and that you point them out to the kids when you’re doing them. Take the time to explain why you’re doing it and how it helps the environment and the people living in it.

Eat Green

Rather than buy pre-made or pre-packaged foods, feed your children homemade meals instead. Even baby food can be made at home rather than buy jars of baby food that uses glass, aluminum and paper. Not only is eating homemade food generally healthier for your kids, but it’s also healthier for the environment.

Green Toys & Books

Buy chemical and additive free toys for your kids. It’s better for their health anyway. You can also find books that have stories and actions that are all about environmentally friendly things or show the characters participating in things that are good for the environment. This is another form of lead by example. Older kids can read articles you find online or in newspapers and magazines that you read.

Introduce them to Nature

No matter where you live in the country, you are surrounded by nature. Make sure that you introduce your kids to the environment and what all of your green efforts are saving. Hike nature trails, take them to the zoo or the local natural history museum. When you go to the beach, talk about sand erosion and the efforts the community is making to protect barrier islands. Volunteer with your kids to clean up a local beach, highway or other areas.

Make Recycling a Family Affair

Buy some plastic bins and chalkboard paint. Paint a small area on the front of each bin with your child. Use a piece of chalk to write glass, plastic, cardboard, newspaper, etc., on each bin. This makes it fun for you and the kids, as well as organizing your recycling efforts. Take your cloth bags to the grocery store with you when you shop. Go over with your child what is recyclable and what isn’t. Make as much of what you do as possible an avenue of awareness for your child on how they can make a difference.

Teaching your child to be green and a friend to the environment is a series of lessons similar to all of the other life lessons you instill in them as they grow. It starts with you. Instill these Earth-friendly habits in your children as soon as possible and throughout their life. It will make them greener adults and make their community a better place to live.

Could Beetles be the Answer to Recycling Styrofoam?

In the U.S. alone, more than 25 billion Styrofoam cups wind up in landfills every year. These types of disposable cups have made traveling with drinks more convenient, but it is not having a positive effect on the environment. The 16-year-old winner of the Intel International Science & Engineering Fair (ISEF) may have found the answer to this problem.

Tseng I-Ching, a student from Taiwan, has research that shows beetle bacteria breaks down this form of plastic used in producing cups and other tableware as well as packing supplies. While the research isn't completely conclusive, it is a step in the right direction. Instead of this light weight substance ending up in landfills and being carried all over the place by the wind, we may soon be able to recycle Styrofoam. If it's with beetles, then so be it!

Listen Up Miami: Local Action Challenge

SustainLane is heading up the Local Action Challenge for Miami, Florida in partnership with Hopenhagen, an international movement to drive action on climate change at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP15) in Copenhagen this December.

Cities across the country – like Miami,FL – have sent in their top-ten lists of actions they’d like residents to take in order to combat climate change and otherwise care for the planet right in their own communities.

Residents who take their cities’ challenge, complete tasks on the list and upload photos of themselves doing so. They are then entered into weekly drawings to win prizes donated by green business sponsors.

Here’s how to play:

1. Go to www.SustainLane.com/hopenhagen
2. Choose your city
3. Choose a challenge
4. Take a photo of yourself in action
5. Upload it
6. Win a prize
7. Repeat