Read the whole story on the BBC News website.

• Limit idling (no matter how small your vehicle, idling gets you 0 mpg)
• Avoid quick starts and stops (can improve fuel efficiency by 33% at highway speeds and 5% at city speeds)
• Slow down (every 5 mph over 55 mph reduces mpg by up to 10%)
• Lighten your cargo load (every 100 lbs. reduces mpg by up to 2%)
• Turn off air conditioning (air reduces mpg by 20%)
• Use cruise control (a steady speed can boost fuel efficiency)
• Tighten gas cap (loose caps cause fuel to evaporate)
• Keep tires properly inflated (can improve mpg by over 3%)
• Rotate and align tires (misalignment hinders fuel economy)
• Give your engine a tune-up if it’s due (can improve mpg by 4%)
• Replace dirty air filters (clean filters can improve mpg by as much as 10%)

For more tips on improving fuel efficiency, visit www.fueleconomy.gov.

As marketers jump on the bandwagon, some will do it right and others….well, we have all seen an ad and said, “That’s bull.”  So what’s a guy to do…or more directly, an advertiser?

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) first published guidelines in 1992 but the issues of ’92 are not the issues of today.  Witness Obama and McCain arguing Global Warming — not a topic addressed in ’92. The good news is the FTC will release updated guidelines in 2009.  The bad news is that it’s the FTC and the government doesn’t always use “common speak.”  The better news is that I just read a whitepaper from Goodwin Procter that is short and to the point; a shining “green” light in the darkness.

Marketers need to follow constantly evolving guidelines and laws regarding “Green Marketing Claims.”  While the FTC originally issued guidelines in 1992, they are currently considering major revisions.   These revisions come after acceptance of comments and a series of workshops on specific issues.  Three key issues addressed are:

A white paper from Godwin Procter provides an excellent overview of the issues and suggests five strategic considerations for marketers making environmental claims:

• Carefully evaluate the potential environmental benefits of products and operations
• Seek certification from third parties
• Substantiate and document any environmental claims
• Make precise environmental claims
• Ensure that representations concerning the environmental impacts and benefits of the company’s products and operating practices are consistent

NPR did a story the other day about a bunch of exuberant eighth graders who unearthed a simple way to save trees. Simply widen the margins on whatever you’re writing. That’s it. Squeeze an extra half-inch, maybe a whole inch on either side. Start higher on the page. End lower on the page. It can still look good and professional. What else will look good? The six million trees it can save if everyone in the country makes this simple change.

So the next time you open up a document, drag down under Format (if you’ve got a Mac), click on Document, and start whittling away at that 1 inch from the top and bottom, and 1.25” right and left margin. Who knows? By the end of the day you could save a branch or two.

The enchanted forest thanks you.

But today, just about every household product you can imagine comes in “green” — environmentally-friendly, that is.  It’s great to switch from that old aerosol can to a bio-degradable spray bottle…but it’s important to find out first what products are really eco-friendly, and what products are faking it.

Check out sites like GreenSeal.org for a heads up on what to look for in different products if you decide you want to clean the green way.

More on CFLs here. 

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• Song sparrow
• Carolina wren
• Mayapple
• Trillium
• Horned grebe
• Snapping turtle
• Chipping sparrow
• Downy woodpecker
• Palm warbler
• Painted turtle
• Tree Swallow
• Barn Swallow
• Painted Lady Butterfly
• Bullfrog
• Painted turtle

 The list goes on.

If we don’t take time to appreciate the natural world, we don’t have any real motivation to save it. Take time to get out, and more importantly, take time to learn to recognize what you’re seeing. The more you know, the more you will see. And the more you see, the more reason you’ll have to save what’s left.

The Environmental Protection Agency has set a goal of collecting 1 million pills and 1 million pounds of electronics during an Earth Day initiative aimed at the more than 30 million people who live around the Great Lakes, which are by far the largest source of fresh drinking water on the planet.

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Energy Balance

While E85 gets 20 to 25 percent fewer miles per gallon compared to gasoline, it is less expensive than gasoline in most parts of the country and has 96 octane compared with 87 octane for regular unleaded gasoline.  Premium gasoline has less octane than E85 and sells at a higher price.  

Cleaner Cities

Ethanol does not require more energy to produce than it delivers as a fuel.  According to the Argonne National Laboratory, the “net energy balance” of making fuel ethanol from corn yields about one-third more energy for automotive fuel than is used to grow the grain. And the USDA says next-generation cellulosic ethanol produced from switch grass generates 540 percent more energy than consumed in production. Think about these facts: 

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Last night as I was leaving the office in a rush, I pushed the silver button to shut off my screen rather then taking the 2.5 seconds to shut down my computer. It’s an easy habit to fall into, but as National Geographic’s green guide’s response to a reader mentions, “the only way to make sure a device isn’t sucking needless energy is to pull the plug out of the wall.”

Granted not every electronic at home or work can be disconnected everyday, so try disconnecting those devices that can. Although myths tell us shutting off electronics can harm the life span, experts from Energy Star and Consumer Reports disagree.

National Geographic recommends using power strips for ease.Check out National Geographic’s green guide for additional energy saving tips.

So what can you do to avoid coming into contact with BPA? Well the obvious and “greener” choice is to use less plastic or as little as possible. You can also avoid heating your leftovers in the plastic storage container and wash with a mild detergent in lukewarm water. Or if you are a concerned parent, switch your baby’s bottles to glass or a safer non-polycarbonate plastic.

“Few Americans are aware of the very real consequences of climate change on the health of our communities, our families and our children,” says APHA.

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In today’s growing greener society, many people are talking about how “earth friendly” they are becoming. Yet, ironically enough, these same people are guilty of leaving those empty plastic beer bottles on concert lawns or littering the paper from their soft pretzel with cheese.

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More than 60 teams from nine countries have signed up for the competition so far, including California electric carmakers Aptera Motors and Tesla Motors, German diesel carmaker Loremo and a team from Cornell University.

Teams will be able to sign up through mid-2008, when applicants will be narrowed to those who can prove they would build production-ready, consumer-friendly cars.

Those that qualify will race their vehicles in cross-country races in 2009 and 2010 that will combine speed, distance, urban driving and overall performance.

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You should be, too. It’s one hour. Surely we can all live without the TV, the computer, and the microwave for that long.

Light candles.

Go to bed early.

Or, if it’s snowing (which is entirely likely here in Michigan), sit by a fire, and just…well, sit.

Or you can take some of Earth Hour’s suggestions, like taking the time to replace those old energy-wasting bulbs with CFLs. More suggestions on their site (but be warned: they’ve had so much web traffic over the past few days, the site has been really slow and sometimes unavailable)

Got other ideas for Earth Hour activities? Let’s hear ‘em.