Go Green Manhattan Style! Earth Day 2008

Earth Day should be every day, but today it is a time to remind us of how important our everyday actions affect the planet. With so many resources and information guides out there, one person can make a huge difference.

Be it recycling, walking, mass transit, or taking you own mug to Starbucks, there are many easy tasks and small changes can really make you feel like you are contributing.

Recycling everyday items alone can help protect our ozone layer, decrease pollution and decrease tree cuttings. Recycling is a start but using organic products such as food, cotton, baby products and wine are becoming readily available and economic to buy!.

Another easy change is to use compact fluorescent bulbs. Not only will you save energy by at least 75 percent, they work just as well as regular light bulbs and last up to 10 times longer.

In Manhattan, this is not only a trend but becoming a way of life. There are so many sites available to help you stay green and turn your home into an eco-friendly environment. New construction like The River House or your current apartment can achieve these guides of green.

GreenHomeNYC where their mantra is “we're working with building owners, builders, and suppliers of building products to promote the use of environmentally friendly, energy-conserving building practices and products in small buildings.”

They also hold a Green Building Forum on the third Wednesday of each month where green building practitioners present new ideas and then a discussion follows the presentation. It is co-sponsored by Pratt Institute.

Another cool city based organization is Green Apple Map. "In mid-2008, a new online interactive OpenGreenMap edition will feature NYC’s sites! Debuting a decade after our original online edition of the Green Apple Map, it will provide a forum for open submissions, commentary and green ratings, so everyone can help make this map a current resource for everyday sustainability, citywide and far beyond!" Definitely keep this in your bookmarks if going green is on your to do list!

10 Great Green Products:
1. Hybrid Cars
2. Cork Flooring
3. Organic Food
4. Organic Fertilizer
5. Organic Cotton
6. Green Cleaning Products
7. Compact Fluorescent Bulbs
8. Bamboo Clothing
9. Organic Baby Products
10. Organic Wine

Happy Earth Day! Let's all try to do our part!