For those of you fortunate enough to have grown up with Talkboys, you know the power of this cassette player and recorder. Its only downfall was that it took four AA batteries, and we were constantly begging my mom for more.

My electric bill is slightly lower per square foot with central air than it was when I lived in an apartment with a window unit (which, I have to add, was a new Energy Star appliance).

You can save far more energy and money by switching to a newer fridge, but what do you do with an old one that works just fine?

I’m not about to go and buy up the latest and most energy-efficient electronics when the products I currently own serve me just fine.

My TV is great for watching movies and high-definition TV shows, but how much electricity is it taking just to run the thing? The answer is, probably a lot — but not as much as some TVs.

So, you go to shop for new gadgets, devices and appliances and you see Energy Star labels everywhere, but you don’t know what they mean. You may know you’re making a good choice for the environment and for your electric bill, but what’s the big deal?

Bamboo is the current darling of sustainable materials and people are interested in buying bamboo products and clothes. But, is bamboo clothing that’s being marketed as eco-conscious to shoppers truly green?

There is one additional step we can take with our coffee and tea, and that’s composting the leftovers.

For anyone looking to green his or her home in a serious way, installing a solar water heater may be a good first step.

Solar water heaters offer tons of incentive to purchase. The prospect of paying essentially nothing to heat the water in my home is pretty thrilling, even if we weren’t in a recession.