Green Myths

Here are a few common misconceptions about green living.

Green choices are painful and expensive.
How would you like to save $50 this year with a few simple clicks of your computer mouse? You would? Then turn off your screen saver, says Powers. Instead, select the "sleep" or "hibernation" mode for periods of inactivity. While some greener options (like some organic products), do cost more, others (like turning out lights, using water-saving faucets and keeping the thermostat at a reasonable temperature) are money-smart strategies, too. "They're good ideas, and they pay off," says Erich Pica, director of domestic programs for Friends of the Earth, an international grass-roots environmental group. And when you do shell out for eco-friendly equipment, like new appliances, "some of the upgrades pay themselves off far more quickly than you budget for," he says.

The cost of commuting is a fixed expense.
Not really. How would you like to get 10 percent to 50 percent more gasoline every week for free? Regular tuneups will boost your mileage 4 percent to 40 percent, says Powers. A new air filter can add as much as 10 percent to your mileage. And keeping your tires properly inflated (not over or under) can give you another 2 percent.

Buying organic has to be expensive.
Not every green choice has to cost you extra green. Buying locally grown produce is a good example. The average food item travels 1,500 miles to 2,500 miles to get to your store shelves, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council. Locally grown produce -- usually grown within 200 miles -- saves all those transportation and fuel costs, along with tons of carbon. For that reason they are often less expensive and -- because they typically get to ripen longer -- tastier, too. What's more, many smaller local growers don't use pesticides, herbicides or artificial ripening agents, keeping petrochemicals out of the soil and reducing crude-oil usage even more.

If an appliance is off, it's not using power.
Up to 10 percent of your power bill goes to run appliances that you've already turned off, says Powers. Dubbed "vampire power," it's the energy a machine keeps using so that it can pop on quickly when you flip the switch. Don't feel like plugging and unplugging every time you want to use the computer or play the stereo? Use a power strip. (Just beware of overloading too many gadgets and gizmos on the same one.) Then, when you're not using the item, flip the switch on the strip, and you'll know that "off" is really "off."

There is only one 'right' eco-answer.
The paper or plastic debate is the best example of this. Not even the experts can agree which is a more eco-friendly way to carry home groceries. The better answer, of course, is neither: Bring your own cloth bags to the store. Another debate rages over carbon offsets -- when one company minimizes its responsibility for the amount of carbon dioxide it produces by buying or subsidizing another company's carbon-saving behavior. While many green groups support carbon offsets, others view them only as a solution of last resort. Everyone generally agrees we're poisoning the planet and ourselves with it. But conflicting information about what constitutes a green choice can leave many consumers stalled with indecision. The best way to break the logjam is to start by trying a couple of solutions that are doable and make sense to you.

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