" with a ring of satellites. But real, rational and large-scale near-term solutions can only come from "

" involves trillions of little decisions by billions of individuals that drive the industrial engines that ultimately spew the "

" and otherwise cutting down on your impact on the planet. Many of the ideas will also save you money. "

"The list was compiled by the Earth Day Network organization and is republished here with permission. "

"A California lawmaker has proposed banning incandescent light bulbs, the kind in most homes, because they are inefficient. In the future, LED bulbs could become the norm, "

" explores the science of global warming and explains how, for now, conditions here are just right. "

"Meanwhile, there are now highly efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) that last for years, use a quarter of the energy of regular bulbs and actually produce more light. "

"Look for the government's ENERGY STAR label, which means the bulb has been tested for quality and efficiency. While each ENERGY STAR qualified bulb will cost more initially?anywhere from $3 to $9 a piece?remember that there are two price tags: what you pay at the register and what you pay in energy costs to over the bulb's lifetime. So you may pay more up front, but you will actually save hundreds of dollars in your household budget over the long term because of their long life."

"While CFLs were harder to find a few years ago, they're now widely available and much more affordable. You'll find them at major home improvement and hardware stores?even grocery and some convenience stores."

"Here's the impact. If every household in the U.S. replaced a burned-out bulb with an energy-efficient, ENERGY STAR qualified compact fluorescent bulb, the cumulative effect is enormous. It would prevent more than 13 billion pounds of "

" from entering the atmosphere?which is like taking more than a million cars off the road for an entire year."

"There are other, simple things with household lighting you can do to conserve: turn off unneeded lights, dim lights when you can and bring natural sunlight into your home when it is feasible."

"But changing those old light bulbs and replacing them with ENERGY STAR qualified compact fluorescents that can last for a decade or more is by far the best thing you can do."

" as your entire house. That's the bad news. The good news is that anything you can do to improve the fuel efficiency of your car will have an enormous impact on climate change. In fact, experts say that paying attention to fuel efficiency in your car may be the single biggest thing you can do to prevent global warming"

") is wonderful. In fact, replacing your gas-guzzling car with a fuel-efficient one is by far the best thing you can do, out of all your choices. But not all of us can do that?at least, not right now. Car makers haven't sold enough hybrids in the U.S. yet to make them as affordable as they should be. That will change, but not for a few years."

"So, in the interim, there are things you can do with the car you drive now to conserve energy and be more fuel-efficient."

" than they did the year before. Stop this trend, and we drive a stake in that trend. Telecommuting and public transportation are great options?once a week saves a ton of carbon dioxide a year?but even piling multiple errands into one trip helps. If you can walk instead of drive, even better."

" by half. If 100,000 of us went out and got a tune up, we save 124,000 tons of carbon dioxide."

" Slow down, don't race your car's engine, and watch your idling. All of these save on gas (saving you money) and have a big impact on burning gasoline."

" SUVs, minivans and pickup trucks now make up more than half of the cars on American roads. The real tragedy is that automakers could double the current average fuel efficiency of SUVs if they wanted to, which would save 70 tons of carbon dioxide per car. The technology exists. Unfortunately, consumer demand does not."

"The bad news is that half of your household energy costs go towards just two things?heating and "

"The good news is that means you have lots of room for improvement, and even small changes make dramatic improvements in household fuel efficiency."

"Older heating and cooling systems are a third less efficient than the new systems. So replacing the old with the new is a wonderful idea, but not very practical for most of us. Things you can do right now to make sure you're setting the right temperature in your house include:"

"Of course, if you can stand it, by far the best approach is to avoid air conditioners at all. Ceiling fans, instead of AC, can reduce your cooling costs by more than half."

"Did you know that your friendly refrigerator has a voracious energy appetite? It is, by far, the single biggest consumer of electricity in the average household, responsible for 10-15 percent of the electricity you use each month."

"Older refrigerators, as a rule, are far less efficient than the newest ones?as much as 50 percent more efficient in many cases. But buying a brand-new, energy-efficient refrigerator is almost certainly not in the cards for most of us. Fortunately, other things will help."

" If your refrigerator is near a heating vent, or always in the sun, then change the location, cover up the heat vent near it or drape the window."

" Clean the condenser coil. This one, very simple thing can improve the efficiency of your refrigerator by a third!"

" Get rid of your second refrigerator. If you don't need it, don't waste the energy."

"The other big users of energy in your household are your hot water heater, your washer and dryer, and your dishwasher. Each, in its own way, can be inefficient. Here are some things to try:"

"While it is true that planting more trees will help in the short term because they essentially soak up carbon, they also release carbon dioxide when they die. So it just postpones the problem. But there are other reasons to plant trees?as wind breaks to save energy, and as shade to lower cooling costs. And even the short-term help while we get our act together is a good thing."

"As for plants, do everything you can in your yard and garden to create ways in which plants use less water. Choose hardier plants, plant things in groups that need more water and put in mulch to help keep moisture in. When you mow your grass, make sure you do it smartly?with sharp blades, and only when the grass needs cutting. Finally, make sure you water your lawn sparingly. All of these will conserve energy."

" tomorrow, what would we do? Well, we'd get our electricity from renewable sources?solar panels, geothermal and wind power sources. Many utilities now give consumers the option to buy "green power.""

"Learn
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