25 ways you can go green

While you can't discount fears about global warming, one of the key, if often unstated, factors driving the urge to go green is it's a lot easier than it used to be.

Performance of green products is steadily improving, prices are going down, and tax breaks and subsidies are further helping erode financial barriers. You don't have to eat mashed yeast or wear itchy shirts to start cutting down on carbon.

"Being green has now become the best financial choice," says Ira Ehrenpreis, a venture capitalist at Technology Partners, based in Palo Alto, Calif.

Take solar panels. Installing a solar system on a house in California costs around $19,000 after rebates, according to Gary Gerber, chief executive of Sun Light and Power, a solar installer in Berkeley, Calif. The resulting reduction in energy costs is such that homeowners don't break even for 12 years or so, but the system will likely last three decades.

"The same household will spend $60,000 to $80,000 to rent their power from (regional utility company) PG&E over (the next) 30 years," Gerber said. "What you are going to do with a solar investment is prepay your electric bills for the rest of your life for less than $20,000. Most likely it's a hugely good investment. And it will add to the resale value."

So where can you start? The following list addresses environmental priorities in four broad consumer categories--home, car, lifestyle, and the future--identifying issues that consumers will face and ways they can help reduce the greenhouse gases they produce, minimize the depletion of natural resources, and produce and conserve energy more efficiently.

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