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The following tips for achieving a “State of Green” were taken from the Fall 2008 issue of “The Lyre”, a quarterly magazine of Alpha Chi Omega sorority and submitted for the Messenger by Jean Tittle.

Put on a sweater or take one off. Both the heat and the air conditioning in your home or your workplace most likely rely on fossil fuel. Utility companies actually advise you to keep the thermostat at one temperature year-round. So bundle up in the winter and wear less in the summer instead of depending on machines to do it for you.

Use your car less. We have all heard this one. Walk; use public transportation; carpool; combine trips or errands.  Consider it quality time to talk with family and friends, and to possibly meet new ones.

Recycle and reuse. Have you ever noticed how much trash you go through? Reusing items such as water bottles is probably one of the top things you can do to save the environment and our own back yards. No one wants to live next to a landfill, but at the rate the world is going, it just might happen in our lifetime.

Neither paper nor plastic. Did you know that plastic bags are made from oil? And as we all know, paper bags are made from trees, but who replants those trees? Many stores are now offering a cost effective and environmentally sound alternative by selling attractive reusable bags. Check with you local grocery store or market to see what they offer.

Stop the catalogs. How many catalogs do you get that you do not need? Shopping online is much better for the environment and you still do not have to leave home. Simply request to receive e-mail updates from your favorite stores. While you are at it, go ahead and start paying your bills online, too. You will save a stamp and the paper that it takes to create envelopes and statements.

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