Last years Resolution was to recycle more, replace traditional light bulbs with energy-efficient one and compost your food scrap.  Now the question remains:  How can you take your everyday green habits to the next level?

You can volunteer at a National or State Park.  They are beautiful places to visit but always need to be maintained and environmentally intact.  As a volunteer you can assist in such tasks as trail repair, habitat restoration, animal monitoring and liter collection. 

You can teach kids about recycling by implementing a program at a school or day care.

You can also plant trees on your property or volunteer at your local Parks and Recreation Department.  By planting one million trees, it can save 10 million dollars in annual energy costs,  help remove 2.24 million pounds of air pollution, and captures 1.9 billion gallons of storm water to decrease runoff and erosion.

You can be a green volunteer by joining a carpool or setting up a recycling program at work.  Also, giving all employees stainless steel water bottles instead of platic or styrofoam cups.

Taking cyber action is a great way to step up your green living. Forwarding emails with green tips to a friend, posting tips on the information board at work or school and putting links to Green websites on your Facebook and Twitter pages are easy ways to help.

For more information... go to earth911.com.

Now the days are getting longer and the temperature a little more manageable, why not dust off that bicycle?  Not only will biking help you get back in shape for spring and summer but it will also help the environment.  

Here are a few tips to get you cycling:

- Bike to work.  If not everyday, try one or two days a week.   

- Encourage others to bike with you.

- Use your bike for shopping, visiting friends and running errands. You can always add a carrier rack or basket to your bike to make it easier to transport your briefcase or groceries. 

- Make a date with your bike this weekend. Kentucky's weather will be wonderful! 

Did you know that if you biked to work rather than drove, you could save 407 galloins of gasoline each year, half the amount burned ammually by a typical American car.  Apart form walking, there is no more energy efficient way to get to work than by bike and more than half of all commuting trips are less than 5 miles, that's a distance that can be easily covered by a bicycle.  

For some bike trails in KY  go to www.kentuckybiketrails.com

The Green gene isn’t always passed down through the generations. But nowadays, kids are being taught at school about the harmful effects we have on the environment and they are re-educating their parents on how to go green.  If your kid is passionate about being environmentally friendly, you should check out the nationwide campaign to find “America’s GreenestSchool”. 

Students can submit an essay, video, or song explaining what they’d do if in charge of making your school a greener, more eco-friendly place.

If they win the contest, their school will receive a hybrid bus and $20,000 for repairs and a $3,000 scholarship for the student. If interested, you better hurry and apply. the dealine is Monday, March 8th. 
 
For more information, go to thegreenestschool.com

We are getting geared up for wedding season so why not try and be Green throughout your wedding planning.

That’s what one Spokane, Washington couple decided to do.

Andrea Parrish and Peter Geyer’s relationship has been unique, even up to their engagement with an opal earring.  So when they were planning their wedding, they knew a small intimate ceremony with family and friends would reflect their personalities.  They soon found out that even a small ceremony would cost more than a few dollars.

Being an environmentally friendly couple, they decided to help the environment and pay for their wedding at the same time by recycling aluminum cans. 

Andrea says,  “Well, Peter actually recycles aluminum into artwork during the summer. So I was looking at the 40 pounds of aluminum cans in the garage and thought, ‘Hey, maybe we can recycle those and pay for our wedding with it.’”

Peter and Andrea will receive about 1 cent per can from Alcoa Incorporated, a leading producer in aluminum.  So far, they’ve raised $3,800 worth of recycled aluminum cans with the help of local Spokane businesses.

They could always use some more so if you are interested check out their website at weddingcans.com or find them on Twitter and Facebook under the name "Wedding Cans".

Tons of electronics in your house use phantom power, which means they take up energy even if they are not in use.  A perfect example would be your cell phone charger.
The amount of Phantom Power these appliances generate is like paying for an extra months worth of electricity.

 Here are a few ways you can save some money:
 --- Purchase devices that can track how much power your appliances draw when not turned on but still plugged in. 
 --- Use powers strips that can be turned off when you are on vacation or gone for the day.  
 --- Unplug any electronics with quick load-up times such as toasters , blenders and appliances with clocks.   

The Kentucky National Guard goes green

GREENVILLE, Ky. - The Kentucky National Guard just went a little greener with the help of its partners in state government and the private sector.

Crews have just completed an installation of solar panels at the Wendell H.
Ford Regional Training Center in Muhlenberg County. This state of the art 10,000 acre training facility for the Kentucky National Guard will be partially powered by the 84 kilowatt photovoltaic solar arrays found on the administration building and two of the center's barracks.

The 400 solar panels on the three buildings are "grid-tied," meaning that the power produced will first be used by electrical loads within the facility.
Any excess power produced will flow back onto the grid, running the facility power meter backward and creating a credit.  The net effect of the system will be to reduce the cost of electricity for the facility. 

"I want to commend the Kentucky National Guard for their stewardship of the land as well as the taxpayer's dollars," said Gov. Steve Beshear.  "This new solar installation is a significant step toward providing a quality training facility for our troops while relieving the financial burden for the state."

This initiative was driven by Kentucky's Comprehensive Energy Plan released by Governor Beshear and Presidential Executive Orders EO 13423 and EO 13514.
Both the state and federal and directives strive for a greener environment and reduced CO2 emissions through the utilization of renewable energy sources such as solar.