Your Guide To Green

We've got the best eco-friendly ways to clear snow, heat your house, defrost your windows, and much more this season!

Clear your walk, keep your car in good shape, and heat your home this season without compromising your green values...and save on utility bills while you're at it. All it takes is a fresh ap proach to your cold-winter habits. Many of the ice and snow-fighting products we've used for years present eco issues that don't get much attention. Take the rock salt scattered on walkways, for example. It contains cyanide, traces of which will likely wind up in your flowerbeds come spring. Then there's antifreeze, a known poison that rarely gets recycled. Meanwhile, coal-burning power plants, outdated wood stoves, and "warming up the car" threaten respiratory health more this season than any other time of year. With the following 10 tips, you're on your way to a healthier, greener winter.

Choose Safer Antifreeze - Just 2 ounces (60mL) of the standard ethylene glycol antifreeze can kill a dog. Propylene glycol offers a much less toxic alternative (though with fossil fuel origins, it's hardly eco-friendly). Since both kinds pick up hazardous heavy metals like lead, cadmium, and chromium during use, recycle spent antifreeze to minimize impact. Ask your repair shop about on-site recycling or find a local collection facility at Earth911.com.

Fight Frost Naturally - To prevent ice from covering home and car windows, rub the inside of the glass with a sponge soaked in salt water and dry with a clean cloth. You won't see it, but a salt residue will remain, to ward off frost. For extra oomph, spray a solution of three parts white vinegar and one part water on the outside of the glass, then wipe dry.

Use Better De-icers - Steer clear of rock salt (sodium chloride) and urea-based de-icers. Not only can they pollute habitats with plant-killing runoff, they can also corrode concrete, destroy your lawn (even a snow-covered one), and contaminate water supplies. Better bets? Sand, which provides traction without damaging salt-sensitive landscapes, and calcium chloride, which may still hurt vegetation, but is free of the cyanide present in rock salt.

Burn Smarter - Start fires with dry kindling to minimize emissions and maximize efficiency. Feed the flames with small loads of hardwood that have dried/aired out (seasoned) for at least six months. Well-seasoned hardwood offers a cleaner burn. Never burn chemical (1-log) or pressure-treated wood. Keep flames hot and bright; low, smoldering fires pollute more. When the fireplace is not in use, close the flue to keep warm indoor air from escaping out the chimney.

Minimize Idling - Don't let your car idle for more than 30 seconds. Beyond wasting fuel, excessive idling strains cylinders, spark plugs, exhaust systems, and engines, which work best in motion -- not in neutral. The best way to warm up the car? Drive it. If your area regularly drops below 20°F (-7°C), consider installing a block heater, which warms essential components without wasting fuel. It can cost a few hundred dollars, but you'll save gas and reduce emissions by up to 60 percent.

Upgrade Your Hearth EPA - Certified wood-burning stoves produce an average of 70 percent less particulate emissions than their old, uncertified counterparts. If your stove is more than 20 years old, it's probably time for an update. Find a certified professional (through the National Fireplace Institute) who can install your new stove properly so you get maximum efficiency and minimal pollution.

Let the Sunshine In - Even in winter, the sun's rays provide a fair amount of warmth. Take advantage of this free heating by opening blinds and curtains on the windows that receive the most light - usually on the east side. At night, draw heavy insulating drapes to help preserve warmth, or invest in "Low-E" Energy Star-certified windows, espe cially on the north side of the house. Learn more at Energy Star.

Insulate Your Pipes - T o minimize wait time for hot water to come out of the tap in the morning, insulate all accessible hot water pipes. You'll raise the temperature by up to 4°F (2.2°C), allowing you to lower the wa ter heater setting (and save energy) without suffering through cold show ers. If you don't want to do the whole house, you can still make a big impact by focusing on the 3 feet (1m) of piping closest to the water heater.

Lower Your Thermostat - The Department of Energy recommends turning your thermostat down to 68°F (20°C) while you're at home, and set ting it even lower at night or when you're gone for the day. If you turn the heat down by 10°F (5.5°C) for a daily, eight-hour stretch, you could reduce your heating bill by as much as 15 percent. According to Energy Star, a programmable thermostat can save up to $150 annually. What if you leave town for a stretch? Set the thermostat no lower than 55°F (12°C). Drain your water system before lowering it to this temperature to avoid freezing pipes.

Seal Up the Attic - Save on heating by plugging up air leaks that lead from the attic down into the main house. If you have a hatch door, make sure to weather- strip and insulate it. Also assess your attic's overall insulation, which slows the escape of heat from your living areas. For the attic floor, if insulation is at or below the top of the floor joists, you prob ably need more. Log on to Energy Savers for more guidance on insulating .

{Editor's Note: The following article is provided with permission from Body+Soul magazine. It appears in the January/February 2008 issue}